Catching Up - Part 1 (Potty Training)

I am going to try to catch up the blog and get all some of my pictures and memories posted, so someday when Jack isn't so small I can look back and remember when he was.

I'll start with potty training...

I had put off potty training for long enough (my goal was for Jack to be potty trained by 2).  I wasn't feeling well the weekend of December 10 and I knew we wouldn't be going anywhere, so I decided to put Jack in underwear.  I was still not ready to potty train, but I figured it was worth a try and we'd just see how it went.  Well, that Saturday was HARD!  I think Jack must have gone through at least 5-6 pairs of pants and underwear that day and I thought for sure we were not going to make it through this!  (Thank goodness for tile floors!)

Sunday was MUCH better!  I think he only had one accident that entire day and we were now full blown potty training!  I sent him to school that Monday in underwear and we haven't looked back.  I was so worried that first day that he would have a lot of accidents.  I think I must have packed 3 or 4 changes of clothes, just in case, but I don't think he had an accident at all that first day in undies at school.  (I had sent him to school in underwear a few times before when I was toying with the idea of potty training, but I just wasn't ready to commit to it.)

If you have ever potty trained a child, then you know how hard it is and how much commitment it takes from everyone involved and how much time a day you spend in the bathroom!  I think we must have spent half our time in the bathroom that first week!  And, he went through a short phase where he refused to poop in the pot.  It was so frustrating for me, because I knew he could feel it coming, but just would not go sit on the potty.  Luckily that little phase didn't last long or we would have been buying a whole lot of new underwear! And speaking of undies, the ones from Gymboree are my absolute favorites!  They are thicker than the cartoony ones and have such cute little designs on them.  Some of them even come in boxer briefs.  Adorable!  

Our first true test of the potty training didn't come until the Wednesday evening after we started.  You see, Jack and I have date night every Wednesday where we go eat at our favorite Mexican place and then go shopping.  I took 2 changes of clothes on this little trip, because it was the first time we'd be out in public without a diaper.  Mind you, this is only 3 days before we were having family Christmas at the lake and I had A LOT of shopping left to do.  We made it through dinner fine - I think we took at least 2 trips to the potty - then it was off to Target.  We went to the potty at Target before starting our shopping and I thought things were going well until I was in the middle of my shopping trip (shopping as fast as possible because I had a 2 year old without a diaper with me and I had a lot of shopping left to do after leaving target) and Jack said he needed to go potty.  We made a beeline for the bathroom, sat on the potty and nothing happened... So back to shopping.  Again, Jack said he needed to potty, so back to the bathroom we went and that's when I gave up and put a pull-up on him.  I don't believe pull-ups play any beneficial role in potty training, but they sure did allow me to get my shopping finished without visiting anymore bathrooms around town!

It has now been 6 weeks since we started potty training and I'd say he's doing really, really well!  He only wears a pull-up to bed at night and sometimes wakes up in the morning dry.  He takes naps in underwear and very seldom has an accident during nap time and almost never during the day.  I think when the pull-ups run out, I'm going to test him through the night.  I didn't get him potty trained by 2, but he is potty trained before 2 and a half, and I'm happy with that!

If you have a potty training toddler or small child, check out this potty seat.  I don't believe in using the kid sized potty that you have to dump out, so this little seat has been a life saver and Jack can even get on the regular potty all by himself now!