You heard it right! Ben is full potty training mode. First, I'm sorry for my absence. My involvements have kept me busy on the computer....typing up songs for the retreat and stuff for PTO. But I promise, thing will slow down as soon as this retreat is over. I will write more about that this week when I do a "Snapshot".
Back to Ben...I just needed a kick in the pants to get myself back on board the potty training wagon. That kick came. Ben had his three year well visit (4 months late). I told him Ben was stubborn and that our potty training attempts ended with a lot of wet underpants and him wanting his diaper back. Deep down, I knew a lot of it had to do with me being ready to take the jump and make the commitment to do it again. He felt Ben is manipulating me and I need to "sit on him more". I told him that I kinda wanted to keep the whole experience positive and that's why I avoided that. But overall, the doctor left me with the feeling that I needed to approach this in a firmer way. He is old enough and capable. I was ready.
The appointment was Wednesday, the 13th (I went out that night so I didn't want to start then). We started the next night after Dad got home from work. That way...it wasn't a full day. We had a new bag of m & m's and he knew that was his reward if he peed in the potty chair. He was hesitant at first, because it had been a while, but then quickly remembered the routine. The next day, we had one big "uh oh" accident followed by a bunch of little squirts in the underpants that he would stop the flow until we went to the potty chair. I remember all of that. It's just a part of getting used to the whole thing. So Friday, I would say we went through about 5 pairs of underpants with all the little squirt accidents. If he ever requested his diaper back, I told him we weren't wearing diapers in the day anymore....only underpants. I said it really matter of fact, like there was no choice. When he was ready to poop, he asked for this. I told him he needed to poop in the potty chair. Well that fell over deaf ears...I guess he's afraid to do that because later I found a big ol' poop in his underpants and I realized how much underpants are not made for poop. I told him he could get a red race car if he pooped in the toilet. This has yet to happen. I figure we can focus on the pee stuff later. He's been pooping in his pants for three years...this ain't gonna happen overnight.
Saturday went great! One pair of pants all day until we had to go to church. We put pull-ups on him and he stayed dry! But he was spooked out by the old church bathroom downstairs and wouldn't go. Eventually he went in his pull-up. But I was proud of the way he stayed dry even though a pull-up really just feels like a diaper. We were at the same church's parish carnival and we knew he wouldn't go in a Johnny on the Spot so we didn't worry about the potty the rest of the night. But he did stay dry for a long time!! We changed his pull up last night and he stayed dry the whole night!! This makes me want to say "Hallelujah!!".
I've never been one to use pull-ups very long. I feel like it can prolong the training process because of how similar they feel to diapers. So we will use the pull-ups for a couple more nights and then if he stays dry...we'll do the underpants. I know we'll have accidents. I remember the kids having really deep sleeps where they wake up in soaked in urine. His mattress is protected under the sheets with waterproof pads and it's an old mattress anyway. It's like 30 years old from when Ted was a kid!!
These are the hurdles I see:
--Pooping in the toilet. When will he cave on this? I'm hoping after getting used to peeing in the toilet that he will eventually find it strange to not be pooping there too.
--Outings and peeing in other toilets. He's a boy of habit. He likes the familiar.
--Letting other people take him to the toilet. Like at Mom's Day Out. Will he be OK with this?
Anyway...we're on the journey. Now I'm eyeing Mary. I know she'll be ready quicker than Ben was. Sam and Abby I waited until they were three because I think it goes much quicker when you wait til they are ready. They both had the whole kit and caboodle taken care of in less than two weeks (naps, night time, poop) because I waited. However, I think Mary could be the exception of readiness. She's better at communicating than Abby was at her age and she's a girl (girl's are almost always ready earlier than boys). I'm thinking 2 1/2. Which isn't until the end of the school year. That seems far away, but when you think that I've been changing diapers for 9 years out of the 11 that we've been raising kids...I think I can wait 8 months to be done for good.
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