Potty Training Weekend

Let the games begin!

We'd been talking it up for weeks. Bought stickers. Made the motivational chart. Picked out some Big Boy Underpants. Brought in some chocolate-flavored bribery. Practiced sitting on the potty like big boys. Learned that Elmo Can Use the Potty. Got the Pull-Ups and cloth training pants, too.

We were SO ready.

On Saturday morning, I rushed to the boys' room as soon as I heard movement. I reminded them about our Big Adventure this weekend where we would Learn to Use the Potty. They were excited to begin their morning with a bathroom trip.

On went the cloth training pants & down we went to breakfast. Within minutes, I noticed that both boys were squatting on their chairs rather than sitting. Upon closer inspection the reason for this was noted: each of them had a large puddle beneath them on the chair.

Yay.

Day 1 progressed with little change to the pattern. A timer would sound every 45 minutes. To the potty we would go, sit, sing, read. Pants would go back on. Several minutes later, someone would comment, "Uh, oh. Mess."

I was beginning to think they just might not be ready. Although the fact that they never peed on the floor gave me pause.

Day 2 started with a bang. As I escorted Mr. N to the bathroom for his first-thing-in-the-morning potty sit, I could feel that he was beginning to pee in his diaper. I quickly asked if he could stop. "Yes," he responded. We took off his pants, he hopped up on the potty and peed.

Everywhere.

But we celebrated. When I told the boys about N's reward for peeing on the potty, W stated matter-of-factly in his broken English, "He no pee potty. Pee stool." I couldn't disagree, but N got his reward anyway.

We had a short break from training so that the childcare workers at church didn't have a mess on their hands. In the afternoon, N had another success!

W on the other hand, informed me that he didn't want to pee on the potty. He wanted to save his pee for his pants. It may be a slow road with that one.