Potty training journal

Here's a recap of the first four days of potty training, not completely sequential. We took a break for Easter weekend and resumed this past Monday.

DAY ONE (3/26)

I didn't really keep a log of what we did the first day. I think we just sat a bunch on the potty, and stayed in the bathroom. I do remember he peed on both rugs we have in the master bath, two separate incidents. :)

Day One Tally: 1 pee, 1 poop, 3 misses

Caleb and Daddy hanging out on the potty, cars in hand -- 3/26

DAY TWO (3/27)

After almost a solid hour of sitting on the potty (at his request, I tried to give him breaks), Caleb peed into it! He went just a little bit at first, then he went some more! Woohoo! He is motivated. Especially for those M & M's, which I have no problem using as a reward in the beginning days of training. He still has to really concentrate to pee on demand, but it is starting to click! He pooped in the potty too! I had put a diaper on him for lunch, and I smelled it coming, so we took the diaper off, he sat down and he went #2!

After his nap, he sat on the potty for almost an hour and a half, and.... nothing. We gave up and put on a diaper for dinner. About 20 minutes later, he exclaimed, "I peeing!" He was right. That is also a sign of progress. At one point, he wasn't aware of when he was urinating.

It hasn't been instant, but he is working toward toilet independence. I have found this exercise to be good for us. He and I have been bonding as we've been spending time together and I've been observing him closely.

Day Two Tally: 1 pee, 1 poop, 0 misses*

*I think the zero misses is due to the fact that Caleb was parked on the potty most of the morning, not because he could hold it. :)

DAY THREE (4/1)

Mom/Grammy graciously took a "shift" of potty training in the morning, a few hours of sitting with him in the bathroom. They read books together, and he did pretty well! I'm not sure he would have gone into the potty if he weren't already sitting down on it, but at least it's the right sensation. I feel bad for her; he was very productive, but it was of the smelly variety... She is an amazing grandmother who is willing to clean up stinky messes! I was feeling very tired and worn out from the Easter festivities-- and truly, still recovering from our Hawaii trip-- and just did not have patience for the task.

We put on a diaper for nap through dinnertime, and resumed training the following morning.

Day Three Tally: 2 poops, 1 pee

DAY FOUR (4/2)

I think today was the first time Caleb sat down on the potty and immediately started going, on purpose. Pretty awesome!! That was after two "misses" (peeing on floor) and one "catch" (peeing into potty) during the morning. Since that first intentional time, he has sat down and peed three more times! At lunch (in training undies) he said, "I want to pee," walked over, pulled his undies down, sat down and went into the  potty!! (second intentional one) He is getting it. :) It's a good thing, too, because I was starting to despair. I really thought today was the last day I'd work on it with him; maybe he just needs more time, I thought. It didn't seem like anything was changing-- other than his clothes, haha. :) He didn't seem to be able to tell when he was going to pee; he just noticed when he started peeing and his feet got wet.

Today, after the first miss, he started splashing in it and trying to slip and slide on the tile floor. THANKFULLY, we have only had to clean tile so far.... no carpet. I try to keep him on the tile when he's "practicing," i.e. not in a diaper.

It has been draining, because along with this skill he's learning, which takes a lot of effort and patience on both participants' parts (Mommy and Caleb), there have been a LOT of behavioral issues all day long, and I wasn't sure if they were related. He doesn't want to sit at the table for dinner. He doesn't want to put on jammies at bedtime. In the morning, he doesn't want to put on clothes. It's probably hard to take such a big developmental step; it's a big change and a big progression into "growing up" to become toilet trained. Caleb has been very emotional, and pretty testy of boundaries, just like when he first turned two, and I also despaired of surviving that. I really didn't know how I was going to make it. I would kind of half-joke with other moms, but I really meant it when I said I didn't know how to get through it. It's really, really hard to deal with meltdowns and strong-willed-ness. The word "obstinate" comes to mind... He had been resisting putting on underwear; now he's resisting putting on a diaper for naps. Pull-ups, here we come! He tends to want to not get up from the potty and wants to just sit there and read books for hours (which is pretty incredible, but not when you actually have to go somewhere or eat a meal or go to bed, etc).

For naptime today, he is wearing underwear, and I fully expect to change some sheets today. :) We have been letting him sleep in his "red bed" (toddler bed with a red-and-white comforter), so I put his potty in the room and told him he could ask me for help if he wanted to go potty during nap. If he falls asleep, we're in trouble.

A few hours later... Well, he didn't exactly nap, but he did pee into his potty! And he came and wanted to show me. Over the course of the rest of the day, he had several successes, all catches and no misses in the afternoon/evening.

And we didn't have to change the sheets. :) He was on a roll!! It seemed to really click. He would get up and sit on the potty, then voila, success. Sean and I wondered together how it would go from here, since he seems to be doing so well.

Look, Ma! I peed! -- 4/2 -- notice the laundry basket with wet clothes/towels in background

Day Four Tally: 2 misses, 1 catch (happened to pee while sitting), 8 intentional pees into potty!

DAY FIVE (4/3)

Lots of peeing... some of it into the potty. Most of it onto the floor (or the driveway-- we went outside for some fresh air in the morning). It was a pretty rough morning. I don't think we had any catches, and I wondered if Caleb still remembered how to do his recently-acquired skill.

Our friend Nicole (Nikki, or "Mickey" to Caleb) GRACIOUSLY sat with Caleb for two hours in the afternoon, so that I could go for a run and run an errand. He is happy to sit on the potty for hours and look at books; that's all he wanted to do that afternoon. He sometimes does NOT want to take a break or put on underpants (which is baffling yet cute; he'll say, "No, Mommy, want to pee again," then when nothing comes out, he'll exclaim, "Peeeeee! Like dat"). Nikki was amazingly gracious, because Caleb had success of both varieties, and she handled it without complaint. I had told her she could call me if he used the potty, and I would come home since I went running in the adjacent neighborhood. Cleaning up someone else's mess is far from my favorite thing to do, so I didn't want her to have to do that. That goes above and beyond, in my book!

Honestly, for my "run" I walked for a few minutes to warm up, saw a park, and sat down on a park bench. I had used up all my "oomph," a.k.a. mental willpower, during the morning and didn't have the motivation to run. It was a gorgeous day, mid-70's, lots of people at the park because it's Spring Break this week.... I'll admit I laid down on the park bench with Chloe in the jogging stroller nearby and closed my eyes. Approximately five minutes later, she started crying and I realized it was time for her to eat. I nursed her sitting there on the bench, then put her back in the stroller and jogged home.

Mom and Dad gave Sean and me a date night, so they helped Caleb use the potty in the evening. I think he went a time or two for them.

Day Five Tally: ??? I forgot to keep track, but I think there were about 3 misses, and 3-4 catches

DAY SIX (4/4) 

Lately Caleb has been coming into our room when he hears my alarm clock go off. That's good for being held accountable.... but bad because I always crave a little more "snuggle under the covers" time and those first few minutes after I wake up I have to drag myself out of bed. Once I'm up I feel pretty chipper, for the most part. I have seriously become a lie-in-bed junkie. It's one of my favorite things to do. I'm not sure why. (Ok, I know why... um, having kids???!!)  Anyway. Today, while I was still dragging myself out of bed, Caleb went into the kitchen, where the potty was, and peed into it all by himself. Way to go, guy! That was a good start to the day.

Yesterday during my errands I bought some Pull-Ups, which are pretty much really expensive diapers. :) But they change color when wet. And they mimic real underpants because you step into them and pull them up. I must admit the color-changing effect is convenient. :) I think I will try to save those for naps and nights, because they wick the moisture away and Caleb is less aware that he's wet. I'd much rather do extra laundry than pay for pull-ups.

This morning Grammy came over and read books with Caleb for awhile, and he did pee into the potty several times (maybe 3 more times?). He has spent quite a bit of time on the potty today. He is really struggling with big emotions. Huge emotions. And often, I'll give him two choices but he wants neither of them. It's hard when he fixates on something he can't have, or I don't want to give him (like running around naked, not a habit I want to establish, even though it's cute).

This morning he sat on my lap in a bath towel for 30 minutes because he took a bath, but didn't want to put clothes on. I'm trying to be more patient with him, instead of manhandling him to do what I want.

Once we made it to his bedroom, where his clothes are, he put on his own shirt, mostly by himself. Usually I have been dressing him, but he is to the point where he says, "I want to do it all by myself." Literally. He is such a verbal child. It's pretty amazing how well he talks for a 2 1/2 year-old. Today he said he wanted to put his shirt on himself. I pointed out he could put his head into the bottom of the shirt then through the head hole, and let him try it. It was cute, he got it past his head so it was around his neck, then he tried to put his hand in the arm hole from the outside instead of up through the inside. All the little things we take for granted, huh?

It's been very trying, this conquering-of-a-big-milestone. I am thankful he is sleeping during naptime today. He needs it, and Mommy needs a break.

Day Six Tally: 4 catches (as of naptime), 0 misses

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I hope this hasn't been TMI. I'm sure it's extremely fascinating.... just like watching a train wreck is extremely fascinating. Just kidding... potty training is hard but much more positive and rewarding in the end. It is very neat to see your child grow and conquer something as monumental as this. I'm sure it will be amazing to look back a few months from now and be like, "Hey, remember when we were potty training Caleb and I thought I was going to die? Or at least eat a whole package of Oreos in one sitting? Yeah, it was bad, ha ha..."


I'm going to wrap up here so I can actually publish something. Stay tuned for more escapades!