Potty Dance, Part 3.

Hey!

I asked my veteran Mom friend if I could reference her on my blog and she said yes, I could! So, friends, the veteran Mom who has helped me immensely in this potty-training adventure is my dear friend Alyson. Her blog chronicles her wonderful family and if you read it, you will be inspired. She is a godly woman, a great friend, an exemplary wife, and, obviously, one awesome Mom to four gorgeous kiddos. Thank you, Alyson, for helping me out!

Thanks to yesterday morning's enthusiastic epic fail, I decided I would wait a bit this morning before encouraging Cub to go potty. Well, that turned out to be an epic fail as well, as he pottied about five minutes after he got out of bed. Oops! Another negative point for Mama. I think I'll always give him the option of using the potty in the morning from now on!

Besides that one accident, he's gone three times in the potty with no accidents today! He goes about every 45 minutes. I know, I know, that sounds so far apart, but y'all, this child does not like to drink. I have to literally force him to drink as much fluid as they recommend when potty training. He'll eat like a champ, but drinking? Not so much. So, I've assimilated to his schedule more and 45 minutes is about right. We went to Chick-fil-A for lunch with my Mom, so I put him back in a diaper, just in case. In the car, I heard him declare "All done!" and, sure enough, when we got home, I could tell he had pottied once in his diaper. I'm not a huge fan of going back and forth between big boy underwear and diapers while he's awake, but I realize that in this phase, it's just kind of necessary if we need to go anywhere. Thankfully, we haven't needed to go anywhere, except for this special trip today! He is now in a diaper, sleeping. I plan on going to pull-ups during outings or sleepy times, but I want to use up my diapers first. We only have a few left.

He's only gone "Number One" in the potty thus far (sorry if that's TMI). "Number Two" has only happened while he's napped, so we haven't used the potty for that. He's gone and "hid" for months now whenever Number Two happens, but a few days before I started potty training, I realized he had started doing it during his nap. Oops. Hopefully he'll get back on a schedule soon of going while he's awake, so we can work on it.

Other than that, things are going surprisingly well. There are times where I have to be stern to keep him on the potty. At first that worried me, with images of Freud telling me I was ruining him forever, but I can understand how part of any "training" involves a bit of discipline as well. Don't get me wrong--he doesn't get in trouble for not going, but he does need to sit on the potty chair for at least a few minutes to give it a fair chance. And, after a stern warning to stay on the potty, he typically goes within a few minutes. He's learning.

I am so proud of him. He prefers to be alone when he potties and, after he's through, he comes running out to find me and declares, "Wanna show you! Big waterfall! I did it!" while jumping up and down and grinning. I jump around with him and give him a huge hug and tell him how proud I am of him. And I mean it. Part of me is so sad to see him become such a big boy, but a much bigger part of me is bursting with pride. Seeing his delight only multiplies my delight. We still have a long road ahead, but we're off to a good start. :)

Okay! Time to get back at it.

Have a lovely weekend, friends!