Potty Success! :o)

Its been a week since we first started attempting to train James to use the potty. I've about torn out my hair in frustration when he seemed to purposely have "accidents" because he knew I wanted him to use the potty. Three potty's, a great DVD and a whole slew of stickers later, I feel we have achieved success! :o)

I finally decided to look at other resources for help including the internet and a book I have on Toddlers. I realized I was being too demanding on him, I was asking him if he needed to go, instead of letting him come tell me, I knew he knew what to do since he would call out asking to go potty first thing in the morning after holding it all night! But then the days were exhausting and I was feeling anxious and frustrated, which I KNOW was affecting him. :o(

I found this awesome movie called, "Once Upon a Potty" based on the book of the same title. I figured since James loves videos more than any other person I know, I figured a video geared towards teaching him would be the ticket... and I believe it was. :o) He has watched that video literally numerous times since I bought it, last Tuesday or Wednesday night (the days are blending together) and the next day after he watched it, I had promised myself to have a whole new attitude and I was prayerful for him and for me that we'd make it through this. :o) And I'm telling you, it was an absolute miracle! He had no more pee accidents! He asked for help every time and did his business without crying or fussing or complaining of any kind! He even seemed happy and proud of himself! It was a complete change!

The next obstacle was that James is very regular, meaning he goes number two every morning, and sometimes even in the afternoon as well, and next thing I knew he hadn't pooped for two days.... he was holding it in. :o(

Dave and I figured out from reading material I found online that after a bad potty experience kids will avoid using the potty, so we figured since James seemed to have trouble pooping in the potty that first day (the hole was too small and he had to lift his body off the seat and ended up finishing on the actual seat) we think he just didn't like the way it went and was obviously refusing to go in the potty and since he knew he shouldn't go in his pants, then he just wouldn't go. Which we all know is not a good thing.

So we decided we need a totally different potty. I have done quite a bit of research online and since I had this newfound approach of getting what James would actually like, I first was looking for a potty with a bigger hole, preferably one more suited for older kids, and ideally one that is green, since it is clearly James favorite color! :o)

I finally found, The Froggy Potty! And it seemed as though it would be perfect! The positive reviews online seemed to coincide with what I needed for James, whereas the negative ones had nothing to do with what I was dealing with. And it was CHEAP! $15!!! No bells and whistles, just a pot that looks like a frog! At first we were worried because he refused to even sit on it, he insisted on going in the potty he was already used to. And he and Jordyn seemed to think it was a toy. :o(

The the next miracle happened, one day we decided to just keep the other potty in our car for trips, thinking if all there was available was the froggy potty (since he desn't want to use the regular toilet with a removable seat) then he'd be forced to use it. And it worked! He didn't complain, he just used it! I was about in tears I was so relieved and proud. :o)

All our problems were solved, he had a potty he liked that he could pee in without it getting everywhere (earlier problem with finding a potty with a decent splashguard) and he didn't even need to hold himself down! And the potty is scooped just right so he can poop without literally sitting in it! And so today he has peed many many times (he drinks lots of juice most days) and pooped twice, and had NO accidents!!!! I couldn't be more relaxed. :o)

Thanks to my sister, Carter and my mom, for all the great advice and encouragement. And especially for keeping me from backing down and giving up and reverting back to diapers. He is loving being a big boy and dumping his eliminations into the big toilet, and putting stickers on his chart! He always would get a hug from me after doing his thing, but now he holds out his arms requesting it! :o)

I am so happy... can you tell??? :o)


And a funny little extra, is that Jordyn seems to be very interested in all this and wants to sit on the potty and pretend to dump the contents, and say, "Yay!" :o)

Dave and I are trying to not get too excited, but we are hoping in another few months maybe we might have two out of diapers!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!! :o)