Things I Love Thursday: a Potty-Training Story with a HAPPY ending!

Even though Luke is almost 3, being a boy, being second-born, and being slower to develop in other areas, I still wasn’t sure potty-training would “take.”  However, getting rid of the paci went far better than I anticipated, and I reminded myself that Luke is slow to learn, but as soon as he has it, he’s pretty solid.  I also decided that it couldn’t hurt to just try.

So, knowing that he himself was not eager to change things, I read a little in preparation- remember that I did not actually potty-train my daughter, my mother-in-law did.  So, I didn’t really have any tried and true experience.  Plus, she was a fast, eager student, whereas Luke was utterly opposed to the toilet.

In preparation

1. That said, I read Gina Ford’s Potty-Train in a Week.  Loved it.  It was quick, full of strategies, reasonable in expectations, and complete with case studies.  I followed her tips fairly well, tailoring them to my Luke.  One of the best tips she gave was a week of preparation, in which we sat him on the little potty seat at certain times (wake-up time, after meals, etc.) and talked about being wet or dry.  This was tricky for Luke because he was reticent to even try, and I didn’t want to force an issue before we had really even begun.  Another helpful tips she had was not speaking about bathroom terms in negative ways- never make your child feel ashamed or dirty, even with something as simple as “Ew!  You’re stinky!”  She even goes as far as to add that it might be helpful for your child to SEE a wet diaper versus a dirty diaper so that they are not alarmed later.  This helped us for sure.
2. I had training pants and big boy pants galore.
3. I had 2 potty chairs- one for upstairs and one for downstairs.
4. I printed off a potty chart and had matching stickers- I taped the chart at Luke’s eye level in the bathroom.
5. Rebekah drew big boy pants on Luke’s plain patches to celebrate the big week!
6. I enrolled Rebekah to be my helper! {maybe my most strategic move!}

Finally, it was time.  I had made sure we talked about using the big boy potty and wearing big boy pants prior to the big day.  I cleared a week of most plans and we got to it on Monday morning.  I didn’t start as strong as I should have- we should have just had Luke run around naked for a few days to figure things out.  As it was, I went through a million pairs of training pants and Luke just did not get it!  Even when he had accidents on himself, he didn’t even say anything.  I would sit him on the potty and when he would miraculously get something in there, he also didn’t seem aware.  He also never emptied his bladder- seriously, tiny amounts of pee every few minutes!!!  I was not impressed, but not frustrated with him- he just didn’t seem ready.  However, several people advised me to try letting him run around with no pants at all.  Why not?

So, we did.  Luke tee-teed on himself and cried about it!  I was so excited!!  He realized what he had done!  We kept at it (this was day 3, I think), but still not many successes in the potty, and those that did get in there were pretty much in spite of himself.  So, that night, I decided to pack up.  He just wasn’t ready, I had just found out I was pregnant, and I figured we both needed time.  However, Luke was emphatic about not wanting the potty and his big boy pants to go away!  I acquiesced with a sigh.  But that night and the next, he went to the potty and pooped all on his own!

On days 4 and 5, Luke started to tell me he needed to tee-tee and was more willing to try without complaint.  I gave him a few M&Ms for trying and more for successes.  We also put Dora and Diego stickers on a simple Diego potty chart.  I was surprised how motivated Luke was by these 3 things: getting to wear big boy pants, treats, and even putting stickers on a chart!

By that weekend, Luke was dry every day, all naps, and most nights.  I.was.shocked.  Truly.

Here are a few things I wish I had done differently, and maybe you can learn from:

• 

  Training pants...too absorbent!

  Like Gina Ford said, I should have had 2 matching potty seats- Luke definitely preferred one over the other, but after success, he was fine with either.

• I should have had a plan for how many treats for what.  I think I allowed too much in the beginning, and it was hard to live up to.  It should have been 1 M&M for trying, 2 for tee-tees, and 3 for poops.
• I shouldn’t have started with training pants- they were too absorbent and didn’t teach Luke about feeling wet.

Things I’m glad I did:

• Having 2 potty seats.  It’s nice to have one upstairs for those last-minute runs to the potty.
• I still have both seats out so Luke can go himself- it has been nice since I’ve been sick.  He is still willing to go on the big potty when necessary.
• Letting Luke do his own stickers.  There’s no reason to have stickers in perfect, chronological order- he gets so much joy from doing them himself!
• Involving Rebekah!  She was Luke’s cheerleader and such a help to me!  I gave her the same treats he got in thankfulness for her help.
• Having fun themed undies for Luke- he is soooo proud of his big boy pants!
• Sticking it out!  So many times, I quit.  I am so proud we finished the job!  (even if Luke was the one who chose to stick it out!)
• Having a good attitude- sadly, I owe this to extremely low expectations, but I rarely got frustrated during this process, even when he dribbled urine everywhere all the time. *I will say that, in hindsight, I had far too high of expectations with Rebekah and disciplined her for accidents when I should have sympathized and helped her make better choices.  I regret this and hope to not make the same mistakes with Luke {or Blueberry!- Can’t believe we’re going to do this AGAIN!}

So, good luck!!  By the way, I am linking up to TILT!

Disclaimer: As an Amazon associate, if you buy the book I linked to, I will receive some {paltry} amount of cash.  I’m all for it, just wanted you to know.  As always, I am recommending books/DVDs I already own and therefore can vouch for myself!