Potty Training

If you were to ask me a month ago what the scariest thing about being a parent was, I would have answered Potty Training! I dreaded it! I even started looking on-line for people who I might be able to hire to just do it for me. The time and energy and commitment it was going to take was too much for me to comprehend. I feared the accidents and all the laundry and was worried I was going to have to fight Cache to actually go. I knew we'd have to spend a lot of time inside and the weather was just getting nice and I was NOT looking forward to that at all! My mind would always wander back to the time we let Cache go without a diaper and he urinated all over my house every 20 minutes. I did NOT want to repeat that! Remember the Post I wrote about that?

Anyway, I had talked to the Dr. about Potty Training and he said he didn't even think it would be worth a try until Cache was 3 unless he started showing serious signs of interest before then. I took that and ran with it! I had an excuse. My Dr. says not to even try till he's 3. So what if Cache takes off his diaper every time he pees and tells the nursery leaders at church that he has to go to the bathroom all the time. HE'S NOT READY!. Hmmmm... maybe I should have just been honest and said, I'M NOT READY!

Well Cache turned 3 and after almost a week went by John finally told me I just needed to buck up! So, Sunday night I stayed up and printed off a fun Curious George Potty Chart, found some stickers we'd picked out a few weeks earlier, made sure his potty was all ready to go, and then read a ton of articles on line about Potty Training. I took bits and pieces of each and made it work for us.

 That Monday when Cache got up I rushed him to the potty and had him sit on it while I showed him his potty chart. I read the only two "Potty" books we have to him and explained what the rest of the day was going to be like. I explained that he was 3 now and a big boy so he could start going potty in the big boy toilet. I talked about how we were going to go for a run to the store and pick out some "Big Boy" underwear and he could choose more stickers to put on his potty chart and that he could choose a treat every time he went in the toilet too! When we got to the store he even got to walk around the store like a big boy and not sit in the stroller. It's a good thing I let him pick out the underwear and stickers cause he chose one's I wouldn't have. He got to hold the bag of M&Ms that would be his treat and we even bought a special jar just for them. I told him that these M&Ms were just for him. No one else could have them.

When we got home we put on his new underwear, and then pulled out all the toys and games upstairs, and prepared for a long day indoors. I set the timer at first for every 15 minutes and we'd try to go potty. Most of the time he couldn't go, but that first day he successfully went pee twice and poo once! He got to call Grandma and Daddy and tell them what he did and he put his stickers on so proudly and ate some treats and we really made a huge deal about it. That was pretty good, but that first day he still went through 6 pairs of underwear.

In the evening we had a neighborhood Family Home Evening and my awesome neighbor Mandi let me borrow their Elmo's Potty Time video and an Elmo Potty book. She also told me that she put Pull Ups over the underwear at night time cause it still lets them feel that they're going Potty, but it takes care of the mess! Genius!! So that's what we did that night. Good thing too, cause the next morning he woke up wet. All morning after that I tried to get him to pee. I pretty much just made him sit on the Potty all morning. He watched the Elmo video and we read the story and pretty much just watched lots of TV.  I wouldn't even let him go down for a nap. Finally I had to make a phone call and of course, while I'm on the phone, Cache runs to the potty all by himself, goes, and then runs out and says, "I did it!" I don't even remember who I was talking to but they got an ear full as Cache and I celebrated.  The rest of the day went just like that. I'd be on the phone and Cache would just go on his own. I was so excited! Sooo...  Day 2 = NO Accidents!  He even woke up dry the next morning and remembered to go when he woke up!

Day 3= NO Accidents! I couldn't believe it. I think I even ventured to the store on day 3 and he went in the store restroom.

Day 4= 1 accident, but it shouldn't count because Daddy was watching the kids and forgot to remind Cache to go potty once they got home. :)

Day 5= NO Accidents!

Those are the only specific days I can remember. It's been just over 3 weeks now and we are on our 3rd Potty chart. There have been a few accidents here and there, but they are always when Cache is outside and too busy to stop and think if he has to go. A couple of days during week two Cache was waking up wet and we'd still been putting the pull ups on so I decided we'd better ditch the pull ups so he'd realized he couldn't do that anymore. After that we've only had one bed wetting incident and every other time he's been fine.

The other day John asked how I would judge how hard potty training actually was compared to what I thought it was going to be. I'd have to say, waaaay easier than expected! And probably because Cache was overly ready by the time I was finally ready.

 I'm grateful we waited. I'm so proud of Cache! He really has done so well! And it's amazing how much easier it is to just have to change one little bum instead of two. Plus half the diapers! Wahoo!