Sittin on the pot

I have no idea what I am doing.

Who knew potty training could be so hard? I didn't really know if he was "ready." I mean, he shows some of the readiness signs (can go a couple hours with a dry diaper, shows some interest in using the potty but only if candy rewards are involved) but not the other readiness signs (is rarely bothered by the feeling of poop against his skin). But I was ready to train, so I just went for it.

We moved him into big boy pants last week. The first few days he had 2 or 3 accidents. Not bad, I thought. By that rate he'd be potty trained by the end of the week. But then one day he had 5 accidents, and then 4. I considered giving up, but I just kept putting him back in his Thomas undies and offering gummy worm rewards.

This weekend he has had 1-3 accidents per day. I have no idea if this is normal or good or damaging. But I'm gonna keep doing it until he gets it.

One thing that is funny... the experts all say not to "force" the issue. They say to let the toddler tell you when they are ready, and to keep the experience positive. Well, one day I was in a lousy mood, and I was not thinking, and I accidentally commanded, "come sit on this potty now! I am going to count to 3!" And he said, "oh, oh, okay mommy! I coming!" He ran to the potty, sat down, and peed.

Often, on his way to the potty, he narrates what is to happen: "Evan sit on big potty, go pee pee, wash hands, use soap, put on pants, put on shirt, get a gummy worm!!!" It's funny because he doesn't usually remove his shirt when going potty.



Scroll down to June 1. I squeezed an entry in that had been left out earlier (Quiet Time).