Thursday, May 26, 2011

Potty Training Update!

It's been a while since I first wrote about potty training the Cub. Now that it's been a few months, I figured it was time for an update!

(My apologies now to my son, who will someday see this post and shudder, mortified that I wrote to the Internet about his foray into the world of potty use. Sorry, son.)

(I am also sorry that I will be using the terms "Number One" and "Number Two". They just seem a little awkward, albeit appropriate. Anyway.)

(Okay one more apology: I know, a potty training post is probably totally annoying and bizarre to many of you. I just have to say, I felt that any info from anyone was helpful when we started training, hence, a potty training post. Okay. Here we go.)

The consistent method of taking Cub every twenty minutes had him Number One trained in no time. A few days into it and he was accident free for the most part. A small accident here or there, one time at a park when he hadn't been to the potty in a LONG time and I had forgotten to ask him if he needed to go, and another time when he was in an unfamiliar place. No biggie. So, yay for that! I can't say it would work for every kid, but it worked for him.

Then, Number Two.

Ahhh, Number Two.

For some reason, going Number Two was really frightening for Cub. He did it once in his small potty and hated it and then did it once in the big potty and hated it more, and thusly started holding it until bedtime. He'd go to bed and about thirty minutes later would come out, saying he had done the dirty deed. Thank goodness we were still putting him in pull-ups during sleepy times (we went straight to big boy underwear during training)! The times he had gone Number Two in the potty were horrible--he screamed and cried and was terrified. I made up my mind that he just wasn't ready for that part of it yet. Agree or disagree, I, as his Mom, just didn't feel right forcing it. So, this was our routine--we knew Cub would come out after we put him to bed, declaring that he had just gone Number Two. We would farkle for who would change the pull-up. Fun times!

Then, last week, I decided maybe we should try it again. I took his small padded Lightning McQueen potty seat and put it on the big potty. He usually just goes in the normal potty, but for this I knew the padded seat would be more comfortable. Since bedtime was typically The Hour Of The Deed, I tried it before bedtime. I put Cub on the potty and told him to stay there. I knew he had to go and I knew he didn't want to, but I was firm that he had to stay on the potty for at least two minutes. He squirmed and cried and was miserable, but I was resolute. Just stay on the potty.

Sure enough, about a minute later, the deed was done and Cub was a whole new kid. His face lit up as he declared, "I did it!" I jumped around with him and hugged him and kissed him and we ran around the house yelling and flailing our arms in the air. The next night he protested again, but we had another success. Within a few nights, sitting on the potty became part of our bedtime routine, and he started going with no protests at all.

This was a pretty big deal for us. He was Number One trained way back in January (28 months old), but Number Two just took a little longer for him (almost 32 months old). I'm glad I didn't rush it, but I'm also glad that when I felt he was ready, I was resolute. It turns out, both approaches were the right approach, with different timing.

We put Cub to bed a bit ago and just a few minutes ago he came back out and said he needed to go Number Two, even though he had already done it earlier. I put his padded little seat on the potty and sure enough, he went! It's so good to see him grow in this way and to be so proud of himself. No more changing pull-ups at bedtime and he usually wakes up dry. Yay for that! He still needs some help undressing, but other than that, this kid is good to go. I know an accident might occur here or there, but I'm so glad that we've jumped this hurdle.

Oh, the joys of being a Mom: A blog post about potty training. This is the stage we are in, friends!

Have a lovely day!

4 comments:

  1. This sounds so similar to our story (like almost identical). Number 1 was not problem, but Number 2, oh my goodness. Traumatic. I think you did exactly right by not pushing it. I have to admit that I bribed my son with Buzz Lightyear. If and when he finally went number 2 he could get a Buzz. For us it took me letting him sit on a little potty. But he finally did it. One Sunday morning before church we had success, and we were late for church, because he sat there for so long. After that it got better much more quickly.

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  2. I am definitely one who loves an information I can get, so I'm sure I'll be referring back to this post at some point! Thanks for sharing! (And I'd definitely prefer #1 and #2 to the alternatives...good choice!)

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  3. He's a good little kid. Way to go for reading his signals and knowing his timing! You're a great Mom! :)

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  4. First off, love this post:) Livy was super easy potty training. She had number 1 down in 3 days. It took her a month for the dirty deed. Now, she's a pro:) isn't it great with no more diapers?! I bet Naomi will be easy too;)

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