Potty Training 101

Big boy underwear

Sticker chart with 3 stickers for success!

Well, we took the plunge today and started potty training Austin. I had been talking about it with him all week. We had read all our potty books and yesterday he got to watch his new Elmo's Potty video. This morning we got out a sticker chart and talked about the promised chocolate chip for every successful time he went in the potty. Still, I felt like I missed a monumental parenting seminar- as if you should be born knowing how to potty train a child but I felt sort of clueless.

However, I am happy to report we had a very successful first day! (warning, if you have no interest in details of a toddler's first attempt at the toilet, you might want to stop reading). He sat on the potty about 45 minutes straight while watching the aformentioned Elmo video while drinking a cup full of Gatorade (which is a treat of a drink for Austin). We also read two books after that and then he finally peed in the potty (and got a chocolate chip and a sticker on his chart). After that, he wore his big boy underwear around, but then he had about 3 accidents in a row (all within a span of fifteen minutes- I think he would stop peeing every time he had a little one so it took awhile to get it all out). But then he went in the toilet about 5 times by lunch (with about the same number of accidents)- but half of the time successful seemed pretty successful for the first day. I put a diaper on him at lunch, but he stayed dry and then peed in the potty right after lunch. Diaper for nap of course but then he had no accidents in the afternoon- however I probably asked every ten minutes if he had to go and he peed about a tablespoon at a time out over several times. He did not poop all day, so we had no attempts or messes but that should hopefully happen tomorrow. Anyway, he had a postive experience and some success, so I am pleased. At the end, he wanted to do everything himelf...get his shorts and underwear off, sit on the potty, dump the pee from the little potty into the big potty himself and flush. He did everything really well except the flushing- out toilets are hard to flush actually. By the end of the day though he was tired of sitting on the potty ( and I wouldn't let him play on the couch, which he wanted to) and just wanted to play, so we put a diaper on for the dinner hour. I hope once the novelty wears off he will still be as into it. But all in all, a good first day.