well, we made it through the first two days of potty training. i just wonder how long this craziness lasts? days? weeks? months? years? decades? :) anyways, this might be tmi, but i'm going to write some detail about our potty training experience thus far. i need to have this on file so that when the next kid comes along, they are trained by like oooh, nine months old. that'd be just super.
saturday was the biggest battle. he didn't want underwear on AT ALL. he didn't want to go sit on the potty AT ALL. offers of stickers, prizes, treats, or money to sit on the potty were SNUBBED. basically he was having NONE of it. well, after i finally got the undies on him for round one, he didn't pee for 4 hours. i think he was holding it. that's until he had his first accident. then he immediately wanted me to 'change it!' - oh, so i'm supposed to do what YOU say now. lovely. the second time he went, he told me he had to go, but only after he went in his pants. he did this most of the weekend. the only poop story was when he disappeared for a minute on saturday night. he told us he was going to get his flashlight. well, when he didn't come back, i went into his bedroom and he was kneeling down next to his rocking horse with his head on it - as if he were praying. i asked him what he as doing and he said, 'mama, i'm not poopin'. riiiight. i brought him in the bathroom and he finished his business on the toilet, but then get this, he didn't want to get OFF the toilet. what gives? argh! i had to tell him it was bath time (which he loves) so he would get his little red-marked butt off the pot.
today was better. he actually didn't mind putting his underwear on. however, he peed more which basically meant more clean-up. he is telling us he has to go, but only after he had an accident. oh, and we are asking him like a kagillion times a day 'tucker, do you have to go potty?' to which he replies, 'NO'.
the only real material damage done this weekend is when he peed on two of his books. one of them was machine washable, the other well, was not. i guess that is one way to weed out things from his room.
i am hoping that if we just keep going without diapers during the day, that he will eventually get sick of peeing his pants. i've been the one thinking 'he's not ready. he'll show us signs when he is', but honestly, i don't want to wait any longer. it won't be long and he'll be going to daycare and i really would like him trained by then. then i think, maybe this won't work until he is ready, no matter how hard we push? argh!
why wasn't any of this covered in the parenting manual?
oh wait, that's right. there isn't a manual. DAMN.
it is soooo much easier in the summer. lots of fluids and nakedness! good luck!
Posted by: zoe | 2009.01.05 at 21:08
I feel the same way about the manual comment.
Posted by: Robyn | 2009.01.05 at 19:37
ooh I am going to train my lil boy in the next couple of weeks and altho I have dont it before it felt like it was easier back then?? I know confusing.. so i'll be looking forward to updates! x
Posted by: Emmie | 2009.01.05 at 14:14
Hang in there! Sorry, but no advice on this end. I dread the potty training days. :)
Posted by: Leslie Collins | 2009.01.05 at 13:25
make him drink! sounds crazy but it gives them more opportunities to "go"...
don't ask if he has to go, just make him! that sounds harsh, but you know what i mean...don't let it be an option.
as far as how long it takes? good luck with that! it took us quite awhile, there was a couple of weeks of regression but shortly after that, we were good to go!
consistency really goes a long way!
Posted by: cynthia | 2009.01.05 at 10:27
And hang in there!
Posted by: Mrs Pop | 2009.01.05 at 09:35
Stop asking if he needs to go potty. Tell him he needs to go potty and stick him by the toilet. All the time. ;) Don't really know what it's like in your house, but with my 5-year-old (still!), it goes:
Me: Boy Pop, do you need to go potty?
Boy: No
Me: Okay, then just try
Boy: But I don't need to go
Me: Just try.
The back and forth continues as I guide him to the bathroom.
Lo and behold, it's like a faucet turned on and he turns to me, "Mommy! How did you know?"
Posted by: Mrs Pop | 2009.01.05 at 09:35
the timer thing is good advice. although, in my experience, you are right with your statement "maybe this won't work until he is ready"... i know how badly you want it. :) hope you find the angle that works.
Posted by: jessica | 2009.01.05 at 08:37
First of all, good luck with the training! We had our 2-year-old (will be 3 in feb) Daughter almost fully trained a few months ago, but my hubby & I went through a fiasco this summer and split up for a short while. She regressed and we've had to start all over again. We're at the exact same point you are: "Do you have to go potty?" - "No." and then she pees her pants. We just bought her a potty book with a sticker chart in it (she LOVES sticker books) and even though we still have to basically MAKE her sit on the potty because she insists that she doesn't have to go... she is getting better an has 5 stars since yesterday.
OK enough about me, just wanted to let you know I'm there with ya!
(p.s. If you're wondering how I found your blog - I added you on Facebook when I found you were a friend of Nicole B.'s, and got to your blog from there)
Posted by: Ashley | 2009.01.05 at 07:40
For us, my daughter got the "do you have to go?" thing alright.
Sawyer, on the other hand, refuses to acknowledge he needs to go even if he's doing the pee pee dance right in front of me.
We had to use the timer pretty consistently for quite awhile.
Set a timer for every 15 minutes (yes, that short!) and give him plenty to drink. Explain that when you hear the timer, it's time to go try. Tell him it's like practicing. Yes, it's a huge ass hassle to take him in to sit on the pot every 15 minutes, but it really helps. Eventually (after several days or even a week) you can stretch it to 20, 30, and then 45 minutes and longer until you feel like he gets it and will either dependably hold it until the next "appointment" or he'll start realizing when he really does need to go and that's it's really pretty easy.
I know it's hard not being home all day with him... just do it as consistently as you can when you are there in the evenings and on the weekends.
I thought Sawyer would never cooperate, but in the end, really he got it pretty quick for a not quite/barely three year old boy.
Good Luck!
Posted by: heather | 2009.01.05 at 07:30
Is this what I have to look forward to? We just started working with Matthew, except I started with pull ups even though I've been advised to forget them all together. I didn't think he was ready and just wanted to see how he'd respond without having the mess. We're not pushing him to go because I don't think the fight is worth it but today he started asking to go potty so we'll have to see how he does. Maybe we'll be able to compare notes. I'm sure it's quite comical to hear when he's on the potty because we sing songs to get him to sit longer but he'll want a different song half way through so we come up with our own rendition.
Good luck, hope Tucker picks up on the idea sooner rather than later.
Posted by: Sarah S. | 2009.01.04 at 23:39