Adventures in Potty Training - Part 3.1

Ok, so Part 3 gets broken down into the three miserable er, crazy, hmm, FUN days of attempting REAL potty training. When I finally started to write about our experiences, it was just too long to put on one post... so I'll spread the joy over a few days... If you haven't read part 1 or part 2, click the link and read them first. Or don't, your choice.

Part 3.1.

Last week I decided I was tired of changing so many diapers and it was time for Evan to use the potty. He understands it, he uses it at night before bath time or bed time, and it’s high time, right? We were running low on diapers, so I thought I’d give pull-up’s a try and see what would happen. I now understand why people suggest not wasting your money… because they are a waste of money – it’s a glorified diaper. I tried the “feel wet” kind hoping that Evan would “feel wet” and get uncomfortable enough to ask me to change him. Nope. He doesn’t care. He will sit in a wet or dirty diaper ALL DAY if I would let him. A couple weeks ago when we were visiting my parents we had a breakthrough moment (which is another reason I thought maybe we were ready to start potty training). Evan pooped and asked me to change his diaper! I wish I had a picture of my face – I’m sure it was priceless. If you have ever been around my son when he has pooped you would understand why. He stinks up the entire house, so you know he pooped, but when asked about it, he gets all defensive and says, “NO!, I not pooped!” Far too much information, but hopefully it explains why I was ecstatic that he asked me to change his diaper! Sadly, that was a onetime thing, but it was progress!

Ok, the pull up’s didn’t really work, so my next step was to strip him naked (I’ve heard this works and thought I’d give it a shot). For anyone who thinks this is a little barbaric; 1) It is, and 2) I at least left his shirt on! His first response was to beg me to put his diaper back on! That response strengthened my resolve even more. If he knows enough that he wants to potty in his diaper, then by-gosh the kid can use the toilet! I was surprised at how well it went the first day. I had done this right after his nap, so really we only had ½ a day. He literally ran to the bathroom several times, and had no problem making it there in time!

The little naked boy running around was a little weird for me, so at some point I thought I’d try putting underwear on him and making a big deal about the Cars characters on his big-boy-pants! It must have felt too much like a diaper, because he had an accident. No big deal, I had taken my dose of patience (deep breath and willing myself to be patient) when I started, so I grabbed the cleaner and paper towels and had Evan help me clean it up. When night time came around we used the pull up’s and he went to bed.

Aren't you on pins & needles for part 3.2?!?!