First, a disclaimer: After writing this entry and rereading it, I realized that it contains a lot of info about bodily functions that might not be something usually in polite conversation. I’m so wrapped up in this phase of life that sometimes I forget that most people do not deal with these things all the time like anyone with little children does. I guess what I’m saying is that this is a very “mom” post and if you don’t want to read about my son’s potty training….you’ve been warned now to skip this one! J

Well, I have good news to report….It seems that Joseph has finally gotten the idea of using the potty! YAY!!! Since Monday, he has been asking to go himself and has kept dry without accidents. He still wears pull-ups for nap and a diaper at night, which is fine with me. I am so proud of him and happy to be able to see a very tangible skill that he has learned. He’s 2 years and 4 months old too and so I consider this to be no small accomplishment.

We did have half-hearted try at potty training just before he turned two, but gave up for a few months. When I realized that Joe was going to be off of work for Christmas and that we’d be out of the usual routine therefore giving us both more time to focus on Joseph, I decided that we had the perfect opportunity. No feeble attempts this time—we were going to do it. As of December 23^rd, no more diapers!

We talked a LOT about being a big boy, what to do when you felt you needed to go (i.e. “run to the potty!”), etc. I used pull-ups only when we were going away from the house because I wanted the immediate effect of accidents to be obvious to me and very noticeable to Joseph so we used mainly old-fashioned training pants. Those first few days, I took him to the potty frequently and he started to resent going. He also didn’t seem to mind the accidents even though we talked about how they were messy and weren’t “what big boys do.” Also, I wanted him to develop the processes to ask to go.

When we got back from my mother-in-law’s after Christmas, we recommitted to the process and decided to use several incentives to push him along. In addition to the M&M that he got after a success, we wanted to make accidents more unpleasant since we had noticed that he didn’t mind them. We talked about how if he used the potty, he could go right back to playing, but that if he went potty in his pants then he had to wait in the bathtub to be cleaned off and changed and couldn’t play again right away. This is a really hard concept for a little one because he doesn’t want to stop playing to go.

Now this is where some people will probably disagree with me and think that I’m horrible. I had read some potty training tips and we decided to put one into practice. Joseph had gotten to the point where he would go into another room to have a bowel movement in his pants. So, I calmly explained to him that now that he was a big boy, we were no longer going to use wipes to clean his bottom. If he had a BM on the potty, he could use toilet paper like Daddy and Mama. But, if he BM’ed in his pants, then his bottom would need to be washed off with cold water from the spigot in the bathtub. All of this was explained very matter-of-factly and without any anger or disapproval on my part, just a simple explanation of the way things were now that he is big.

We had 3 cold bottom showers over the next few days, but there wasn’t any antagonism or frustration shown towards him (although I must admit there was some frustration felt since I wondered if he’d ever “get it”). We talked again and again about what big boys do, how proud we were when he used the potty like a big boy, and how he could go right back to playing after going to the potty.

Well, this past Monday was the big turning point. We had added one more incentive. Only big boys get to eat desserts and I had just baked brownies and so that was a very visible incentive. And I brought his potty chair to wherever we played that day so that he could see it. Amazingly, he started asking to go! What a breakthrough!

Since then, he has done so well and is SO proud of himself. He talks about how he is a big boy and gets to eat dessert. He got a small piece of chocolate cake today after lunch and was on top of the world. Of course, when he was done he whined for more and then said he wanted mine, but that can be (and was) dealt with. He is two, not perfect! Who wouldn’t want more chocolate?

So anyway, my firstborn is potty trained! I’m sure you veteran moms may laugh at my meager attempts, but smile sympathetically remembering how the first one is always such a learning experience for parents. And for you moms of littler ones or not yet moms, beware the potty! J

Now, does anyone have tips on how to teach a boy to go standing up? That is his newest request (to be “like Daddy”). I think I’ve been explicit enough here—perhaps to keep some semblance of delicacy on this blog you could email me tips instead of posting them.