So, I told myself that we NEEDED to wait to potty train Finn until Cassidy tracked out for her fall break because our schedule would be more relaxed. It would give him time to "get it" before we had to go rushing out the door every morning at 8:00 a.m. And that was true. But, I also dreaded the hyper-alert parenting state, the wet (and sometimes soiled) carpet, sheets, floors, clothes, and sofas, and the occasional kicking and screaming that goes along with trying to convince a toddler that it's WAY more fun to put his pee pee and poo poo in the potty than to just go in a diaper that someone else is then responsible for cleaning. I've been down this road twice before and after the first three days that make you want to run screaming from the house, we've been blessed with great success. This time was different, though. I would be potty training a boy...I have no brothers so I'm learning as I go. I tried to tune out the "boys are so much harder" horror stories and keep a positive mindset...and I had a couple of friends who encouraged me with the "Sure he can do it! Boys are no problem!" talk. I reread my potty training guide - I actually read it to the girls so they would be ready to help. We picked out underpants and candy and other treats and we were all set.
Cassidy tracked out yesterday, so today was THE DAY...the day we would become a diaper-free house. I use the 3-Day Potty Training method, so after breakfast we took off Finn's last diaper and donned a pair of dinosaur underpants...he looked SO stinkin' cute! I'll have to remember to get a picture tomorrow. We've been talking this whole potty thing up for weeks now, but we showed him his sticker chart, reminded him to keep his dinosaurs clean and dry and tell us when he needed to go to the potty. Then, like a hawk, I watched and waited. These training days are long and boring, and often frustrating, but the end results are well worth the time and effort.
I won't bore you with all the details of accidents, rushing to the potty, false alarms, and the pee pool in his seat at dinner that I didn't discover until I was getting him down...he apparently was too busy eating to mention that he was floating in urine. BUT, I will tell you this as an encouragement to all the parents who dread potty training - although we went through 10 pairs of underwear today, we saw some really great things. (I think sometimes you have to look past the accidents to see what they're "getting" and what they can already do these first few days.) Except for two big accidents, every other accident was a small dribble or even just a tiny spot in his underpants, which tells me that he knows how to stop the pee from coming out. We ran to the potty 100 times to sit and do nothing and get back down, but I knew all of those times that he wanted to go sit on the potty he actually NEEDED to go. He was able to listen to his body even though he hadn't quite figured out how to relax and get the pee pee out once he was on the potty. And then, finally, at about 7:30 this evening - with Joey's help and prayer (they actually prayed together in the bathroom) - he pee peed in the potty for the first time. He was SO proud and we did a celebratory dance, passed out stickers, Reese Pieces, and prizes, and called everyone we knew. The kid KNEW he had done something big, and since he'd figured out HOW to do it, he went twice more in the next 20 minutes.
We are definitely not done. We still have lots of practicing to do, we still have to conquer the nights and poo poo, but Day 1 definitely ended on a high note...which helps us feel rejuvenated for Day 2. And now our little monkey, who's not so little anymore, is sleeping blissfully in his big boy bed in a pair of underwear "just like Daddy." :)
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