No Accidents!

I don't want to jinx the situation, but Peyton hasn't had an accident since Wednesday. This is really great. He's been able to hold it for longer periods of time and seems to have the general idea of the potty concept. We've been busy the last couple of days with Gymboree classes, lunches with friends, trips to the park, grocery store and swimming pool and he's done great with all of this.
Everywhere we go, the first thing I look for is the restroom. I've actually been quite surprised with the level of cleanliness in most of these restrooms. I really haven't been grossed out yet, and I get grossed out in public restrooms pretty easily. I actually tend to avoid them at all costs. But with a little one that can pee or poop at any second, I've made sure that if I need to make a run for it, I know where I'm going and the quickest way to get there. I'm going to be really embarrassed one of these days when he makes a big stinky poop in one of these restrooms, but so far he has saved these for home. We are still reminding him to go to the potty every hour or so when we are home, and I'm noticing some resistance that I actually think is because he knows he doesn't really need to go yet. Other times, he'll go without much of a fuss and do his thing. I think we're going to need to start giving him some opportunity to tell us on his own that he needs to go, since he's only done this a few times. I think we make him go frequently enough that he can hold it in between and he doesn't have a need to tell us.
I think that big accident the other day upset him enough that he realized that he needs to go on the potty and not his pants, which is exactly what I needed to happen. I feel like we've done pretty well with the potty training, and I really shouldn't complain. He's pretty much got the hang of it. After reading that stupid book, I thought he would get it in a day or two, but as I talk with other moms and read stuff online, he's picked this up pretty quickly, and 5 days is really reasonable.

Day 6 - A Success Story!

Out of the blue this morning, Peyton told me he needed to go pee-pee on the potty. We rushed into the bathroom and he easily peed on the potty. I made such a big deal about it that he told me "Be Quiet, Mom". But this was grounds for a celebration. He had never told me that he needed to pee-pee before. It was only the pooping part that he had figured out (which I was extremely grateful for). There were a couple of other times throughout the day that he asked to go to the potty and there were some times when I asked if he needed to go that he responded "yes" rather than his usual "no". We survived the day without any accidents, too, which I thought was a HUGE accomplishment! So, maybe, just maybe, he's starting to get the hang of this. But I've been a mom just long enough to know that just when you think you've got it figured out, something unexpected happens to ruin that feeling of accomplishment. But today I'll take what I can get, and I'm happy that we've come this far. I'm anticipating that tomorrow will be a good day too, since its my birthday and only good things can happen.

Dear God, is it Already Day 5?!

I bought a book several months ago. "Potty Training in One Day". I read it front to back, reread the important chapters, and I was easily convinced that this method would work. I was on the bus one day when another woman, a mother herself probably, commented, "that's rather ambitious!" when she saw the title of the book I was reading. I thought, obviously, you haven't read this book. The author was completely convincing that this was a foolproof method. Basically, you and your child potty train a doll that is capable of going pee-pee on command. As the doll has accidents, you and your child explain to the doll that he needs to tell you when he needs to go to the potty. He shouldn't go in his underwear. You use a system of stickers and treats as rewards when the doll is successful. As you're doing all of this, your child is supposed to be picking up on the concept of going on the potty. All of the rewards gets them super excited and anxious to go on the potty too. As the day progresses, you give the child underwear and they start the process of potty training. Because they've taught the doll, they understand the concept, and its easy as pie to get them to hold their pee and go on the potty. Yeah, right! As I'm writing this, I'm laughing at myself for ever falling for this crap. I've always known I was gullible. But seriously, I can't believe I didn't know better.

So, here we are. Day 5. I guess we're still seeing small improvements. Yesterday afternoon, I decided that Peyton and I needed to get out of the house. We went strawberry picking (which was a hoot, Peyton loved eating more strawberries than he put in his bucket), and we were probably gone for about an hour and a half. I was pretty impressed that Peyton was still dry as I was getting him out of the car. As we were entering the house, I noticed him start to grab his crotch and took this as a sure sign that he needed to pee. I hurried as fast as I could to the bathroom, but before I knew it, there was a puddle on the floor in the hallway just outside the bathroom. So close! A little later as he and his Daddy were watching 101 Dalmations, he confessed that he had an accident. I thought this was promising because he at least told Patrick that he'd gone in his pants. I was cautiously optimistic.

Today, a babysitter came by the house to stay with Peyton while I went to work. (Mrs. Lauren is away this week.) We started setting the timer for longer periods of time, and the report from the sitter was that he told her when he needed to poop, as he did for Patrick yesterday. So this was a really good sign. He seems to have the hang of pooping. She also reported that he only had one accident that morning. I asked if he told her or if she just noticed it on her own and it turns out that Peyton peed in his pants, said nothing, and continued to play with his trucks. Ok, he had the afternoon to redeem himself. When he got up from his nap, I took him to play at a neighbor's house, who coincidentally is also potty training her daughter, so we commiserated together and offered each other some moral support. He did pretty good while he was at Kalina's house, going to the potty twice with about an hour in between. The difficult part was getting him to take a brake from playing with all of the cool toys to try to potty. Once home, however, we started having a little trouble. He was difficult all through dinner, which ended abruptly after he started throwing his food. He continued to be whiny and cross (probably because all he'd eaten was a little bit of rice for dinner), and all of a sudden peed all over himself. This seemed to upset him even further. This may sound harsh, but I was actually quite pleased that he got upset that he peed on himself. It contrasts with the morning accident where he was perfectly content to wear wet underwear. My hope is that the accidents will become less frequent if they upset him.

So, tomorrow we enter day 6. I don't think there is any turning back now. We have a big morning planned: a gymboree class and then lunch with my lab on Franklin street. I plan to have a bag packed with clean underwear and clothes, probably several sets, because I'm bracing myself for the worst. This could turn into a disaster.

I realize these posts are getting longer and longer, but this is quite therapeutic for me.

We've Made it to Day 4!

Ok, so I admit that I was close to giving up yesterday. As we go through this process, I feel like I'm a new mom again with the feeling that I have no idea what I'm doing! Yesterday evening was a little rough. The novelty of the potty was wearing off and Peyton was really over the whole thing. He was being less and less cooperative, which probably had a lot to do with the fact that he's been cooped up in the house since last Thursday. First he had fever, then its been raining and now we're potty training. At one point he bit me, and I had just about had enough. I thought, maybe he's not ready. He goes on the potty just fine when he wants to, but he was starting to resist sitting on the potty. He was still not telling us that he needed to go either.

Patrick stepped in and took over and Mommy took a break. He seemed to do a little better with Dad, and Patrick had to give me a little pep talk to convince me to keep going. Today as we enter day 4, they spent the morning together while I went to work, and I think it helped tremendously that Peyton had a Gymboree class scheduled this morning. Patrick got there ahead of time to let Peyton use the potty, which he did with no problem, even in a strange bathroom on a strange potty. Patrick asked the teacher to tell Peyton that it was time to use the potty mid-way through class, and that worked really well too. Once they got home, Peyton told Patrick that he needed to potty and sure enough he pooped! This was quite a large victory for us. It was the first time that he told us on his own that he needed to go. We're hoping that he will continue to do this, but only time will tell. We will start increasing the amount of time between the reminder of the beeping timer, and hopefully he will start to voluntarily go on his own. But for now, we're happy with baby steps and so far he hasn't had an accident today!

A Glimmer of Hope for Potty Training Day Three!

Yesterday afternoon went pretty well, especially because there were no accidents! Every 20 minutes when the timer goes off, Peyton knows its time to go to the potty. We have noticed that if you ask him if he needs/wants to go to the potty in between, he won't do it. The buzzer seems to have the effect we need though because he races to the bathroom immediately. He's potty chart is filled with stickers and he's gotten lots of treats, and even some special presents!

When he woke up this morning, the first thing he talked about was putting his underwear on. I take that as a good sign. However, he didn't want to put shorts on. We've been letting him run around in his underwear for the last few days, but a babysitter was coming over this morning so I thought it would be appropriate for him to have pants on. He didn't agree. So, he's still running around in his underwear, which is fine because we haven't left the house in three days. Tomorrow, however, is a different day, and he's signed up for a class at Gymboree. He will not only need to wear shorts over his underwear, but there won't be a buzzer that goes off every 20 minutes to remind him to go to the potty. I suspect we'll have some accidents tomorrow.

Potty Training Day Two

Peyton has no problem going pee pee or poop in the potty. None whatsoever. He gets stickers on his potty chart and he gets a tasty treat, like an M&M, jelly bean, piece of cake, piece of brownie, etc. But he also has no problem peeing in his underwear. I was secretly hoping that this would make him uncomfortable or that he would at least be bothered by the fact that Thomas the Train was now all wet. Nope. So, we now just set a timer every 20 minutes or so and he goes in the potty then. He seems to like the timer method. We're just hoping that he doesn't feel the urge to pee for the rest of his life every time he hears a beeping noise.

Potty Training Day One Update

Well, we've not been quite as successful this afternoon, as we've had a few accidents. We knew that these were bound to occur, so we're doing all we can to protect our furniture and carpet. After the last accident, Peyton was disappointed that he didn't get a treat. I explained that he wouldn't get a treat this time because he went pee pee in his pants. The conversation that followed went something like this:
Me: What happened? Did you have an accident?
Peyton: Yes
Me: You have to remember next time to tell us when you need to pee pee on the potty.
Peyton: It's too hard....

Its too hard?! Are you kidding me?! Where does he come up with this stuff? How the hell does he know what is hard?

Potty Training Day One

Today is potty training day. Oh boy!
We've been talking about the potty and where pee-pee and poop belongs and we've been reading books about the potty and talking about underwear. Peyton will usually go when we sit him on the potty, so he knows exactly what to do. And he's started asking to have his diaper changed after he pees or poops in it. So, we've been laying the foundation for the potty training concept. This weekend works out as the perfect time to transition to underwear and go the whole nine yards on potty training because Peyton is running a fever and we're home bound anyway. So far this morning, he's peed in the potty every time we've sat him on it (about every 20 minutes a timer goes off), and just after lunch he sat down on the potty and pooped. Yay! So far so good.....