Adventures in Potty Training: Week 1

If you haven't heard - Psst... We're Potty Training!  As that post let you all know, we started potty training last Friday.  I thought it would be fun for me to write up our weekly progress with this for a couple of reasons.  1)  Whenever I have another little bee bee, I'll have some reference of what I did, what worked, etc.  2)  Hopefully, this may be able to help someone else out! 

...that being said, I hope there's not too many of these posts -- I hope he's completely potty trained sooner than later!  Wishful thinking?  Perhaps... 

Week 1:

General Overview: 

I gave a pretty good synopsis on how we got started in this post.  I think we're doing pretty darn good for only being a week into potty training.  I purposely didn't do a lot of research on the subject, because I wanted to jump in and see what worked for us rather than trying to prepare.  But as of today, I have only changed ONE dirty diaper all week.  Yes, just one poopy diaper - and that happened during a nap!  Logan has done SO well identifying when he needs to go #2.  He's identified that feeling in his tummy.  A "pee pee" has been a little more difficult to distinguish, although yesterday I think we made great progress!  He started coming up to me and telling me he had to go "pee pee".  What had previously been me taking him to the potty every hour and becoming frustrated because he wouldn't go, turned into him coming up to me, letting me know, and then going right away once he sat on the potty!  I think the skittles may have had something to do with this...

What Works: 

...which brings me to what works.  SKITTLES.  Like I've said before, I don't give them to him every time he uses the potty, but I do give them to him enough to let him know he's doing the right thing.  What I think is more of a reward to him is my encouragement and praise.  It's gotten to the point where now he says, "I did a good job!" right after he goes, or even when we're walking up the stairs to his bathroom he'll say, "I need to go potty and do a good job!".  I tell you, the smile on his face afterwards is so telling.  After he goes ("I hear it!") he immediately starts smiling and bouncing.  When I ask him if he is done, he smiles and says "Yeaahhh!" in the happiest little voice. 

Positive reinforcement is such a motivator -- I can't stress that enough.  I really think that the praise is what has allowed Logan to quickly catch on.  I promise you, earlier this week (I know -- I'm terribly impatient) I was thinking he was never going to know when to pee, but just the difference between Wednesday and Thursday -- it was like magic!  He was telling me when he had to go.  We only had 2 wet diapers yesterday!

What Doesn't Work:

In my opinion, becoming frustrated and impatient are a couple of the most difficult obstacles that a parent must overcome when potty training.  As much as I said I wouldn't become that way, I quickly did.  I openly admit to being a less than patient person by nature, however I promised myself I would really try to be for this experience. 

Well, by Wednesday my impatience got the best of me.  It was before my lunch time (I had low blood sugar or something, I promise this is what made me have a bad mommy moment), and Logan had just had a big cup of juice and had eaten his lunch.  So I took him up to go potty.  He was obviously tired and ready for a nap, completely unfocused and wanting to be anywhere else.  We sat in that bathroom for 30 minutes.  I read the same story 4 times.  He said, "Again!"  I said, "No."  He immediately threw a fit.  I became frustrated.  And I cried.  Because I cry when I'm frustrated.  Logan started crying and asked me what was wrong.  This made me feel so bad.  I told him that I was alright and we hugged.  I put him down for his nap with no successful pottying... 

I laugh as I think about this next part, although if you laughed at me while it was happening, I would have had some choice words for you.  After I put Logan in his nap, I started sobbing uncontrollably.  (I do blame this partly, if not mostly, on my impending period).  I went downstairs to do my Jillian Michaels workout.  I ugly-cried all through the warm up and part of the way into the first interval.  I must have looked like a complete idiot... lol.  At the time, though, I was thinking how I was failing and how I must be doing everything wrong.  I then felt HORRIBLE for losing my cool with Logan and making him upset.  BUT (there's something to be said for the stress relief of working out!), after I finished the DVD and ate some lunch, I felt like a new person.  A new person that felt SO COMPLETELY SILLY for my sobbing workout and hilariously embarrassing text I sent to my husband.  Once Logan woke up and we were both refreshed, we started over with the potty process and have only progressed since. 

Goals:

As we set out on our second week of potty training, I feel it necessary that we set some goals.  One of my goals for this week, silly as it might be, will be to get Logan from diapers to Pull Ups.  We have had a box of Pull Ups for a few months now -- a family member had some leftovers and gave them to us.  I showed Logan the box, and even though one of his favorite characters (Lightning McQueen!) is on them, he said he didn't want them.  Well, we're nearing the end of the last of his diapers.  Once those are gone, it will be Pull Ups time!  The slip up and slip down of them will be so much more easier than rediapering.  AND I'm kind of excited to say that I've bought my last box of diapers!  ...well, my last box for Logan, anyway... :)

I want to keep up what we established yesterday:  Logan coming to me when he has to go #1.  I think he's identified this urge now - HURRAY - and I just want him to keep it up.  I'm going to hope that he only has wet diapers after bed and naptimes. 

And personally... I hope I can maintain my cool.  I don't need anymore ugly-cry workouts.  I think how the blinds were open and that the mailman or someone walking their dog probably saw me and thought I was a lunatic.  Haha - awesome. 

So... wish us luck on our second week of potty training!  I'm sure I'll have plenty to talk about next Friday!

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Keep up with our adventure:

Week 2
Week 3
Weeks 4 and 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10  
Week 11