We have about 6 weeks of potty training under our belt now so I figured I'd give a little update. I don't know if it's just Zach or the fact that I'm potty training a boy but it has been about twenty times harder for him than it was for Sam. With Samantha, we threw her on the potty one day and that was it. She maybe had one accident but she knew what to do from the day we first put her on the potty. For the first two weeks with Zach our days were really hit or miss. He'd either go all day without an accident or pee twenty times all over the floor. I'll tell you we went through a lot of paper towels and lysol!
Like I said in my previous post, we have about thirty pairs of 2T/3T underwear which was a great amount so that we didn't run out or be forced to wash every single day (though with urine saturated pants, you probably don't want them to sit long anyways). I left five or so pairs on our kitchen counter so that I didn't have to run upstairs for a new pair every time he had an accident, plus it gave him several choices to pick from when he was changing. Most days we didn't need to touch our spare underwear pile but some days, we went through it all. The "problem" with Zach was that he did NOT respond well to the timer. When we first started I set it for 20 minute intervals and each time it went off I had him sit on the potty. He was not at all a fan of this so eventually I just let it go and tried to ask him every once in a while if he needed to go. Thankfully, he pretty quickly realized what it felt like when he had to go and took himself right to the potty to do his thing. The few accidents he did have, I think were just when he was too busy playing to stop and make it to the bathroom.
Shortly after we started potty training we took a trip to visit my in-laws in Connecticut. I was a little nervous to see how he would do away from home, but I packed only diapers for overnight (which he was still using at home) and of course lots of underwear so that I wouldn't be tempted to revert back to diapers. We got to our trip and I was blown away by how well he did. We made the 6 hour drive up in one shot, without stopping once, and he got there completely dry. I did keep a diaper on him for the drive just in case. Once we got there he peed and went straight into underwear. Now, we were there for 9 days, and I am thrilled to report he didn't have one single accident!!! He even woke up dry every single morning. Normally at home he would wake up with a diaper so full it would almost be bursting so this was HUGE. I was so proud that he went the whole trip using the potty.
Once we got home, however, it was a different story. During the day he continued doing great but night time was a struggle the first three nights. In Connecticut all 4 of us shared a bedroom so once Zach woke up at 6-6:30, we ALL woke up. After we got downstairs he would take himself to the bathroom and go potty. At home, we put his little froggy potty in his room, but he refused to get up and use it alone. He insisted on waiting in his bed until I came to help him but he wouldn't call out for me to come help. Sooooo, the first 3 nights he ended up laying in a completely soaked bed until I came to get him. After that, either Chris or I would get up and take him potty and then he'd go back into his room to either lay down or play with his cars. After that we decided to resort to bribery. When Samantha potty trained she earned a toy once she was trained and we intend to do that with Zach as well. So as an incentive we told Zach that once he starts keeping his bed dry and going potty in the morning on his own he could earn something new. This thrilled him and he has mostly gone potty on his own every day since.
Now our new thing, and a first for us, is peeing standing up. Zach discovered yesterday that this is a possibility and now refuses to potty sitting down. Thankfully, for now, he has great aim so it isn't too big of a deal. He's so excited to go potty and is always telling me how much he loves using the potty and having no more diapers. I hope this enthusiasm continues!! Next up...Eliza!
No comments:
Post a Comment