Adventures in Potty Training - Part 4.3

Hard to believe it's been an entire month. But it's been exactly a month since we made our latest attempt at "potty training".

Let me just say, Evan is awesome. I'm biased, but he is awesome.

I can actually say he is 100% trained, well, maybe 99.99%. Number 1, Number 2, no diaper/pull up at nap, none during car rides or outings - NOT EVEN AT NIGHT! That last one was actually an accident on our part. We got home late one night and Dan just plain forgot to put a diaper on over his underwear when getting him ready for bed. He had been staying dry at night for about 3 weeks, so we figured we would just leave it alone and see what happened - he stayed dry again. So, now he just goes to bed with just undies. So proud of our little guy. It was no small effort on all of our parts, I must say.

So, with that - I thought I'd share the lessons we learned.

1. There is some magic combination to a child being ready and parents pushing them to "train." I couldn't really tell you what exactly it is, but I can say Dan and I had to be ready as much as Evan had to be ready. The first time we attempted a weekend of potty training we weren't ready. I'm sure Evan physically was ready, but Dan and I were not. I didn't have the patience to clean up pee and deal with the push-back I received when getting him to go on the potty. And in our experience, he didn't just come right out and say "Hey, Mom & Dad, I'm ready!" We had to watch carefully for his cues. (Part of this is the battle over control. For over 3 years we have been telling Evan what to do, where to go - and going to the bathroom was one thing he had control over, so us telling him to change it wasn't an easy pill for him to swallow - he had to be on board with it.)

2. Each child has their own motivations. M&M's, charts, stickers... not Evan's cuppa tea.. But take away his favorite toy? Oh yeah. That was it for him.

3. The first couple days in underwear there WILL be accidents. Evan never had to worry about when it was ok to pee. He just went. I was so worried when he would go every 20 minutes the first couple days, but after he associated the "feeling" and being wet, he was able to hold it longer and only go every couple hours.

4. I still have to remind him. He's three. He likes to play. And sometimes he forgets. He is getting better about getting to the potty on his own, but there are still times when he goes a little bit and then runs!

5. It really is a journey (and adventure). There are stages we had to get through with Evan. I am still a little nervous about going places with him. Especially if I'm not sure where the bathrooms are. I bought a small potty chair that fits in the van... just in case we have to make an emergency stop. Ya just never know!


Thanks for sharing in the mayhem! In a couple more years I'll be working with the girls, so wish me luck now!! :)

If you want to catch up on the journey:
Part 4.2
Part 4.1
Part 3.3
Part 3.2
Part 3.1
Part 2
Part 1