if you follow me… anywhere, you may have noticed that we have been nekked bummin
it at our house for a few days.

a few months before reese was born, we bought the stool, the little potty seat, and even some thomas undies. i knew one day he would just ask to go, and we’d go. i wanted to be ready.

so, this weekend boss announced emphatically, “i need to go pee in the potty, mom.”
well, alright!

so i followed him into the diaper-smelling bathroom to watch the usual routine of the stand and stare at your junk while nothing happens, look slightly defeated, then run and play… it happens a few times a week these days…

this time, aim and fire. he did it.
then again, and again, and again.

that night we gave him candy, and called his g-mas to let them know. i wanted him to know this was a big deal!

the truth is, i was ready for newborns. i had a plan, a system. i knew what i was going to do with the whole naps and nursing and nighttime feedings… i was ready. it was work, but i stuck to the plan until i got the results i wanted.

but this potty training thing? every time i thought about grabbing a book or talking to friends who i knew had done it, i felt sick to my stomach. partly because i wasn’t ready, and partly because i know my kid will potty train just as differently as every set of parents and toddlers out there. my style/his personality/timing it just is what it is…

day 1:

i asked cc. who said to try just putting the undies on him and see what happens.

in a few minutes while i was out of the room he peed, AND pooped, in those thomas pants.
no thanks, i’m out. i don’t do washing poop out of underwear. vomit was at the top of my throat and threatening to blow.

then i remembered lots of moms of boys who let em roam naked from the waist down.
so, just as an experiment, we tried that.

within a few minutes of being naked, he ran in there, pulled up his shirt and peed, by himself.
then he did that all day. he peed and peed, standing and exclaiming, “i go pee like daddy!” every time he finished.

i wanted the underwear to be the big bribe at the end, so i kept telling him that once he pooped, he could wear those too. “um, no thanks, mom.”

so, naptime came, i diapered him, and he pooped. no big.
he peed like a champ all afternoon then when he couldn’t hold it, he announced he was going to poo,
but it was about 2 minutes too late. so i had him clean it up himself. which he didn’t love, but did just fine.

day 2:

we started the day naked again and again he peed all morning long.

problem: he absolutely would not sit down. not even once.  i knew we probably were ahead of his time, but he is close to 3, and acted interested, so i definitely wanted to make an attempt, if for no reason than to start the conversation. but i thought we’d give this a fair shot before i gave up for a few weeks…

i tried all kinds of bribes to get him to sit, to no avail. he just didn’t want to.
by the end of the day, he was literally running to the potty to pee on his own, wiping, flushing, putting the seat down. he’d come out for his 1 m&m and go about his naked business.

i was torn. yes, i had lots of moms who obviously know a lot more than me telling me to just wait, but i also knew lots of moms who made it work and had diaperless toddlers because they toughed it out for a week or so, with a plan. {and had a toddler who was ready.} i just didn’t have a plan, except for avoiding a power struggle that would end in tears for all. and we were about to fail there…

i thought i’d try the undies one more time, and he ran in to pee, pulled em down even, he was great.
but eventually needed to poo. i told him he definitely didn’t want to poo on thomas, or we’d have to throw him away. he seemed legitimately worried about that idea…

so when he said, “oh no, mom!” i grabbed him and we ran.
we got to the potty where he was about ready to sit and do it, but just barely missed.
little balls of brown mom-fail plopped on his red lightning mcqueen stool.
after he picked them up saying “gross….gross” for each one,
and dropped them in the toilet,
he politely asked for his diaper, and i accepted.

it isn’t worth the fight just yet, and he’s so close.
in a few weeks maybe we’ll try again and see how he feels.
i know, we’re not in a rush, i KNOW that boys train better at 3,
but we made an effort and i am ok with that.

thanks for all the tips and advice,
i’m pretty confident that we have this in the bag once he’s ready to sit on his own!

he’ll be 3 in february and i am near positive that he will want to do it before then.
so next time, we’ll be ready!