Potty training triumphs!

Potty training has always been something I've dreaded.  I've heard all horror stories, how it's SO difficult, so frustrating, so time consuming . . . all in conjunction with those parents who make it sound so easy.  "Just throw a cheerio in the toilet and have him pee on it, he'll be trained in no time." Or, "my son was potty trained by nine months!"  So, every kid's different.  When all the parents of kids Stuart's age started potty training several months ago, I felt like I needed to at least try.  He sat on the potty several times, he peed on it maybe twice and pooped once (by accident, I believe) ;) We'd happily reward him with colorful m & ms and cheerful potty dances and songs.  Then one day, he decided he hated the potty.  I'd ask if he wanted to sit on it, and the answer was inevitably, "NO!  NO POTTY!"  His day care provider had been putting him on the potty several times a day as well and she also informed me that he was rebelling against the porcelain throne.  So, we backtracked.  No more potty time at day care.  No more potty time at home.  no more potty time period.  I felt defeated at first.  Then I realized that it will all be much easier if we give him time and let him tell us when he's ready.  We still read all the potty time books each night at bath time, and I'd gently tell him he could use the potty whenever he wanted.  He just needed to let mommy know when he was ready.

Well, a few weeks ago he WAS ready!  On Friday June 10, 2011, Stuart informed me he wanted to sit on the potty.  So into the bathroom we went.  My hopes weren't high, but hey, at least he wasn't expressing such strong hatred for the toilet any more.  He sat down.  He started talking about going potty.  Then, HE PEED IN THE POTTY!  I was SO excited! Our negative potty training run seemed to be coming to an end and he was now back to the happy, peeing-on-the-potty Stuart he was just months before.  So he received a few m&ms (I went a little overboard just to make sure he truly understand how happy this little feat made me!)  For the next seven straight nights (minus one night he slept over at his buddy Jake's house) he peed in the potty each night before bath time.  Then he started asking to go to the potty at random times during the day.  He was asking to go potty 3-5 times every day!  Of course, sometimes I think he just wanted the m & m, but he was DOING IT!  So I didn't care. :)  He's a little too smart for his own good and he's come up with a trick that involves peeing, stopping mid stream to ask for an m & m, then peeing again, asking for an m & m, and so on and so forth until there's no more pee in him.  Tricky!  ;)

Well, he's been doing awesome.  He goes potty at daycare.  He's woken up from naps dry.  Only one of his cloth diapers was sent home with him yesterday because all the other times he went in the potty!  He peed at Aunt Leslie's house.  Tonight, we had tumbling class.  A few minutes into the beginning of class he starts pulling at his diaper saying "PEE PEE!"  The one bad thing about potty training is the impeccable timing toddlers seem to have.  Standing in the line at the grocery?  Just got in the car for a long road trip?  It doesn't matter.  If they say they have to go, you have to listen!  It's SO important when they're first learning!  So after watching him stick his hand INSIDE his diaper for approximately 7 seconds, I told the tumbling instructor we'd be right back.  I wasn't sure how this was going to go.  I had no potty seat with me.  Well, it didn't matter!  We got in there and he peed on that potty like the champion of all pee-pee-ers!  GO, STUART!  I was elated.  Overjoyed!  SO proud of my little man!  After washing his hands and stopping by our cubby hole to retrieve the well-deserved m&m, we walked proudly back into tumbling, dry diaper and all.  What a feeling!

I love that kid.  He makes me so proud of him each and every day.  This potty training business isn't as bad as everyone makes it sound which is probably because we ended up waiting until he told US he was ready.  I know it's not easy peasy, and we still have a long road ahead of us.  But he is doing so amazing and I could not be any more proud.

At this point I can't imagine a week of not washing our cloth diapers, a week of not sitting in front of the TV watching some stupid 16 and Pregnant episode while folding all 30 of them.  It will be glorious have that free time!  NO MORE DIAPERS!  I know, it'll be a little more time.  BUT YAY!  We're are getting somewhere!