but I think that Andrew is indeed potty trained. I mean he is almost 16, which is how long I was beginning to think this would take. Ok. He's not 16. He's 3 and half. And looking at that now, it doesn't seem that bad. But this road of elimination independence has been long, messy and arduous. Filled with lots of "what is wrong with me!?!?" But I think we are in the clear. In fact, I am going to be bold enough to take "potty train Andrew" off of my To-Do list in my sidebar.
This is not to say there are not "accidents". We still have accidents. And he is still in a diaper at night. But we took a day trip to Philadelphia on Tuesday and he was great. No problems in the car. Used a potty at the museum. Was still dry when we got home. It just seems like he's determined to stay dry. And that was a day I never thought I'd see.
The journaling on this reads:
Before I began potty training Andrew I thought two things about potty training. The first thing I thought was that I would be really good at it. I mean, potty training is all about systems and consistency, right? I could absolutely see myself incorporating fun trips to the potty into the routines of our days. The other thing I thought about potty training was that it was black and white. You were either potty trained, or you were not. What I didn't know about potty training was that I was wrong on both counts.
I am not a good potty trainer. I can be consistent. But then we take trips, or have guests, or I'm tired, or pregnant. And then consistency becomes extremely inconvenient. Also, I think I've come to a place where I realize that Andrew being potty trained has less to do with my skills in training and more to do with his awareness of his body. And understanding that makes a big difference.
And. Potty training is not black and white. There have been many steps in our training process. Months of steps.
And then I go on to outline the steps. You can click on the picture to enlarge it if you want to see the steps. I have a feeling this is page that Andrew will be dying to show his girlfriend when he is 16. Maybe I'll frame it. ;)
6 comments:
I have a post lined up for this week about potty business too! Hah! That's cause... (drumroll) Lucas has returned to going #2 in the pot! Woo hoo!
I think that nighttime dryness often comes much later. And for us, delaying until after baby #2 was born seemed to help, as well as language development/understanding/articulation on L's end.
Who knew it'd be so tricky?!
Way to go, Andrew (and Mama).
As you say, I don't think we're a big part of the equation. It doesn't happen until they are ready whatever we say or do. I still don't understand how Jacob knew how to go #2 on the potty but I didn't have to coach him... He was still doing #1 in a pull up! Same thing for night time... He decided to get up to pee without telling us all of a sudden. Quite a shock! After months of being accident free during the night, he's using Underjams. I had enough when he wet his bed twice during a 3 hour period... I'm very happy for you and Andrew. Makes the diaper bag a bit less eavy!
When my son was 2 he caught chicken pox. The blisters were so bad, there was no way I could put a nappy round his little tummy or where it would rub in the creases at the top of his thighs. We were confined to home for two weeks, in an enforced nappy-less situation and hey presto! Potty trained! It was the only good point of that fortnight! Potty training is such a big deal, so big congratulations to you on on cracking it. One child down and one to go ;-)
You are my favorite blogger.
Danielle, you are a sweetheart.
We are in potty training mode too around here. It has been two weeks. I also thought it was black and white. I have learned about many of the same steps you have. Nakedness is good and successful. Add underwear, regress. Then success, add pants, regress, then success. I don't know if we will ever get out without pullups or make it overnight, but hey we are "almost" there. When someone says they can train their kid in 24 hours or a weekend, I do not truly believe them.
Good luck,
Steph
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