Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Where Have I Been Spending A Lot Of My Time Lately?

In the bathroom.

I finally decided that Brady is ready to be potty trained. He always lets me know when he has to poop (I know, thrilling info for you to read about), but he has never been interested in doing it on the potty - so, he has been showing some of the signs that he is ready to potty train. I have purchased quite a few packages of pull-ups and easy-ups when they have been on great sales (and I used a coupon on them too, of course!), so I had the supplies ready for when things would begin. However, I knew that I would have to be geared up to stay on top of things and bring him into the bathroom about every 20 minutes, so I have put it off a little bit...plus, he really has not been interested in it.

On Monday night, I decided that we were going to start potty training. I let Brady know about it, and he was excited...he is so sweet and can get excited about anything that I am excited about - I love my kiddo! He was really excited to wear his "underwear," as he likes to call it - it has all of the characters of "Cars" on it. I think that when he moves in to "real" underwear, I will have to be sure that some of them have "Cars" on it.

So, we have been at it for two days.

The results?

I have him sit on the potty every 20 minutes, for at least 2 minutes. If you were to see us in out little half bathroom (which is quite small), you would probably laugh - I am sitting on the "big" potty talking to Brady - who is sitting on the little potty, and trying to keep Smiles entertained, who is either sitting on a little stool or closing the door or trying to grab the toilet paper, making Brady laugh or sitting on my lap. We probably have a little too much fun at times - but at least I have not been too stressed by it.

We have gone through quite a few Pull-ups. There has been no pee pee or poopie discarded into the potty, yet - only in the pull-ups! (and I seriously have him on the potty every 20 minutes unless we are eating).

Brady knows that when the timer goes off that it is, "Potty training time" - as he likes to say, and he does get a reward for sitting on the potty. He receives 2 M&Ms if his pull-up is dry and only one M&M if the pull-up is wet. What will he get once he actually puts something into the potty??? Four M&Ms and a sticker. That is what I have come up with at the moment. I also want to get him a "big" reward (probably a toy) that he will be able to play with once he starts going on the potty, and that will be his "no accidents" reward (got the idea from my sister). If he has an accident, the toy will be taken away (put on a shelf) and once he does not have an accident again, he will get it back. That is my thought at the moment. I will have to see how he does, and I may wait until he is a little consistent before I give him the "big reward." (he does not know about this yet - we first need to work on him realizing that he has to go potty, and then letting me know that he has to go, etc.).

So, tomorrow is a new day - Day #3 of potty training and I am hoping and praying that something will come out of his body part and into the potty! I have actually prayed with him about this. (We have a doctor appointment to go to in the morning, so he will be back in a diaper for a little while).

I hope to have some great news about this soon!

Any thoughts, encouraging words, or funny stories to share with me concerning this - from your own experience - please feel free to share!

9 comments:

Kelli said...

I am so excited for you! Scarlett and I will pray that it works out quickly...and then, yay! you don't have to buy diapers, well, at least, you won't have to buy quite as many diapers! :)

Mrs. C said...

I once had one of the boys sitting on the potty for probably 10 minutes while drinking more fluid in an effort to get things moving.

I am in no way suggesting this. It wasn't what ended up working. Just one of those crazy things I tried and thought would make you smile. ;)

Praying is good. God will show you what to do and when.

Mrs. C said...

Oh - just thought of something. If you recall the M&M's did nothing for Barber but a sticker chart did worked - where the stickers added up to reward. He got one sticker for sitting, another sticker for depositing #1 in the potty and two more for depositing #2 in the potty.

Melissa said...

I don't know if it is different for girls, but every time I tried to use pull-ups with potty training, it never worked. I either let them run butt naked or in plain panties until they got the concept. With #3 I had to stop for several weeks and try again because she just wasn't getting it and it was like house training a puppy!

Btw, pull-ups were reserved for outings and night time. Again, I don't know how things work for boys, but all 3 of my girls were pretty consistent and once their "Big Girl" underwear got wet, it didn't feel so good and they figured out going in the potty was a much better option!

That's my 2 cents...I also liked that you are having some fun during it and laughing in the bathroom all together!

Trish said...

We used a similar method, going at a specific interval and sitting for five minutes (he was older), and his body adapted to it pretty quickly.

For us, the knowing ahead of time and initiating going himself came much later, but that's due to the sensory and communication issues, along with the lack of social pressure.

Just keep it fun and don't stress over it!

The Gang's Momma! said...

First, I love your new look. I'm working up the nerve to try a new look for my own blog. This is so classy!

Second, I am with Melissa. We did the naked butt thing. Long t-shirts provided modesty. Ask Simms if he remembers picking up one of the boys out in the yard one day when we were training. :)

Third, I'd be very cautious about the taking away of a toy for an accident. Since this is a learning journey and accidents are a natural normal part of the learning process, taking a toy away might be perceived as punishment. It goes toward the whole "childish" or "defiant" conversation. Accidents are child-like behavior and should that be punished? Just my thoughts.

Finally, I love the fun of potty training you all are having together! It brings back happy memories - we had a blast doing it with our gang. So far anyway :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Janelle,

It's been about a week now and I hope the potty training is going well. I wanted to give my two-cents, but after reading some of the already posted comments, I think my advice has already been given. I've never potty-trained boys either, so not real sure if what works for girls also works for boys.

I never used pull-ups with potty training, since they are so similar to diapers. I wanted the girls to "feel" their accidents (you know, pee running down their legs :)!) I thought that would get the point across faster. With pull-ups that same 'wet feeling' doesn't happen. The girls wore underwear while training and we also did the butt-naked quite often.

The first few days we went through lots of underwear. The underwear get soaked, and I truly believe it gives the potty training child a more noticeable feeling than a pull-up or a diaper. I used lots of Resolve carpet cleaner and when the potty training was over, I cleaned the carpets thoroughly with my mom's shampooer vacuum. I felt the 'messes' were worth it because in less than a week's time they seemed to have a very good grasp on the concept.

In the beginning, I kept the little potty near the main living areas for quicker access (and with a towel or rug underneath to catch any 'drips'). This was also a very important part of my potty training. Keeping the potty nearby and in eye's distance was a remainder to them and also quicker to get to when the 'urge' came. As they got more confident, I moved the training potty into the bathroom.

(Teaching them to get on the real potty and not to be afraid of falling in is a whole other story.)

I didn't give 'treats' very consistently either, or make a game of it. I acted very serious about the whole ordeal so they knew I meant business! (I know I sound mean.) All my girls were potty-trained by 2.5 years, except for the 3rd one. She was 3.5 and that was my lack of motivation to get her out of diapers.

I will be praying for you and I do hope your week of potty training has been successful!

Anonymous said...

When they did pee or poop in the little potty, that is when I got the whole family involved. I had everyone jump around and dance and sing and cheer for the success. I guess that was my idea of a reward, not candy, toys or stickers. I know different things work for different kids. I'm not trying to push my ways on you... mine just loved the cheers and the attention for the family. That was reward enough. And I was not mean when accidents occurred, just very stern about 'where' you go the potty and where you DON'T go the potty! Love, Deanna

Promises said...

Thank you so much for all of your comments! I have actually taken a break from the potty training with my little guy. I know that I need to regroup, pray and ask the Lord for further guidance in this. So, I will keep all of you posted on what happens next...and when!

BTW - I don't think that any of you are weird or too stern. You know what is best for your kids and what is best for you as the teacher of potty training! I truly am thankful for all of the input!