Oh Happy Day {He did it!}

I have something new in my laundry rotation this week. Every day, there's a DRY pair of big boy underpants added to the laundry basket!!!!

I'm thrilled, I'm excited, and I've never been so proud. Today marks 11 days Chase has stayed dry and gone in the potty all day! (He still wears diapers for nap/bedtime)

Can I get an AMEN?!?!?!

I started this potty training thing about 2 weeks ago, when he woke up (the day after Christian's birthday) and was interested in wearing his Diego big boy drawers and was willing to sit and try. Well, there were some successes, several accidents, tears (me and him!) but we finally had a breakthrough on Saturday. (For the record I was ready to quit Thursday night for fear of ruining him forever but gave it a few more days. I am glad I stuck with it)

There's a look I used to love from my students when they finally understood and "got it" - and I totally saw Chase get that look like, "Hey, I can do this! It's OK!" It was like once he knew it didn't hurt or wasn't scary and it actually felt great to be dry all day - he was willing to do it.

Now I will give you some advice if potty training is in your future.

It's important.

And I heard it over and over.

Wait until they are ready.

Yep, that's it. Did I always do this? NOPE. Once Chase was accepted into preschool I have had this looming September 1st deadline to potty train in my head. And we still have to tackle "#2" - and I know that if that doesn't happen and he doesn't go to preschool it's not the end of the world! But after his 3 year appointment we tried it again and he just wouldn't even sit for us. Would scream NO!!! when asked to try. It was a total power struggle. So I backed off, put the potty away and threw the old potty chart away. I told him I was sorry for pushing him when he wasn't ready and that he didn't need my help anymore.

In the past, we've tried stickers, potty charts, candy of all varieties, new "in the box" Thomas trains, promises of trips to Conner Prairie, The Children's Museum, the Zoo - are you seeing where I'm going? NOTHING was worth it to him. It was all about finding the motivator.

Early in our potty training week, Chase would sit for one of these:

A few times, when I knew he needed to go, he would have TWO. I know, I know - we all do crazy things when we are trying to get our children to do things. :)

Seriously though, these are GREAT (our dentist probably wouldn't agree) treats. GMO free, made from organic fruit juices, no artificial dyes, dairy free, gluten free, soy and peanut free, no corn syrup, 100% vegan, no MSG. Pure yumminess. I actually eat one when I'm trying to suppress a sugar craving. It usually works.

Then, I promised he could watch a TV show after he went. This was HUGE. In case I failed to mention, Chase has watched a total of about 4 hours of TV over the past 8 weeks. (He was getting whiny about it so we cut it out) So for him, THIS became the motivator...and the suckers weren't too bad either.

So he would go potty, watch a little bit of a show, and then a few hours later, we would repeat that. I found it a small price to pay!

Then we made a new potty chart:

We explained several times that when he stayed dry all day and went in the potty, he would earn a sticker at the end of the day. When he got five stickers, we would go to the Zoo. He was all about it. I think getting rid of the old potty chart a while back and letting him "make" his own gave him more ownership. He is now on Day # 11 of going in the potty with NO accidents to speak of. We've been out and about and done our normal weekly routines, and he has gone at different places we've been. He also doesn't always ask for a sucker or a TV show after each time he goes, so that's a plus. My favorite part is hearing him announce, "Mommy/Daddy I feel the urge!" He is so proud and so are we!

This past weekend we took him to the Zoo for getting his 5 stickers, and we had a blast!