P.T. Time

ADVENTURES IN POTTY LEARNING

***10/07/10 - Day #1***

     I'm tired of smelling poop and pee. I'm tired of wiping a poopy butt and having to put butt cream on a wiggly little boy. I am tired of buying diapers and wipes too. As a matter of fact I have only 4 or 5 packs of wipes left and I REALLY don't want to have to buy another whole box of them. So it's time to put some more focus on potty learning/training.

     G started showing interest in using the potty around 15 months of age and he's waned and peaked since that time. He "gets" the whole potty thing but his lack of verbal language is what is tripping us up. It'd be really helpful if he had a recognized word for poop or pee - but he doesn't. When I say it's time to potty he runs to the bathroom so he understands the word potty - he just won't say it.

     So far this morning G (it's 9:30 right now and he was up before 7:00) has pee'd on the potty 5 times. He doesn't tell me he has to go - I've set a timer and every 30 minutes I take him into the potty. He lifts the toilet lid, pulls down his unders and climbs on up. I can tell that sometimes he's forcing a pee to get me off his back. He hasn't communicated yet that he needed to go, even with the bathroom door open.

     Ah, first he got the air freshener and sprayed it right in his face. So I had to throw him in the shower and rinse out his eyes. That was fun. Then at about 10:15 the potty timer went off and when I went to take him I saw this his unders were wet. Oy. So, one pair of wet unders so far today. I went ahead and put him on the potty anyway and sure enough, he pee'd some more.  He got a diaper at naptime because I'm not about to even try that right now.  When he woke up we went straight to the potty and that ticked him off something terrible.  He's a very slow waker.  Keeping on the every 20 minutes schedule worked out fine!  The only other accident he had was at dinnertime, when he was in his chair for longer than 20 minutes.  After his bath he got a diaper and pj's...and he pooped not even 10 minutes later.  He hadn't pooped at all yet today so it was a big one.

Day #1 Summary: 2 wet unders, 1 diaper at naptime, 1 poopy diaper at bedtime, 1 diaper for bedtime.

***10/08/10 - Day #2*** 

     G had a nice full wet and poopy diaper first thing this morning, then we switched to unders.  It's been a little bit of a rough morning so far.  While he didn't "wet" his first pair of unders, he did dump his cereal milk in his lap, therefore needing a change of unders.  I decided to move the timer to every 25 minutes.  It's 11 am and G has wet 2 pairs of unders (therefore on his 4th pair).  We've had some constructive chatting about where pee pee goes.  In fact once I said, "Do you need to use the potty?"  "No!"  "Do you need to pee pee?"  "Yeah!"  And sure enough he went in and peed (this is before the timer went off).  Onward and upward though, even if it's so hard for me to not just put a diaper on him.  It's so much easier.  I'm just glad that he's got plenty of unders so I don't have to do pee pee laundry every night! 

     He had a sippy of some watered down O.J. this morning and then a sippy of milk at about 11:30.  I took him in to potty just before naptime at noon and he peed.  I ended up falling asleep with him in his bed (hey, it's a rare treat!) since we snuggle so well.  When he woke up (at 2:45!) I took him in to potty and found that his diaper was completely dry!  Woohoo little man!!!!  We put unders back on after that and he's been rocking them for the last 2 hours!  Whew - that first pee after the nap was a long one!  I'm so excited that he woke up dry!!!  Here's G's "ensemble" for potty learning today. 

Day #2 Summary: 3 wet unders, 1 diaper at naptime (stayed dry) & same diaper at bedtime!

***10/09/10 - Day #3***

     Woohoo - day 3 has started out great!  G had a poopy diaper when he got up this morning, which is just fine.  We had to change unders, unfortunately, because of the cereal thing again, but not because he pee'd them.  So for the last 3+ hours we've had the same undies on!  with no accidents!

     A diaper for naptime and he did pee it a little upon waking but that's probably because he woke up before me.  Oh yes, I fell asleep in his bed again.  :)  We put on a pull-up and went outside to play for awhile.  I brought him inside once and he pee'd on the potty.  He "tried" to pee outside like daddy once but he just couldn't do it.  Performance anxiety perhaps?  Anyway, we came back inside from playing and he went potty again and his pull-ups were still dry!  So I ditched the pull-up and we're now back in regular unders.  :)  He's doing so great - I'm so proud of him!

     He stayed dry through dinner tonight!  Go little man!!!  After dinnertime he played for awhile before taking his shower and I put a diaper on him after that.  He pooped his diaper within an hour.  It's cracking me up that he's holding poops all day long, waiting for a diaper before he poops.  He's doing so great but he's still not taking initiative or telling me he needs to potty.  We talk a lot about penises, and pee pee and poop and the potty, etc. but he has yet to repeat any actual words related to potty training. 

Day #3 Summary: 0 wet unders, 1 wet diaper at naptime, 1 pull-up that never got wet, and 1 poopy diaper before bedtime and 1 diaper at bedtime.

***10/10/10 - Day #4***

     I had the hardest time going to bed last night and therefore didn't hear G when he got up this morning.  His diaper was very full and very wet but not poopy.  I took him into potty and moved him to unders.  I started out with 30 minutes on the timer and moved just fine to 45 minutes.  He didn't spill his cereal milk into his lap so he's still in his original unders too!  He's having some orange juice right now so I'm putting 25 minutes on the timer to compensate for the juice.  I'm thinking that if he doesn't have any accidents in his unders I might put him down for his nap in his underwear.  Eek!  Do I dare?

     We've started a fun potty dance now, on our way to the bathroom.  He laughs at my idiocy but I'm okay with that!

     Today is opening season for hunting and I know that Ed is expecting that G and I will go out hunting with him in the afternoons but I really don't want to stop the positive trend we're on with potty training by taking G out and confining him in his seat for hours at a time.  I suppose I could pack his potty and just make Ed pull over so we can do the potty thing?  I'll ask him what he thinks later.

     I put G down for his nap with a pull-up (the same one from yesterday) on over his unders.  Guess who woke up nice and dry and took a pee pee first thing?  Yeah, my boy.  He's so freaking awesome.  He's having some orange juice and Cheetos right now so I'm thinking it'll be potty time again here soon!  Just since last night he's gotten very into washing his hands too - especially right after he potties.  I'm glad I have a stool for him at the sink and this potty chair turns into a stool as well - so he's got one for each station.  I love this little fart head!!!

     Well, Ed came home and took him potty for me once (when I was working on the ever present laundry) but for some reason didn't bother to put his unders back on him.  Next thing I know Ed's yelling my name and as I head towards the guest room (where I hear the bellowing) I hear, "You've got a mess to clean up, he just shit everywhere."  Me: "Where are his underwears?"  Ed: "He shit all over the bed."  The phone rang about then and since Ed is deaf he didn't hear it and I did so I went and got it.  It was our local Fish & Game officer checking to see how Ed's hunting went today.  So of course I said, "I'm sorry he can't come to the phone right now, he needs to clean poop out of the carpet because he didn't put someone's unders back on."  Yeah, I'm a bitch like that.  It was nice to see that G actually injested some of the chunky peanut butter from his lunch.

     Turns out I ended up cleaning it up, surprise - surprise.  The whole time I was cleaning it up G and I were chatting about where "Blech" goes.  After I was done cleaning it up I took G in to pee and he pee'd and announced, "All done."  I said, "Are you sure?  Do you maybe need to poopy?"  AND HE DID.  That's right, he pooped in the potty.  I squealed as he was doing it and he kept trying to do a little more.  I started yelling for Ed to come quick.  Well, let's just say there was a lot of dancing, hi-5'ing and clapping going down in this house right then!  That totally erases the 2 poop other than the toilet episodes that we've had today. 

     It's 8:15 now and it's almost his bedtime.  I got out a diaper and asked him if he was ready for diaper time and he calmly informed me, "No."  Ha - okay little man, you can rock your Cars unders until time to get in bed!

Day #4 Summary: 0 wet unders!  1 re-used pull-up that didn't get wet or pooped in, 1 poopy unders, 4 pancake poop piles in the guest room and no diapers until bedtime :)

***10/11/10 - Day #5***

     Could this boy of mine be any more awesome?  I think not.  Today is potty learning day #5 and I knew that Ed wanted us to go hunting with him but I couldn't fathom screwing up potty training just to go hunting, since the potty time has been going so well.  But we went anyway, with the caveat that Ed acknowledge that he'd have to stop every 45-60 minutes so G could potty.  G had TWO sippy cups of milk before we left, then at the Lodge (while Ed was getting gas) G got a Sunny D.  He fell asleep for a nap around 11:45 and hadn't pottied since we'd left the Lodge (oh yeah, we did the public potty thing - he rocked it).  

     We got to the lookout (the top) at Beaver Ridge and G woke up from his nap.  I knew between the 18 ounces of milk and half the Sunny D that this boy would HAVE to pee.  It was snowing.  Ha!  I asked him if he had to pee pee and he said excitedly, "YEAH!"  Well, that excitement went away once the snow and 29 degree temp hit his naked fanny and peenee.  "Brrrr cold!" he told me.  He had a hard time at first (who wouldn't?) but Ed showed him how to do it and the next thing we know this kid isn't just taking a pee - he's let loose a river.  He laughed hysterically (or maniacally if you want to picture that) at the fire hose he was making.  Next thing we knew every time we stopped for a potty break G was telling Ed, "Ready?  Set.  GO!"  Oh yes, they were pee racing. 

     At one stop I said, "Do you need to poop?"  "Yeah," he tells me.  I kind of moved him to a sitting position and damnit if that kid didn't bear down and try to take a shit in the woods.  I was impressed...until he started to shoot pee everywhere while bearing down.  And by everywhere I'm talking on his pants, his shoes, my arm, my hand, my shoes, etc.  The more I freaked out at the wild peeing the harder he laughed and pee'd some more.  I gave up on pooping in the woods for the time being and hoped that if he really did get the urge to poop that he would say something.  Nothing, all day long.

     At one pee stop G only let loose a dribble but I know better.  I pulled his britches back up and let him wander (and throw rocks, because that's what the cool kids do) while Ed cleaned grouse (see accompanying awesomeness post on Home blog) and I heard G say, "Oh!"  I looked over at him and he was grabbing the front of his pants.  "Uh oh," I said, "Did you pee pee in your pants?"  "Yeah," he tells me.  "Okay," I said, "It's alright, we'll just put clean unders on."  I had already whipped his drawers down and saw that he'd pee'd them just a little bit.  "Do you have more pee pee?"  "YEAH!"  And he certainly did.  This is huge because this is the first time that he's acknowledged the "feeling" off peeing.  I was on cloud 9!!!   

     When we got home, his unders were nice and dry.  :)  I was so proud.  I put him on the potty and he pee'd (the kid is a machine!) and I said, "How about some poops now?"  Sure as shit (like how I did that?) he did it.  He pooped in the potty, on command.  He's kind of a weirdo though because he really seems to enjoy watching it come out and splash in the water.  Whatever, I'm just happy it's going down the toilet instead of all over my carpet.  When he went to take a shower with Ed I put him on the potty again (as we've done for the last year or so) and not only did he pee, but he pooped some more.  Freaking-A I love this boy!

     I put a diaper on him since it was bedtime.  First order of business?  Poop that diaper!  Ed changed him and off they went to pick up G's room for bedtime.  Second order of business?  Poop another diaper!  Dude really had saved it up so I wasn't horribly surprised.  What did surprise me is when I, for the heck of it, put him on the potty and he did it AGAIN.  The bearing down for a poop is the funniest thing and if it wasn't totally inappropriate I'd video it and post it on here.  

Day #5 Summary: 1 barely wet pair of unders, 3 poops on the potty, 2 poopy diapers just before bedtime, 1 diaper for bedtime.

***10/12/10 - Day #6***

     Well I didn't get to this last night (it's the 13th today) so I'll try to remember everything.  It should be pretty easy though!  G woke up in the morning almost dry and then he woke up from his nap dry again!  We went out for an afternoon hunt and he stayed dry the whole time, peeing at appropriate times!  I had tried to talk him into taking a poop all morning but it just wasn't happening.  When we got home he ate dinner and I tried to get him to poop before getting in the shower with Ed again.  No luck then or after the shower.  After getting a diaper on he filled 2 of them with poop.  Little turkey!

Day #6 Summary: 0 wet unders! 0 poops on the potty, 2 poopy diapers just before bedtime 1 diaper for bed.

***10/13/10 - Day #7***

     Whoops, we had a visitor this morning and when I wasn't paying attention, g pooped his unders.  It was a nasty one too!  His diaper was really wet when he woke up too, which is odd considering how often he went potty before bed last night.  He did get up and pee first thing this morning though and he hasn't wet a pair of unders yet today!  He's running around in just unders and a t-shirt today since he pooped his pants earlier, and it's funny how he is now realizing that they're unders.  He likes to hold onto things down there.  He woke up from his nap nice and dry again!!!  He was busy watching a train DVD and he pee'd his unders.  He knew as soon as he did it because he looked at me with a "Uh oh!," and a surprised face.  I got him to poop once in the potty today, but it was just one poo.  He was pretty proud of himself just the same!

     I put a diaper on him before bedtime thinking he still needed to poop, but he didn't.  He pee'd and he grabbed the front of his diaper when he did it and I said, "Do you need to pee pee?"  And he said, "Yeah."  And so I took the diaper off and put him on the potty and he pee'd.  Same thing happened about 30 minutes later, so we used 3 diapers total today - all at bedtime and all because of pee.  It wasn't our best potty learning day, but it wasn't a bad one either.

Day #7 Summary: 1 pooped underwears, 1 pee'd unders, 0 pull-ups, 2 diapers before bedtime, 1 diaper for bed.

***10/14/10 - Day #8***

     Ed and I went hunting without G today, my Mom came down and watched him.  I hear that while the potty learning wasn't bad, they had a poop mishap.  But otherwise it was another great day! 

Day #8 Summary: 1 pooped unders, 0 pee'd unders, 0 pull-ups, 1 diaper before bedtime, 1 diaper for bed.

***10/15/10 - Day #9***

     Mom had G for us for the first half of the day.  I hear peeing went great but he pooped his diggers again.  She said she tried and tried to get him to go on the potty but that he chose instead to come and tell her he made a "blech."  After we got home from hunting guess what G did?  Yeah, pooped his diggers a second time, not even two minutes after I had taken him to the bathroom and made him sit for a little while and try to poop.  Ha!  I guess he showed me.  Then a little while after that, he was standing in the living room and he pulled his unders down and pee'd right in front of me.  Nice, eh?  About five minutes ago he was busy playing trains and he stopped and grabbed himself and I saw that it was too late.  It had been maybe 10 minutes since his last trip to the potty.  then a few hours later he came to tell me, "Momma blech."  He had, well, a wet fart.  Bwahahahaha - poor kid's stomach must be bothering him because he's had a lot of poop issues today!  I think tomorrow I will work with him on sitting on the potty for more than a few minutes at a time, I'll even let him read Daddy's "Muscle & Fitness" magazines that are kept in the bathroom if it gets him to relax and take the time to poop.

     So, not a great potty learning day but the good news is that he woke up from his nap dry.  Hey, he's 2 years old - I'll take any success I can get!

Day #9 Summary: 2 pee'd unders, 3 pooped unders, dry diaper at naptime, diaper re-used before bedtime and final diaper at bedtime.

***10/16/10 - Day #10***

Ed let me sleep in this morning so he got morning potty learning duty.  :)  I hear that G started to poop in his diaper but he told Ed he was doing it so Ed sat him on the potty and G finished pooping in the potty.  Turns out that he really enjoys having Ed's, "Car and Driver" magazine whilst taking the Browns to the Super Bowl.  Hey, whatever it takes!  G was wearing unders when they came and woke me up for breakfast!

I sent the two of them out hunting since I've already filled my deer tag and Ed hasn't.  This way I could get some NT work done.  I put G in a pull-up though because I knew that Ed would not have the patience to do the stop, take him out to pee, wrestle screaming G back into his car seat routine that it's turned into.  The poor kidlet just loves his freedom!  It will be interesting to see how many pull-up's G goes through while they're out.  It's getting dark now and they've been gone for about five hours so I hope they had a good time!

     They came back from hunting and G was still in the same pull-up that I'd put on him when he left!  They stopped and pee'd a few times and G's pull-up stayed dry!  Yay buddy!

Day #10 Summary: 1 pooped unders, 1 dry pull-up, 1 diaper at bedtime!

***10/17/10 - Day #11***

     Today G and I are going to work on pooping on the potty.  He's got the peeing on the potty thing down really well.  He's been trying this morning.  He hasn't pooped since yesterday morning so I know there's got to be a wee turtle head pokin' out sometime soon.  He sat and read Car & Driver and tried and tried to poop but nothing yet and it's 9:30 am.  We'll try again shortly.   

     He took a very short nap and woke up dry again, first trip to the potty yielded lots of tinkle and no poops.

     As of 2:00 pm G hadn't taken his poop yet.  He had, however, come and gotten me three times and said, "Momma I go blech."  I'd take him to the potty, he'd get up on the potty, fart, and then announce, "I all done!"  I would keep him on there a little bit all but begging him to take a poop, but he just wouldn't do it!  Argh!  Then about ten minutes AFTER his last fart...he pooped...in his pull-up.  It wasn't much and I knew there was more to follow so I gave up (hey, for the first time in 10 days) and put a diaper on him.  He rocked that diaper until he pooped in it (see, I knew what I was doing) and then he did unders for the rest of the night until bedtime.

Day #11 Summary: 0 pee'd unders, 0 pooped unders, 1 dry pull-up after nap, 1 pooped pull-up, 1 pooped diaper, 1 diaper for bedtime.

***10/18/10 - Day #12***

     Day #11 reminds me that potty learning takes awhile, no matter how much momma is committed to it.  It makes sense that I'd have a child hell bent on doing it his way and his way only.  This morning was very frustrating.  G woke me up telling me, "Momma I go blech?"  I took him, and he didn't even pee.  He played with himself and danced around and said, "I go blech?"  I took him in again, and nothing, again.  Then guess what he did?  He did a little poo in his unders, telling me, "Momma blech!"  I caught it early so off we went to the potty.  Do you think he "finished?"  Well of course not, that would be too easy.  I put a Pull-Up on him because I am so not in the mood today.  Not a good way to approach the potty learning, but I'm just being honest.  I'm tired of running off to the bathroom every 30 minutes even though I'm lucky that he almost always at least pee's.  The pull-up was on for maybe five minutes and he "Oh blech!"  I saw his face turning red so off to the potty we went.  He tried to tell me he was all done but, doggone it, I didn't care.  This was the fourth time in an hour and I wasn't going anywhere so I made him sit. 

     After fiddling around with any and everything (the toilet paper, the magazines in the rack, flushing the toilet, driving a car on the toilet seat, the toilet paper holder, etc...) I'll be darned if he didn't go ahead and poop in the potty.  I made a big deal about it.  You want to know what sucks about poopy potty learning?  Having to wipe their butts, still, and it's a harder angle to do that well.  Or having to wipe poops off the toilet seat because magically it gets all the way up there even though it comes out the bottom.  It's very Houdini like.

     When Ed came home we joined him outside and G did great.  Once we came inside Ed took over potty duty so I could make dinner and get some work done.  So I'm not totally sure how it all went but I do know there was one pair of poopy drawers and several woohoo blech's on the potty.  He's now starting to tell us that he's gone in his pants.  Strange that we're happy about that huh?  It's not like you'd be happy if some homeless dude came up to you on the bus and said, "Dude, I just shit my pants."  Oh well, he's not some homeless dude, he's G.

Day #12 Summary: 1 pooped pull-up, 1 pair pooped unders, 0 pee'd unders, 1 diaper at bedtime only.

***10/19/10 - Day #13***

     Has it really been almost two weeks already?  I suppose I could stop posting about all the mundane parts of potty learning and just post about successes or failures.  But what's the fun in that?  You all like reading about G's poocomplishments don't you?

     Let's just label Day #13 as a FAIL day.  Big fail day.  He pooped underwear about ten minutes after getting up, just a few minutes after getting off the potty.  Ed put a pull-up on him instead.  When I got up and took him to the potty he had pee'd the pull-up.  Oy.  I put another pull-up on him because I hadn't talked to Ed yet so I wasn't sure why he was wearing a pull-up to begin with.  Well, he pee'd that pull-up.  I figured they must be too much like a diaper and that's why he's peeing in them so let's put him in unders.  Yeah, that was fun.  Good thing it was laundry day already anyway.  He pee'd and skidmarked that pair of unders, oy.  He went into his room to pee and I heard him say, "Oh, blech momma," and I went in there and he had pee'd those unders.  I changed him and we went outside to play for a little while and he pee'd outside (not in his pants, just fire hosin' it).

     I ended up basically dragging him home because even though he knows he's not supposed to he chose to run right through three large mud puddles right in front of me.  That earns a time-out for sure.  I brought him home, stripped off his wet pants, socks and shoes and put him in his room for a time-out.  Yeah, in that five minutes of time-out he pee'd his unders.  I put his last clean pair of unders on him and guess what he did?  Pee'd them.  Yeah.  I put a pull-up on him since he was now out of clean underwear.  That stayed dry until bathtime.  

     After his bath I decided to let him try an Under Jams - they're basically the heavy duty absorbant pull-ups for nighttime.  Within less than ten minutes of being on the potty after his shower - he pooped the Under Jams.  So then it was a diaper for bedtime.  

     I was going to say I'm so proud of all three of us for all the good work we've done in almost two weeks and then we have a day like today.  Not that it's going to slow our roll but sheesh!  This potty learning thing is hard and aggravating and stinky and wet!

Day #13 Summary: 1 pair pooped unders, 4 pairs pee'd unders (so 5 unders total), 2 pee'd pull-ups, 1 pooped Under Jams, and 1 diaper for bedtime.  

***10/20/10 - Day #14*** 

     Okay, let's start this day off with a positive because yesterday was not our day.  This blog page is going to be SO dang long by the time this kid is potty trained that Blogger might have to kick me off blogspot.  If that happens I'll protest and maybe make the national news!  Hey - that's better than some of the other crap that's on the news these days.  But back to the task at hand...

     Ed got up with G so I don't know how their morning went, really.  When I got up G was in a Pull-Up but that's because I screwed up and forgot to move his laundry to the dryer (underwear laundry).  He didn't pee any of his pull-ups and he didn't wear unders since he had none to wear after yesterdays issues.  He woke up dry from his nap, again!  I decided to put a diaper on him after his bath because I had a feeling that he needed to poo.  And of course he filled two diapers with poo.  I just couldn't get him to do doody in the potty.

Day #14 Summary: 0 pee'd pull-ups, 2 pooped diapers after bath, 1 diaper for bedtime.

***10/21/10 - Day #15***

     I love this kid.  We went into town today and he pee'd every time he was taken to the bathroom and came home with dry pants!!!  He pooped his night time diaper so that diaper counts on yesterday's tally.  He pooped in the pull-up that he'd worn all day and kept dry but that was after we got home and really we should have known he needed to go to the bathroom.  He got a diaper after his shower but at about 9:30 pm Ed said he needed a diaper change.   I took him in to use the potty before changing his diaper and found that he just barely pee'd in his diaper and he finished in the potty.  I told Ed this and he said he smelled pee really strong. 

     It just hit me.  He has cut WAY back on fluids.  He's eating more when he eats.  But I think the fluids is me - I give him less so he'll have to pee less.  I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but I'm going to put a bottle of water out for him to have access to all day.  His lower lip is chapped, that's the first time I've ever seen that happen.  What a crappy mom I am, letting him become dehydrated :(

Day #15 Summary: 0 soiled unders, 1 pooped pull-up, 1 pee'd diaper after bath and last diaper for bedtime.

***10/22/10 - Day #16***

     Good potty learning day - not his best, but not his worst either.  I have a feeling if we had that "click" in the brain between him needing to go potty and him either taking himself or telling us he has to go (instead of saying, "Uh oh" after it happens) we'd be close to done almost!  

Day #16 Summary: 1 pee'd unders, 1 pee'd Pull-up during naptime, 1 diaper at bedtime.    

***10/23/10 - Day #17***

     He pooped his bedtime diaper from last night.  It's nice to get the poop out of the way.  He's still sporting the same unders I put on him from last night.  I've gotten back to using the timer because I'm letting him have unlimited access to liquids.  

     I spoke too soon in the realm of getting the poop out of the way.  He was watching a DVD about construction equipment and I was sneaking a few minutes of work in when he came in holding himself and saying, "Blech, momma."  I knew it as the smell hit me and I took his hand and we headed off to the potty.  He was shaking his leg as we were walking and I didn't pay any attention.  I got him cleaned up and was walking to his room to get him some fresh drawers when I almost stepped in a big turd pile.  Dangit!  He shook a fresh deuce out on the carpet!  Oh well.  He did great with pee pee all day - not a single accident!  Oh - and he woke up from his nap dry too! 

Day #17 Summary: 1 pooped unders, 0 pee'd unders, o pee'd or pooped pull-ups, 1 diaper at bedtime!

***10/24/10 - Day #18***

     See, this is why I have to stay on top of this.  It's actually 10/26 now and I can't remember what the heck our day was like on 10/24/10.  I do remember that I started to let him pee standing up though - and he's doing a great job.  I got chastised by Ed for not teaching him to lift the toilet seat.  As if I pee like a boy and I know this crap?  Sheesh!

***10/25/10 - Day #19***

     G had a great morning, lots off pottying in the potty!  Then we went to town and I put a diaper on him just in case since we were headed to a Halloween party at the CDC and he had a costume on.  I shouldn't have doubted my little man, he stayed dry the whole drive to town and he took one potty break (still initiated by me) while at the party.  Then he stayed dry all the way home too.  I put a diaper on him after bathtime and he took what had to have been the SMELLIEST poop ever. 

Day #18 Summary: 0 wet or poopy underwears, the same diaper all afternoon/evening and after bath, then 1 fresh diaper at bedtime.

***10/26/10 - Day #20***

     Oy, I don't know if it's him or me this morning but one of the two (or maybe both?) of us is not on our game!  His diaper was hardly wet when he woke up this morning but he's already pee'd two pairs of unders.  He's peeing like a champ when he goes and this morning I heard, "Uh oh momma" and he had pee'd.  Not a big deal, again I'm just glad that he's "realizing" it as an uh-oh.  He's taking a nap right now and he's got a pull-up on.  Yes, we're almost three weeks into potty learning and I still can't bring myself to let him nap without a diaper even though he's woken up dry about 95% of the time. 

     He pee'd the pull-up about 5 minutes after he got up and went potty first thing.  He took a big pee too so I was surprised that he wet himself a few minutes later.  I put a new pull-up on him and within another 5 minutes he pooped in that one.  Oy.  He did great the rest of the day though!

Day #20 Summary:  2 pee'd unders, 1 pee'd pull-up, 1 pooped pull-up, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***10/27/10 - Day #21***

     Has it really been 3 weeks already?  G had an okay day.  He woke up from his nap wet which was odd.  He pee'd purposefully on the floor once, that was fun. 

Day #21 Summary: 2 pee'd pull-ups, 1 pee'd unders, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***10/28/10 - Day #22***

     Ed let me sleep until almost noon today since G had me up at 5:30 this morning.  I have a feeling that had to do with his diaper being wet.  He is really starting to not like the feeling of a wet diaper.  Is that stopping him from wetting them?  No, but I think it's still a positive step.  I hear that he didn't poop in the potty even one time but all I know is that he had a poopy diaper when I woke up and Ed had put him down for his nap.  Since I changed that poopy diaper he woke up dry from his nap and has been sporting choo-choo undies ever since, staying dry even when going outside to play for a little bit!

Day #22 Summary: 1 pooped pull-up, 1 pooped diaper, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #23 - 10/29/10***

     G's diaper was hardly wet when he woke up this morning!  He did undies all morning until naptime, even trying to take a poop at one point (no such luck).  Right now he's sporting the same pull-up that I put on him for naptime and it's 3:30 in the afternoon.  Woohoo!  Not a single "accident" yet today! 

     Well, I "caught" G taking a poop in his pull-up and sat him on the potty.  He didn't do anymore poop in the potty but his poo was solid so I flicked it out of his pull-up and he got to flush the blech - a favorite pasttime of his.  :)

Day #23 Summary:  0 wet or pooped unders!  1 kind of pooped pull-up, 1 diaper at bedtime!!!

***Day #24 - 10/30/10***

     Hi, my name is Cyndi and I'm lazy.  I didn't get G out of his diaper until about 9:30 this morning.  I was hoping he would drop his load of timber then so I don't have to clean it out of his undershorts but it just didn't happen.  I could stay right on top of the pooping and he'll probably still do it in his unders.  It's so strange because he doesn't like it when he poops his pants (who would, really?) and he knows that "blech" goes "in da-re," so why he's still pooping his pants is beyond me.  Let's see if we can't catch the turd today (yes, I said that on purpose)!  

     Well, I suck.  He pooped his pants twice today, both times "telling" on himself.  Ha.  And both times right after he'd been sitting on the potty trying to poop.  He had a great day until Daddy came home and G followed him out to the garage with nothing but a t-shirt and his unders on.  The cold got to him and he pee'd his diggers in the garage.  The second poop was a "breakthrough" though because he was standing at the bathroom door trying to open the door and saying aloud, "Blech!" while pooping.  I was loading the dishwasher and didn't hear him until the second time he said "blech" and I went running but it was too late.

     Man, toddler shit stinks.  Oh BUT I put him down for his nap with just underwear on, and he stayed dry!  I'm super glad because I took a nap with him and that would have really sucked to wake up swimming in someone else's urine.      

Day #24 Summary:  1 pee'd unders, 2 pooped unders, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #25 - 10/31/10***

     G's diaper was almost dry this morning when he woke up, which surprised the heck out of me.  Last night (well, 0300 this morning) he again woke up.  This is the 4th or 5th night he's done that and it's very strange for him.  I'm starting to wonder if it isn't because he's peeing his diaper and he doesn't like it.  If he does it again tonight I'll take him to the potty, if I am cognizant enough to do it anyway. 

     We drove into town to take G trick or treating at the mall.  He stayed dry through the drive into town, through shopping, through trick or treating at the mall, through playing at the mall and through grocery shopping.  We had three potty breaks in that time!  I was so impressed!  He did wet his pull-up  on the drive home but that's probably because he had a sippy with some root beer in it on the way home and I didn't think about him needing to go potty!  Poor little bugga! 

     Oh, and G did wake up again in the middle of the night but we never heard him and Ed saw his light on when he (Ed) woke up at like 0500 and when he checked on him G was asleep again.       

Day #25 Summary: 1 pooped unders, 1 pee'd Pull-up, diaper at bedtime!

***Day #26 - 11/01/10***

     Wow - G and I didn't get up until 8:40 this morning!  What a treat for me!  I stayed on top of him (well, not literally 'cause I'd crush him) so that I could get him to poop on the potty.  I took him to the bathroom a lot (no really, a lot) and yet, within a few minutes of one of our many, many trips to the potty he pooped his underwear.  Oy.  But otherwise, a great potty learning day!

Day #26 Summary: 1 pooped unders, 0 wet unders, 0 wet or pooped pull-ups, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #27 - 11/02/10***

     G had a heavy, wet diaper when he got up this morning but that didn't surprise me.  We went out with Dada for a drive in the woods and of course G stayed dry.  He does ridiculously well in the the car for some reason?  Then when we came home G and Ed went to town to get the snow tires on my car.  G came home perfectly dry.  :)  Then G and I were outside playing after they got home and G sat down in the water that had collected in his kiddy pool.  I would have suspected the cold would make him pee but it didn't!  It's 7:00 pm and he's in a diaper for the night because he hasn't pooped yet today!  This could be interesting...     

Day #27 Summary: 0 pooped unders, 0 wet unders (well, there was a pair that was wet from sitting his fanny in the kiddy pool), 0 pooped or pee'd pull-ups, 1 diaper after shower...

***Day #28 - 11/03/10***

     Four full weeks of potty learning!!!  G and I took a little road trip to Granny's house so a 3 to 3.5 hour drive.  He had one pee pee accident on the way up and he was so upset about it.  I learned a lesson though - it's almost impossible to pee when you have a woody and momma needs to let the woody run away and hide before calling it quits on peepee time.  Poor little man!  That was an important lesson but c'mon - how in the world would I know that?  Having never sported a woody myself I don't know to "deal" with them in this sense. 

     I pulled over and got him out of his seat to clean him up and let him pee on the side of the road.  It wasn't a pull out or anything so we were still pretty close to the roadway and anytime a semi went by it shook the car and it was loud!  G had a hard time concentrating on the pee at hand when that big gust of air came our way!

     He pooped his pants at the park, even though I tried and tried and tried to get him to poop after he sharted while we were still at the house.  He really had to wrestle that turd because he was making some pretty "I'm working hard on this" faces and he was turning red.  Since Nana and Aunty Crazy were right there with their cameras they couldn't resist taking a few pictures of him.  I changed him (I had put a pull-up on him because I had a feeling he was going to do this) on the slide and then sent him on his merry way.  He pooped again later in the evening before taking his bath.   

Day #28 Summary: 1 pee'd unders, 2 pooped pull-ups, 1 Easy Up (like pull-ups but better) at bedtime!

***Day #29 - 11/04/10***

     G woke up almost completely dry this morning!  Yay little man!  He hasn't had any accidents yet today!  Whew - if he keeps this up maybe I will have packed enough clean unders for him on this trip!  I lost track of the potty trips and jazz today but I do remember that it wasn't a half bad day.  One particular highlight was when Aunty Crazy changed G's poopy after bathtime diaper and she gagged and choked and I was certain she was going to vomit.  It's good to know that I'm not the only one that is having a hard time with the atrociousness of toddler poop.

Day #29 Summary:  I lost count. 

***Day #30 - 11/05/10***

     G woke up soaked from stem to stern - all the sheets and blankets on the bed as well.  That's what I get for not checking Aunty Crazy's diapering abilities before we went to bed.  The rest of the day was okay, not great but okay.  G spent the morning with my friend Jamie and I didn't want her to "have" to do the potty thing so I put a pull-up on him.  He pee'd it and he refused to pee or poop on the potty for her.  No big surprise.  I was being a lazy lucy and I put him in pull-ups for the rest of the day.  I was tired!

Day #30 Summary: 3 pee'd pull-ups, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #31 - 11/06/10***

     No way, Jose, was I going to do 6+ hours of driving and have him in underwears considering I didn't pack enough clothes for a change if he did wet himself.  He did really well, though.  He stayed dry all the way to Moscow, and pee'd at Aunty Wheels place a few times, etc.  He did pee his pull-up on the way home to Powell but who could blame him?  He'd consumed a lot of liquids and he took a nap.  He pee'd when he woke up from his nap when I stopped in Lewiston but I didn't stop again after that.  Bad momma.

Day #31 Summary: 1 pee'd pull-up, 1 diaper at bedtime!

***Day #32 - 11/07/10***

     G pee'd one pair of unders while hanging out with Daddy but then he stayed dry the rest of the day, including through naptime!  

Day #32 Summary: 1 pee'd unders, 1 diaper at bedtime!

***Day #33 - 11/08/10***

     Ed let me sleep in and I can't remember what he said G did while I was sleeping.  I kind of considered it a day off from potty learning but I couldn't bring myself to do that all day.  I know he woke up from his nap having his pull-up SOAKED.  He had just barely pee'd in the pull-up he'd worn up until naptime but I went ahead and put a dry one on him before nap.  That was kind of odd, he's been staying dry well through naptime.  The highlight of our potty training today was when G yelled at me from the shower, "Momma blech!  Momma!  Daddy, blech!  It's bleck!"  I went in knowing basically what I was going to find and he didn't disappoint me.  He was standing at the back of the tub and in front of him on the floor of the tub were the blech's that he'd dropped...right there in the shower.  I can't get mad about stuff like that, I just laughed and said, "Buddy?  Did you poop in the tub?  We poop in the potty, not the tub, honey."  I cleaned it up and he went on with his shower.  Little weirdo. 

Day #33 Summary: 2 pee'd pull-ups, 1 pooped diaper after bath, 1 fresh diaper at bedtime.

***Day #34 - 11/09/10***

     What a good day G had today - except for the obligatory "hiding in my room" poop in the underwear.  I'm really not sure what else to do in regards to the poop thing.  He "knows" where it's supposed to go and he identifies as something gross (i.e. calling it blech and telling me so I can change him).  I did notice that he's using the word "P" but I'm not sure that he's actually labeled urine as such yet.  He woke up from his nap wonderfully dry!       

Day #34 Summary: 0 pee'd unders or diapers or pull-ups!  1 pooped unders, 1 diaper after bath, fresh diaper for bedtime.

***Day #35 - 11/10/10***

     Unders all day!  No accidents, even at naptime!  Go little man, go!!!     

Day #35 Summary: 0 wet or pooped unders, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #36 - 11/11/10***

     When I got up today the first thing I noticed is that it looked as though G was carrying a load in his pants.  He still had on his night diaper and it was S.O.A.K.E.D. so bad that it was hanging from the adhesive straps.  That thing must have weighed five pounds!  I put him in the last pair of unders in his drawer and I was in the office working when he walked in and told me, "Blech momma."  I could see clearly that he'd pee'd, oh joy.  I put a pull-up on him and we went outside to hang out with Daddy.  He pee'd it.  I put a dry one on him for naptime and boy am I glad I did - he soaked that bad boy.  I was about to just give up and declare today a bad day...and then he did something amazing.  Like slap me on the ass and tickle my chin amazing!  He had farted so I sat him on the potty and after a few minutes (and reading Maxim) and...he...POOPED.  On the potty.  Yeah, you read that right.  ON THE POTTY - POOP.  Oh.Em.Gee I was jumping up and down with excitement!  FINALLY!!!     

Day #36 Summary: 1 pee'd unders, 2 pee'd pull-ups.

***Day #37 - 11/12/10***

     Holy soaked diaper again this morning!  NO more drinks after about 8 pm and at least one trip to the potty before bedtime!  G wore a pull-up into town and I thought for sure he would have pee'd it since it took us awhile to get him to a potty.  But it was dry!  It stayed dry all day but he did wet it when he was sleeping on the way home.  Understandable considering he drank a lot while eating lunch.  After we got home I switched him to unders and he was so busy playing in his room that he pee'd them.  Oy.  He tried to poop on the potty once for me but only discovered that when he pushes his gut pops out and that when he sucks it in he can make his peenee dance.  Of course laughter was called for in this situation and he spent a few more minutes make peenee dance before farting and telling me he was "all done."  Oh, this crazy, crazy kid of mine...    

Day #37 Summary: 1 pee'd pull-up, 1 pee'd unders...

***Day #38 - 11/13/10***

     Ed let me sleep in this morning and when I got up G was in a diaper.  I asked why and Ed told me that he was waiting for him to poop.  Hm.  He didn't poop at all yesterday so this was good thinking on Ed's part but since G's recently pooped on the potty I'm not afraid so I took off the diaper but G requested a pull-up so I put one on him.  He sported the pull-up for the rest of the day, including all through his nap!  He actually ate really well today (well for him) and try as I might, I couldn't get him to poop on the potty.  

     He came into my office where I was working and this is what went down:

Ed: "Are you pooping little buddy?"

G: "No."

Me: (turning around too look at G and seeing a red face and a whole lotta concentration) "Yes, he is!  Hurry, grab him - take him to the potty!"

Ed: "Are you making a stinky?"

G: "No."

Me: "HURRY!"  

Ed: "Why are you pooping in your pants?  Poopy goes in the potty."

G: "Yeah, in dere."

Me: "Grab him and run - see if he'll finish in the potty!  Hurry!"

Ed: (looks in the rear of G's pull-up) "Yep, there's a little turd in there, let's go use the potty."

G: "No."

Me: "GO!  Go!  GO!  For the love of pete run!"

Day #38 Summary: 0 pee'd unders, 0 pee'd pull-ups, 1 pooped pull-up, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #39 - 11/14/10***

     Ed was so gun shy about the "not poopin' twice a day" thing that when I got up this morning G was in a pull-up.  He didn't poop until well into the afternoon, though and doggone it he didn't do it in the potty either.  He did, however, tell me he was doing it.  It's Sunday and when I say lazy Sunday I guess I'm not kidding.  I let him rock the pull-up until just before naptime and then I put unders on him.  He woke up (from a 3 hour nap!) dry.  :)  But for some reason he woke up REALLY crabby.  I took him in to potty and he pee'd in the potty and then threw a fit and wouldn't let me put his underwear or a pull-up on him.  He crouched down on the bathroom floor and proceeded to pee on the floor in what I'm assuming was his way of telling me that he didn't like me?  In the evening he had stripped himself of all his clothes and he was a naked streaking monkey.  He came over to me and pee'd on the floor right in front of me.  What the heck?  Pee...goes...in...the...potty.  C'mon, it's been over five weeks, dude!

Day #39 Summary: 1 pooped pull-up, dry & clean unders, 1 diaper at bedtime!

***Day #40 - 11/15/10***

     Whoops, I forgot to do this the other day, so I don't really remember!

Day #40 Summary: ?

***Day #41 - 11/16/10***

     Not a half bad potty day, one pee accident but it wasn't for any good (or bad) reason.  He pooped his pull-up within a few minutes of getting off the potty.  I know the "clue" to his needing to poop though, it's the farting.  :)  Der, I know.

Day #41 Summary: 1 pee'd unders (and pants), 1 pooped pull-up, 1 pooped diaper after bathtime, 1 fresh diaper for bedtime.

***Day #42 - 11/17/10***

     G was pretty soaked when he woke up this morning.  I wonder how I can stop that from happening so much?  Regardless, he wore unders all day, including through his nap!  He did pee a pair of unders but that was just because he pooped them.  C'mon, you know everyone pee's when they poo.  G was running around saying, "Blech, momma!"  I was sitting at my desk working and G came in and handed me what I thought was a rock, since Ed tracks them in with his work boots.  It wasn't a rock.  It was a turd.  He had filled his pants and I'm not sure if this particular turd fell out of his drawers or if he dug it out, but it's not like it matters - it was a turd.  Oy.  

     I was in the office working and Ed sent G in to see me.  G said, "Blech go-go" (remember go-go = water).  I looked down and sure enough he had pee'd his 2nd pair of unders today.  Bummer, buddy I say to him.  And Ed says, "He was on the 4th shelf of the pantry when he pee'd."  What?  "Yeah, he pee'd on your crockpot."  Lovely.  I strip G down and clean him up and then go to clean up the pee and realize that G apparently has good aim.  The shelves are wire and he managed to pee IN the crockpot that was on the shelf below him.  I think he gets an extra award for that shiznit - that's talented right there!  So at 2.5 he already defies the "doesn't have a pot to piss in" adage.     

Day #42 Summary: 1 pair of pee'd and pooped unders, 1 pee'd unders, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #43 - 11/18/10***

     Great day for potty learning, dry through nap, unders all day, we even went outside in the snow but I was a chicken and put a pull-up on him but that stayed dry!  

     I was working in my office and I noticed G run by the door into the kitchen and I didn't think much of it since Ed was in the living room watching TV.  Then I smell poo.  I got up to see what G was up to and noticed that he was free ballin' and I found that the poo smell was stronger.  I went in search of his pull-up and found it and the dogs in G's room.  There was skid marks in the pull-up and a very strong smell but no turds to be found anywhere.  My guess is, of course, that Dumb & Dumer (aka Siren and Crash) ate the poo right out of G's discarded pull-up.  Don't laugh, I wouldn't put it past them, they've been known to sneak off with a crappy diaper and eat it in the yard.  Ed even helped me search all over for the poo and we could not find a trace of it anywhere.  Remind me not to let either dog kiss me for awhile, mm-kay?

Day #43 Summary: 1 phantom pooped pull-up, 1 pull-up at bedtime (yes, I'm getting brave)!

***Day #44 - 11/19/10***

     Ed let me sleep in again today (stop hating on me, I deserve it) and then when I got up I went to town...all.by.myself!  I had errands to run and a doctor's appointment so Ed and G stayed home.  I hear that G pooped his drawers and pee'd them.  I'm not sure if it was pull-ups or unders though.  I do know that when I came home it was about 7:30 at night and G greeted me wearing only a pull-up and his Cars snowboots.  So goodness only knows what went on in this house!

Day #44 Summary: Blissfully unawares!

***Day #45 - 11/20/10***

     It was a great potty day today...until Daddy got home and then G pee'd his pants on Daddy's watch.  He stayed dry through his nap even!

Day #45 Summary: 1 pee'd unders,1 diaper after bath, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #46 - 11/21/10***

     G woke up almost completely dry this morning and when I took him potty first thing he had lots to do!  I'm kind of plying him with water today in the hopes that we'll have lots of trips to the bathroom but also so that maybe we'll catch (not literally) a poop with all our potty trips. 

     Didn't catch the poop.  Well, actually I literally did since it was little rock turds that came falling out of his undies as he ran away from me screaming gleefully.  Oy.

Day #46 Summary: 1 pair of pooped & pee'd unders, 1 poopy diaper after bath, 1 fresh diaper at bedtime.

***Day #47 - 11/22/10***

     So last week I pointed out to Ed that we were at week #6 of potty learning, day #42.  And his comment?  "And you're no closer to having him potty trained than when you started."  Thanks for that vote of confidence, honey.  I thought about that statement and then decided that while we're not at the point I was hoping we'd be, we're not where we started either.  He stays dry basically all day and through naps consistently.  The thing holding us up is what I knew was/would be the main problem: communication.  He's still not saying that he needs to use the potty (pee or poop).  Frustrating but I'm not about to give up on him!  :) 

Day #47 Summary: I forgot already.

***Day #48 - 11/23/10***

     Oy.  Not a good day, not a bad day.  He did stay dry durning naptime again, that was about the highlight of the day.

Day #48 Summary: 1 pee'd unders (and pants and socks and craft apron), 1 pooped unders, 1 pooped diaper after bath, 1 fresh diaper at bathtime.

***Day #49 - 11/24/10***

     I GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Okay, not really but it sure sounds good.  Seriously, it's week #7, when I put it in those terms it doesn't seem so long but 49 days are loooooooooooong.  the only reason I don't "give up" completely is because I'd rather be washing unders than spending $$ on diapers.  It feels like it's been forever since we bought diapers! 

     G peed his bed somehow.  I don't know how that happened but it was pee'd on the top of the comforter down.  I didn't discover this until I went to put him down for his nap though, so I ended up putting him in my bed for naptime.  Before that I'd wimped out and put him in a pull-up so that we could snow suit him up and take him out to play in the snow.  That was thorougly pee'd after his nap.  I put a fresh pull-up on him because we did the little "poop on the potty dance" (he didn't do it btw) and I knew that was next.  After dinnertime I saw G go running by me naked again and when I found his pull-up on the floor, again there were skidmarks and no poo.  But there was Crash sitting by the pull-up like a vegan who just got caught at a steakhouse with A-1 in her hand.  That damn dog.

Day #49 Summary: 1 pee'd pull-up, 1 pooped pull-up, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #50 - 11/25/10***

     Daddy had G in a pull-up when I woke up, since he hadn't pooped yet.  He pee'd the pull-up so I put him in unders.  His sheets were wet again (I think it was sweat, not pee but I didn't want to chance it) so I stripped his bed to wash them and G took that as his opportunity to poop on his bare mattress.  What kind of sick game is this kid playing with me?  Thankfully they were like big chocolate covered raisins so I was able to clean the mattress easily. 

Day #50 Summary: 1 pee'd pull-up, 1 pooped unders, 1 pooped diaper after bath, fresh diaper at bathtime. 

***Day #51 - 11/26/10***

     I heard G go into the bathroom (door opening) so I went in there to see what he was getting into and I found him bare assed.  Oh great, I thought to myself, where are his drawers?  Then I noticed them, he had them in the toilet.  He took off his pants and his poopy drawers and was trying to clean the poop out of them the momma does it - rinsing them in the toilet.  I was so flipping impressed!  I found his pants in his room and thought to myself that it was all too clean and easy.  Then I found the poo smears on his pillow.  But I don't care, I was still very impressed.  You'd think I'd be more happy if he pooped IN the potty, but at this point I'll take what I can get.  He doesn't like having a poopy butt, that's a good thing!  He also stayed wonderfully dry through a nice nap!

Day #51 Summary: 1 pair pooped & pee'd unders.

***Day #52 - 11/27/10***

     It was shaping up to be a good potty day and overall it was a success.  There was only one little accident but G can't even be blamed for that.  I was laying my upper body on him, pinning him to the floor so I could zerbert his tummy and tickle him and he was laughing so hard that he pee'd himself.  I jumped like a jackrabbit when I felt that warm wet spreading over my shirt.  Oy.  I couldn't get mad or anything though, I just laughed.  Otherwise, it was a great potty learning day, even sleeping about two hours at naptime with no accident. 

Day #52 Summary: 1 pair of pee'd unders (and his pants and socks), 1 pee'd momma shirt (and my socks too - don't ask how that happened).

http://www.mypreciouskid.com/articles/potty-training.html 

I just read this article tonight and I only have one question.  Do they not diaper/pull-up their kid overnight?  Should we be to the point where we're putting him in unders for the night?  He's not staying dry yet so would I be setting him and me up for failure?

***Day #53 - 11/28/10***

     Great day!  Not a single accident in his unders!  He didn't poop on the potty (he hasn't pooped since yesterday), he slept through his nap (a long one too) after being outside playing in the cold snow (and staying dry) and not getting a diaper until later. 

Day #53 Summary: 0 pee'd or pooped unders, 1 diaper at bedtime!

***Day #54 - 11/29/10***

     G pooped in his diaper this morning.  Yay!  It's been two days since he pooped so I was starting to worry.  Then after making four trips to the potty and sitting him down to poop (because it wasn't much the first time and he kept farting) within two minutes of him being released yet again from the potty, he pooped his pants.  I was sitting on the couch and he came up behind me but didn't do or say anything.  I turned around and he had two handfuls of big rocks of poop.  He had tried to get in the bathroom door to throw them in the potty but, well, his hands were full.  I opened the door so he could dispose of them and then we went into his room to find his unders (which he had also pee'd from all the poopin') and I found a bunch more poo.  The only saving grace was that it was all nice, hard chocolate covered raisins.  We picked them all up and threw them in the potty and put on clean clothes.

     Siren kept going in G's room trying to sniff out the snack but too bad for her we'd already gotten rid of it.  Dogs are so gross!

     G went outside to help daddy plow snow and he pee'd his pants (and by pants I mean snowpants) out there. 

Day #54 Summary: 1 pair pooped & pee'd unders, 1 pair pee'd unders, 1 diaper after bathtime.

***Day #55 - 11/30/10***

     AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

     G spent all day in his unders, even through his naptime.  :)  At about 3:30 pm I heard him go into the bathroom and I gave it a second and went after him, knowing that he loves to play with stuff he's not supposed to get in to.  I stopped myself in the doorway when I looked in and he had pulled the potty stool up to the potty, stepped up on it and pulled his pants down ALL.BY.HIMSELF.  Did you read that?  ALL.BY.HIMSELF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Then he shut the lid, got off the stool, pulled up his britches and flushed the potty.  I almost fainted out of excitement.  I didn't realize I was holding my breath!  This is HUGE.  H.U.G.E.  This is the boy who won't "tell" anyone that he needs to potty.  I just take him.  He took himself.  Leave it up to G to do it his own way and not ask for help. 

     I don't know when the highlight of my day/week/month became about poops and pee's but this is awesome!  Every success is like a victory of epic proportions.  I frickin' love this kid!!!

Day #55 Summary: 0 pooped/pee'd unders!

***Day #56 - 12/01/10***

     Nana came to visit so G of course had to show off his potty learning skills...or lack thereof.  Ha!  He pooped his drawers but I was standing right there when he did it.  Otherwise he had a great potty learning day!

Day #56 Summary: 1 pair poop/pee'd unders, 1 diaper at bedtime.

***Day #57 - 12/02/10***

     Guess who did the whole, "I can take myself to the potty" thing again?  Yeah, he did.  But he also pee'd his bed during naptime which is odd for him.  He went outside and played in the snow and managed to stay dry. 

Day #57 Summary: 1 pair pee'd unders (pee'd bed), 1 pooped diaper after bath, 1 fresh dipe at bedtime.

***Day #58 - 12/03/10***

     It was a good day except for two things.  We all went out so that my Mom could take family pictures for us.  We were almost done but considering doing a few more.  Well G made sure that didn't happen by thoroughly peeing his pants.  Then after we got home he pooped the clean unders I'd put on him.  Eh, it happens, right? 

Day #58 Summary: 1 pair pee'd unders, 1 pair pooped unders, diaper at bedtime.

***Day #59 - 12/04/10***

     Not a bad potty day and he acutally tried to poop on the potty twice.  It's now 8 pm and he hasn't pooped all day so I suspect he'll let loose once I put his bedtime diaper on him.  Oy.  I left him sitting on the potty once and he came strutting out having put his undies back on and everything.  Too bad he put both legs in the same hole.  Ha!  He had a hard time walking.

Day #59 Summary: 1 pair pee'd unders.

***Day #60 - 12/05/10*** ***Day #61 - 12/06/10*** ***Day #62 - 12/07/10*** ***Day #63 - 12/08/10*** ***Day #64 - 12/09/10*** ***Day #65 - 12/10/10***

I'm taking a break from blogging about potty learning for a few days because, quite frankly, I'm frustrated with the process.  Don't worry, I'm not giving up on him and we'll continue but I'll be back in a little while, hopefully with some strides in this department.

***Day #66 - 12/11/10***

     Just a quick update from potty training land.  E was supposed to be "watching" G while I worked and he came to me and said, "Uh, where is he?"  Well, you tell me, you're "watching" him.  We found G in his room.  He had pooped his pants, pulled his pants and unders down, dropped off the load onto the carpet, pulled his pants back up and proceeded to use the poop to make a lovely poop scene on one of his bedroom windows.  There is evidence that at some point he "tried" to get out of his room since there were some smears on the door frame.  I took care of cleaning off the poopmeister while E cleaned up the mess in his room.  G was telling Pubby, "I go blech, Pubby, go see, I go blech."  He wanted Pubby to go eat the poop in his room, which is how I've assumed it's been mysteriously disappearing a few times now.

     Try not to be jealous of all the fun I'm having.  Oh and FWIW - even the wonderful smell of a freshly cut Christmas tree can't cover up the smell of toddler poop.  Just an FYI I wanted to share with you this holiday season.

***Day #69 - 12/14/10***

     G and I went into town to do some Christmas shopping and attend the CDC Christmas party.  He napped all the way into town and he had unders on the whole time.  He did awesome.  He pottied every time he was given the opportunity, even during play group.  We made it home without a single accident.  What an animal!

***Day #70 - 12/15/10***

     Within 5 minutes of sitting on the potty for more than 10 minutes G pooped his pants and then got the poop out and smeared it all over his comforter with one of his trains.  Why won't this kid poop in the freakin' potty???

***Day #71 - 12/16/10***

     The success of day #69 could be overshadowed by today's adventures in potty learning land.  Me, E and G went into town.  While we were at one store I was carrying G piggy back because he was being a wiggle worm.  He pee'd his pants and by nature of closeness, he pee'd all over my sweater and down my back.  Ed had to run out the car and get the diaper bag because I had at least thought to pack an extra pair of pants and underwear just in case an accident occured.  I bought some dry socks at the store we were at because I hadn't thought of the need for a change of socks. 

     E & G went out to the car because G was throwing a fit and I finished shopping in the store.  We then went to Walmart and as E went to get G out of his carseat he discovered that G pee'd his pants again.  Oy.  So off G and I go to the children's section to get him some sweatpants.  I picked out a pair of lounge pants and by that time I had discovered that his shirt was also nice and wet so I let him pick out a shirt too.  I lugged the new clothes, G and his diaper bag into the Walmart bathroom a week before Christmas and I stripped him nakie and changed him.  I had no unders with me so he had to wear a pull-up and he was pretty pissed off about that. 

     So not only did I spend $9.50 on new pants and a shirt for the pants wetter, but $20 on a sweater for me because no way in hell was I going to leave my urine soaked shirt on myself for the rest of the day.  So we've had one really good potty learning in public experience and one not so good one.  Today was our fault though because we let him have soda with his lunch and didn't pay attention to how long it had been since he'd pottied.  See, it's not him that needs training, it's his boneheaded parents!

***Day #72 - 12/17/10 - Day #83 - 12/28/10***

***Day #84 - 12/29/10***

     G started to strip and I said, "What are you doing?"  He said, "I do blech."  By then he'd gotten down to his unders and I saw that he'd skidmarked his shorts.  I said, "Buddy, I told you to never trust a fart!"  But that was a good sign to me so I took him and sat him on the potty because I knew there had to be more to come since he hadn't pooped all day.  I sat him down and said, "Make some more blech in the potty.  Sit right here and don't move."  I ran his dirty drawers to the washing machine because I had just started a load of his laundry!  By the time I got back (a few seconds later) G had gotten off the toilet, squatted and dropped some pancake poop right by the toilet, on the floor.  Oy.  He knows where blech is supposed to go, why is he doing this? 

     A friend of mine suggested that I read this article: http://www.slate.com/id/2264657/ on how it's human nature to squat to poop and she thought maybe if I get G something to put his feet on when he's pooping, then maybe the toilet will be more comfortable for him.  I think it's worth a try at this point!

Not only does G now enjoy standing up to pee, he has figured out that if he wiggles his hips, he can wiggle the pee all over as well.  Only a boy would think that was cool.

***Day #84 - 12/29/10***

     I was in the office working and G came in.  He shook his left leg while saying, "Here you go momma."  And out dropped turds.  I took him to the bathroom and again we had "the talk" about where poopy goes.  E had just jumped in the shower so I took G into him so he could hose him off for me.  The aforementioned squat to poop technique does seem to make some sense...when I can get him to do it.  It hasn't yielded a turd in the toilet yet but it does yield some gas and I he's using the correct muscle (don't ask how I know that). 

     Last night he'd woken up in the middle of the night AGAIN and daddy got up with him (since G was crying for daddy anyway).  G drug E into the bathroom and he lifted the lid on his little potty (keeping in mind that he prefers to use the big potty), sat down and started grunting...fully clothed and with a diaper on.  Ha!  See, the little shit does "get" it, he just doesn't want to do it apparently?  Too bad for him I'd rather have to wash 1 or 2 pairs of skidmarked unders than spend $20+ on diapers so I'm not about to give up!  We are still diapering at night because he's not waking up dry in the mornings.  Until we get the whole, "I need to go potty, I need to get to the potty" lightbulb moment I'm not going to push the bedtime thing.  It may seem like this is taking forever but we're not even at 3 months yet and he's still pretty darn young...most people don't even "start" their boys potty training until 3 years old.  My goal at this point is to have him potty trained by the time he turns 3!  Ha!  Good luck me!

***Day #91 - 01/05/11***

     How goes it in potty learning land?  Now that G's bed is up on a frame, G's discovered that he can poop his pants either hide under the bed to poop his pants or he can poop and then try to hide the poop under his bed.  Try not to be jealous of my good fortune at his discovery.

***Day #104 - 01/18/11***

     Same shit, different day.  Every day, at least once a day, he poops anywhere but the toilet.  I've tried about everything under the sun.  When we were in town at play group tonight (btw he pee'd his pants on the drive in even though I stopped and roadside pottied him once) I was talking to some of the other mom's and a few of them suggested that I get him one of those potty seats that sits right on the toilet and put his little potty in his room (since he likes to go in there and hide).  Well, I'm not putting the potty in his room simply because I know he'll just play with it, it seems to be a joke to him.  I did let him pick out one of the little potty seats and he picked out "Ka-chow," otherwise known as Lightning McQueen.  When we got home I sat him on the potty and he farted a few times but no poop.  We spent 30 minutes waiting for a poop, so you can't say I don't give him plenty of time to do it.  Then I put him in the bathtub not only because it was bathtime but also in the hopes that the warm water might loosen his bowels a little bit.  When he got out of the tub we spent another 20+ minutes waitin' on a turd.  Nothing.  I put a diaper and his pj's on him.  And he pooped.  Oy.

***Day #115 - 01/29/11***

     I just got the shock of my life.  I'm not in the mood today to clean up poop so I put a diaper on G before naptime, after asking him and taking him to the potty a few times and him refusing to go.  He usually poops once in the morning and once around dinnertime.  After his nap he was in the office with me and Ed working and I thought he'd finally pooped in his diaper.  I asked him, "Did you finally poop?"  He said, "No, in the go-go."  I said, "You want to poop in the go-go?"  "Yeah!"  And off he took out the office door.  He went to the bathroom door and waited there for me.  He helped me pull his diggers down and I sat him on the potty and within a few seconds...HE POOPED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, you read that right on day #115, G POOPED ON THE POTTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
     I got so excited I started yelling for Ed and he came and hi-fived G.  I gave him so many kisses that I gave the poor boy hiccups.  I asked him if he wanted a candy or a new car.  He said a car so I got one of the Hot Wheels I had stashed for just such a monumental occasion.  He got a '67 Chevelle for those that care about that kind of thing.  He got some candies too because, well, this is a huge battle won!  If he does it again anytime soon I'll probably pass out just from sheer happiness.
     I'm really glad he didn't do it on the floor because, well, let me just say it wasn't a butthole friendly poop. 

***Day #131 - 02/14/11***

     He did it again!  It's been about two weeks since he did it last but today G was kind to me and actually pooped on the potty!  Everytime he poops his pants (or pulls his britches down and takes a dump on the carpet) we tell ourselves, "Someday it'll just click" and we've been saying that over and over for how many months now?  It hasn't clicked but there's no way in hell I'm going back to diapers full-time.  In fact I have to buy some diapers during our trip to town today.  Anyway, back to the success.  G grabbed his peenee and danced around for just a second so I said, "Uh, someone has to ge potty, let's go!"  I took him in and he would not pee.  I knew he had to go but he was playing trains with Daddy and I knew he wanted to get back out to them.  I said, "Just try to make some pee pee," and the next thing I know he's pooping.  WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

***Day #145 - 02/28/11***

     He did it again (are you getting tired of me yet?)!!!  I had him sit on the potty after dinner and I started his bathwater.  I told him to stay on the potty and try to poop while I ran to get his pajamas.  When I came back he said, "See momma, see?"  He was looking down and I looekd down too and noticed that he had a woody.  I said, "Oh, that's some nice wood there bud...Holy crap you pooped in the potty!!!"  I whooped and hollered and did a little dance and Daddy came in and high-fived him.  He was quite pleased with himself.  Of course he also pooped his nighttime diaper before he went to sleep but hey, a poop on the potty is a poop on the potty.  I need to smack myself for not "rewarding" him though! 

***Day #147 - 03/02/11***

     He pooped on the potty on day #145, didn't poop at all on day #146 and then waited until bath time on day #147...and he did it on the potty again!  That's two poops on the potty in a row.  It appears that we've just got to catch him at the right time but really he doesn't put out any signals.  We spent the afternoon/evening in town at Little Book Lovers and when we got home, he was still dry!  I probably haven't mentioned that he stays dry through 2-3 hour naptime every day too!  AND he says, "pee pee" in reference to going pee, whether he's pointing out to me that he pee pee'd or when I'm peeing.  For him that's huge because he hasn't been identifying either bodily function verbally much!  Slowly, slowly we're getting some payoff!  I did have to order a box of diapers from Amazon the other day because I know we are nowhere near ready to tackle night time training still and Amazon/Diapers.com is the only place I could find diapers in size 7!  That's kind of the bummer part of having a big, healthy boy I suppose.

***Day #148 - 03/03/11***

     Why am I in here again, I was just here yesterday.  Oh yeah, it's to post that he did it AGAIN!!!  That's right, G pooped on the potty again!  Well it didn't technically start out on the toilet but it still counts.  E hollered at me that G had pooped somewhere.  I looked and he was stark naked and I saw a skid mark in his discarded shorts.  I said, "Hm, I wonder..."  I put him on the potty and next thing I know he's pooping, pooping and more pooping!  Poor little buggie had loose stool and obviously we haven't been very diligent in teach him that sometimes a fart isn't just a fart (hence the skidmark in his shorts).  He did another in the diaper I had put on him for the night but really, who hasn't had one of those kinds of oops poops?   

***Day #154 - 03/09/11***

     I'm kind of turning into a broken record but he pooped in the potty again today!  WOOHOO!  Mostly between the 3rd and the 9th he either didn't poop at all (poop holder much?) or he waited until he had his after bath diaper on and then he loaded it up.  He did do it in his pants one day too but that was kind of my fault.  E was in G's bathroom and G had gone to the door and grabbed his booty and I just didn't pay attention.  Today he was standing in the doorway of my office with his back to me and he turned and looked at me for a split second and I saw that, "I'm pooping" look on his face.  I took him by the hand and we made a run for the potty.  He finished his duty (or doody if you prefer) in the potty and he was so flippin' excited about it.  He yelled, "Daddy!!!  Daddy!!!"  And when E showed up G pointed to the toilet bowl and said, "See?  See Daddy, see?"  He was clapping his hands and passing out high fives, etc.  I'm so proud!!!

***Day #172 - 03/27/11***

     And the war on poop continues.  Today was the first day in a long time that G actually pooped in the potty and it's really only a half victory.  I caught him in his room pooping and I took him to the potty fast and he took a major dump.  I don't know what else I'm supposed to do anymore on this front.  He knows where the poop is supposed to go, I do the little dance and make a big deal and rewards and everything and still he hides somewhere to poop.  He has a word for poop (blech) and obviously he knows it's coming if he runs to hide.  What the heck more can I do for him?  He now also informs us, "Pee-pee momma."  But that's when he's already pee'd his pants.  He's started to grab his ding-a-ling and that's when we rush him off to the bathroom and he pee's but if we're not still taking him regularly he just does it in his pants.  I know this has to be as frustrating for him as it is for me!

Here's something cute though - this is a bonus to potty training a boy - you don't have to pack a potty around anywhere, just have 'em drop trou and do their thing!

03/30/11

I'm going to miss the CDC when G turns 3 and is done with the program.  Not necessarily because of all the good things that happen there, etc. but because this little toilet never ceases to make me smile!

***Day #188 - 04/12/11***

     A poop on the potty AND the word poop, that was our potty learning adventure today!  He said, "Poop," and I said, "Do you need to go poop?"  "NO!"  "Too bad, you said it."  I sat him down and in less than 30 seconds he was pooping.  I love it.  He had pooped a little in his overnight diaper but today was a great potty learning day.  In fact just before bedtime tonight, in an attempt to stall the actual bedtime he kept saying, "I pee pee - PEE PEE!"  So E took off his pj's and diaper and sure enough, he pee'd in the potty.  Too bad the stalling didn't work.  Ha!

***Day #189 - 04/13/11***

     Guess what G did today?  He pooped in the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Twice in a row, that's miraculous.  He did try to hide in his room to do it but I knew what he was up to before he even made it to his room.  He liked getting M&M as rewards.  :)

***Day #191 - 04/15/11***

     He tried so hard to poo on the potty yesterday but it just wasn't going to happen for some reason.  He pooped his bedtime diaper though.  Then this morning I asked him to go poop and he did it...in the potty...AGAIN.  I hate to jinx myself but I've now gone 4 days without having to clean up poop OR pee!  I'm not declaring victory or anything but if you've kept up with the adventures of G's potty learning you'll know what a significant trend this is for us!  In fact today we went into town and he got to play at a giant playground with all sorts of other kids, then we did some shopping and dinner and drove home.  Not a single accident that whole time and he was in unders that whole time!!!  While we were at the gas station, E went inside and G said, "Where daddy go?"  I said, "He went inside to go potty, buddy."  "Daddy go pee-pee!" G informs me.  "Yup, Daddy's going to go pee alright."  The best part is that I got that on video and of course pasted it to Facebook.  I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on G announcing to everyone that Daddy went pee-pee and poop.

Let's see if this link works at all...  

     I am so proud of him but I'm running low on M&M's and damnit if I didn't go and forget to pick some more up while we were in town today!  I do have a stash of stickers that I'm thinking about breaking out but he's never really cared much about stickers.

***Day #195 - 04/19/11***

      Yesterday I gave G a sippy of milk before naptime.  I forgot to take him potty before I laid him down though so I decided to just cross my fingers and see if he holds it.  He did, I was amazed because his nap was over 2 hours long.  When he woke up I took him to the potty and he pee'd for what seemed like 2 minutes.  Then in the evening, E was sitting on the couch and I was in the bedroom working on some stuff.  E hollered, "You've got carpet to clean in G's room."  You see, while E was "watching" G, G pooped his pants in his room.  That ends our streak of successes but kind of not since it wasn't on my watch so I don't think I'll count it. 

     This morning I asked G if he needed to poop and was answered with a resounding, "NO POOP!"  Too bad, I said, try. Wouldn't you know it, he pooped.  Not only did he poop but he stayed on the potty so I thought to myself let's see where this is going.  Sure enough after a few minutes he pooped some more.  Yay!  Now he's decided he has to watch while he's pooping so he folds himself dang near in half and watches himself poop.  He's such a weird kid. 

***Day #200 - 04/24/11***

     Well here we are, day #200.  I can't claim that G is 100% potty trained but we're definately on the right track and every day it gets better.  Today, however, I had this whole potty training thing used against me.  I was going to lay G down for his nap and he knew it.  As we were headed for his room he said, "No Darrett pee pee."  "You need to pee pee?  Okay, let's pee pee and poop and then take a nap."  I sat him on the potty and he peed.  I said, "Do you need to poop now?"  "No, I no poop."  "Okay, let's go to sleep then."  "Darrett poop, Darrett poop!"  "Oh, now you need to poop?"  The good news is that he did in fact poop but I believe that it was simply a stall tactic and very unrelated to potty training.  He sat there for awhile and kept telling me, "No nap, Darrett poop."  Of course I'd figured out his game by then and so off to nap we went!

***Day #275 - 07/08/11***

     Well, here we are, day number what?  I'm going to write a book, "How to potty train your son in a year's time."  It'll be a best seller, I just know it.  This evening G very deliberately pooped his pants while in his room and then he played in it.  He took turds and put them on the train tracks and ran his trains through the poo, he finger painted on his door and wall with poo and my favorite, he smooshed the poo as deep into the carpet as he could get it.  How did I discover this, you might wonder?  Because he came into the office and tried to wipe poo on me.  Okay, dude, that's enough.  How do I know it was deliberate?  Because not even two minutes before his fun started he had been sitting on the potty (I took him to go).  So I took away all his trains, everything and anything to do with his trains.  Oh the horror!  I told him every time he poops in the potty he gets to pick a train and piece of track to have back.  We'll see how this lasts since no other reward system has worked.

***Day #292 - 07/25/11***

     Yes, I did actually go through and count to make sure I had the number of days right.  Either I'm really awesome like that or I'm a complete dork.  Either way, we're on day #292.  The good news is, we have had lots of success and progress especially in the last two weeks!  I haven't had to clean poop out of carpet, underwear or anywhere else in almost two weeks now.  And the big epiphany that I was waiting for, him expressing a need to potty, has finally arrived!  Now he'll say that he needs to poop or pee and most of the time he just goes in the potty and does it himself.  My new challenge is to teach him to push his peenee down into the potty though because otherwise he shoots pee straight out in front of him, all over the floor and wall, etc.  See, I'm a girl and have never been an owner of a peenee so I don't know about stuff like that.  I am so impressed with this little monkey!!!  He'll even stop what he's doing outside to come in and go potty!  A few times he's stopped and just dropped trau outside and done his thing, once he even pooped on the sidewalk but he's finally got the realization, "Ooh, time to go potty," which is the biggest part of this whole battle.

     Him and I took a road trip to Cd'A and he made it the whole trip without an accident.  Then he went every day of the six days we were there.  He did have one accident but it was 100% my fault.  We were out to breakfast and before we were seated I took him to the bathroom.  About 20 minutes after we were seated he said, "Momma pee pee."  I said, "You just went, you're just messing with me now aren't you?  You don't really have to go."  Well, he did.  And go he did, right in his pants.  Poor little monkey, I didn't even realize it until we went to leave and I lifted him out of the high chair.  

     Next on the agenda is night training.  I know we need to stop giving him a warm milk sippy at night.  I really don't want to wake him up in the middle of the night to go potty because he'll stay awake.  I guess we'll start with the no liquids and taking him potty one last time before bed and see if he's waking up dry that way?  Eep, I'm kind of nervous about this next step but glad that we're here!!!    

***Day #294 - 07/27/11***

     E, G and I were outside and G and I were playing on his swingset.  He stopped what he was doing and stood in front of me and said, "Momma, I gotta poop."  I almost fell over.  Not only is he now "knowing" that he needs to potty but he's also expressing it.  How many times over the last nearly 300 days have I talked about that being the key to the potty learning success, expressing the need to go?  And it's here, IT'S HERE!  Later this evening we were in his room playing trains and he said, "I gotta poop."  Off to the potty we go and sure enough, he went poop.  I still get all excited about it, clapping and woohooing, etc. but now that G's language skills have exploded we also get to discuss what's happening.  

G:  "Dat's big poops."     

Me: "Yes, it is big poop, good job!"
G: "I pick a chocolate!"

Me: "You bet you do, buddy!"

     OR:

Me: "Oh man that's a hard poop, come on, you can do it!"

G: "Hard poop, come out poops!"

Me: "Yeah, get outta there poop!"

G: "I will get you poop!"

     You get the picture.  Last week when we were grocery shopping I debated whether or not to pick up a box of diapers since G's down to about 10-12 of them and about 15 pull-ups.  I am so glad that I didn't pick anymore up but if I had, I'd be confidently returning them.  Tonight just before bedtime I took G in to potty and he took care of business and then we put on a pull-up.  We had a talk about how the pull-up is just for a "whoops" and not to pee in unless it's an accident.  So we'll see if he's dry in the morning.  I'm so totally willing to do middle of the night bed linen changes for a week or so until we get the nighttime potty thing down but for right now we'll stick with him wearing a pull-up at night.  We're moving his liquids restriction time earlier in the evening , that in itself should be the biggest challenge but I'm totally ready for him to rock this plan too!

***Day #305 - 08/06/11***

     I haven't been brave enough to try the overnight thing yet.  I talk to G about it and he seems like he's onboard but he also seems to not understand a word I'm saying so I'm not about to trust him at his word.  Today, for the first time in a long time, he pooped his pants.  He had wandered away from E in the yard and for some reason didn't pull down his pants to take care of business.  That's alright, I need to start a load of G laundry anyway.
     The other day I went to get him ready to take a bath and found a nice sized skidmark in his unders.  We finally had "the talk."  You know, the one where you learn when it is and isn't okay to trust a fart?  The only thing that G seemed to get out of that conversation was the hilarity of the word, "Toot."  

*video removed*

This is too funny not to share!  This is what a normal potty time looks like for G.  The kid slays me!!!

***Day #312 - 08/12/11***

     Two mornings ago were pleasantly surprised to find that G woke up dry.  He sat down and had some milk and then went into the bathroom and peeled both his pajamas and his night time diaper off and used the potty.  Hot dog!!!  I told E that if he does it three times in a row I will be game for letting him try underwear overnight.  

     OH speaking of potty training at night.  The last several nights G has been waking up anywhere from 0200 to 0500 crying and wandering while still half asleep.  It finally dawned on us what the problem might be.  We think he's waking up because he's pee'd.  So I thought I'd try something.  I stopped giving G liquids after about 1930 or 2000 and right before he went to bed I'd have him go in and go potty.  Magically he didn't wake up until his normal time.  And he woke up dry.  No coincidence there, right? 

***Day #332 - 09/01/11***

     Well I asked G if he wanted to wear a pull up or underwears to bed tonight for the first time ever.  He chose underwear.  Eep!  First night wearing unders to bed!  

***Day #333 - 09/02/11***

     Who's the boy who woke up dry after spending his first night in underwear?  G is!  G is!!!  E put G to bed tonight while I was working and then he came to let me know that G was in unders.  "Cool!  Did you take him potty before bed?"  E replied, "Uh, no."  Oy.  So I guess I'll be waking G up in the middle of the night to go potty because he went to be super early (for him).  

***Day #334 - 09/03/11***

     I woke G up at about midnight last night and took him into the potty.  He was like a limp noodle and I had to aim for him but we got the job done and then he went right back to bed.  He was dry the next morning.  So that is night #2 of overnight unders and a dry bed!!!

***Day #335 - 09/04/11***

     Hm, how do I count last night/today?  G wet the bed.  BUT he had also come and gotten E who put him back to bed without taking him to the potty first.  It's no one's fault, there is no one to blame.  I think had G not woken up he wouldn't have wet the bed and I'm confident that if E had taken him potty before putting him back to bed then he wouldn't have wet the bed either.  That's alright, G helped me strip his bed linens this morning and they're in the wash so he'll have nice, clean sheets and blankets tonight and we'll try it again!  

***Day #341 - 09/10/11***

     It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...that's it, I'm calling it.  After 341 glorious days with G as a two year old turned three year old in the land of potty learning, this kid has succeeded.  There were some dark moments, there were some hilarious moments, there were some stinky moments, there were some tear inducing moments, there were some disgusting moments, there were some heartwarming moment and there were lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of learning moments.  Three hundred forty one days later, G is potty trained.  I don't miss having to buy diapers but I do miss that big, fluffy diaper butt.  I'm liking this not wiping anybody's rear end (well, I still have to help him but it's not the same as pulling out wipe after wipe to chink away at diaper poop) but it makes me sad because it's just another way that shows without a doubt that he's growing up.  I guess I'd be a little less sad if I still had one in diapers?  Regardless, I'm very proud of my little pumpkin butt.  
     If I had any piece of wisdom to pass on to a momma coming up to the potty learning stage in her child's life it would be that your child will do it when he or she is ready...but there's no harm in continuing to try.  It literally was kind of like a light bulb went off for him one day and he was ready.  Some might say that I pushed him but I like to say that I kept the subject and practice of potty learning prevalent in our daily life.  Sure, I washed a lot of soiled underwear but laundry is a constant.  I saved a heck of a lot of money on diapers as well. 

Well done my little lovebug G, momma is very proud of you!!!