potty time!

So we decided to potty train Alex last weekend. We had originally planned for it over Christmas but that changed when Alex got so sick and then Travis left town for his Grandmothers funeral. So we rescheduled for the next available (no plans) weekend. After the fact, I kept thinking, why did we do this?! Why didn't we wait?! What's the hurry!? But, what's done is done. It actually has gone pretty well.
I started out reading this book from Leah. (Here is her website)

First off, Alex is NOT one of those kids that is just going to magically be potty trained- and by the way, we really dislike you kids. :) But basically I really liked the idea of a party and keeping it all positive. I am a teacher by nature but I like instructions. This book gave me the instructions! I loved it! And it really worked! I know, I was skeptical at first too. We decided to spread out the training into 2 days instead of one, and its not like he is fully trained, but the main training is focused into this short time and the kid is successful quickly. It also gave me a real good guide on how to attack this difficult task that I knew nothing about. I really liked the shopping lists that told me what to buy and have on hand to be prepared. Including pull ups, flushable wipes, lots of underwear and training pants (we went through these like hotcakes), books, videos, stickers, treats, and reward presents.

Ellie really liked the new posters! She was a good cheerleader! :)

Without getting to into the nity grity details of it- Friday, I potty trained, with the help of Alex, a doll. Alex was sooo into this and this is the key to the whole idea! Alex was so jealous of "Henry's" potty day that he wanted to be a big boy too! You pretty much go through all the actions of what you will do with your child for the doll. That way they know exactly what to expect when you start the next day. I had prepared for the big days by getting books and Bear in the Blue House potty video from the library. It was a gift for Henry for it being his potty party day. It was good, Alex liked it a lot, and it got him focused on the task! The book also suggests using a "treat tray". I used my muffin tin and put little bite sized treats in each cup. Surprisingly this made the treats all the more fun! I am lucky- Alex has never been into fruit snacks until now. He thinks they are candy! So they were a favorite of his on the treat tray. Great! I will say that even the day of potty training the doll was exhausting! and we hadn't even started with Alex yet! But it totally was worth it because I think it really taught him a lot and got him excited about using the potty.

When it came time for Alex's big day he was excited but I quickly saw that he was still going to be stubborn about it all and not make this easy. We had to bring out the big guns- wrapped presents! We told him that if he cooperated then he would get the presents at the end of the day. Well, quickly we realized that we better start with some small presents (along with the treat tray, and stickers) to help him be a little more motivated. It worked.


Although, he did have lots of accidents that first day. Travis and I were actually learning a lot that day too. We were trying to figure out the timing of it all and we were not doing a very good job. I will admit that I wanted to quit a few hours in and Travis wouldn't let me :) Alex just didn't seem to be getting it at all! and he wasn't even phased by the accidents. But it was sinking in, and by the end of the day he was having success! Sunday was even better (he even pooped on the potty!!) and by Monday we were on a roll! We celebrated each success with lots of singing, dancing, treats, and cheers! His big reward at the end of the day was Chick Hicks Semi-truck. He has been talking about this for a long time! He even got to call grandparents when he did really well! He liked that a lot!

scooter potty break!

yes sir! woo hoo!

I really have to stay on top of him though and make him go or else he will have accidents. He won't stop and tell me -ha! that's going to be amazing! And we put him in a pull up for naptime, when we go out and school, and then a nighttime diaper for night. But its baby steps! and he is often coming home with a dry pull up when we are out! Most of our accidents happened because we were not able to take him to the potty (dealing with Ellie) or because we just lost track of time. We started setting a timer on Sat. and Sun to help us remember! He doesn't like to go and will fight me all the way to the potty, but then he goes and he gets quiet and smiles at me. Such a stinker. It has been such hard work for ALL of us! I know we are ALL pretty tired.
We still have a LONG way to go but I am really proud of him and can't believe how big he is!! My baby is in big boy underwear!! He continues to tell us "I so proud of you" :) which tells me that he is proud of himself too!

I loved it. He wanted a full outfit to go with the big boy underwear and kept asking for the matching shirt! I figured this Cars t-shirt would be sufficient. And I am sad that this underwear was what he was wearing for the picture because we have so many cuter ones but oh well, potty training is not about being fashionable or cute, right?!

*Anyone have any tips on how to "go" when out and about! That did not go well at the library yesterday! Thinking about getting one of those travel folding pottys for the back of the car?? I would have Alex just stand but the toilet is too high and he couldn't relax with me holding him up. And then the automatic flush went off! and we were done. :)