Operation Potty Train: Day 1

A few weeks ago, Mark and I decided that we were going to start potty training (seriously) very soon and knew we had to have a plan of attack. I'd heard about the success of this 3 day potty training book and decided to purchase it online. Mark and I both read it cover to cover (yes, I have a super supportive husband!) and decided to start this weekend since we had no big plans.

The gist is this: At the beginning of Day 1, you commit to not using diapers ever again. (The author is pretty hard core and tells you to throw all of your diapers out, but I am certainly not that brave. Our diapers never saw our trashcan.) Then, you put big boy underwear on your son and make a big deal about how much of a big boy he is and you take him to the potty and tell him that from now on, he needs to keep his underwear dry and only go pee/poo in the potty. For 3 days straight, you are not allowed to leave his side. When you see that he is about to go, or has an accident, you immediately rush him to the toilet. And for 3 days straight, you have to tell him every few minutes "Tell Mommy/Daddy if you need to go potty, okay?" or "Don't forget to keep your big boy underwear dry!" to continue to remind him to be aware of when he has the urge. When he goes on the potty, he gets a reward (in our case, M&Ms).

Yesterday morning, Jacob was super excited about wearing his big boy Diego underwear. He sported them around the house proudly. Sure enough, a little time goes by and he has an accident in our room, so as soon as he started to go, I ran him to the potty and let him finish there. Then we just reminded him that when he needs to go, he has to tell us so that we can take him to the potty. He had another instance like that when we were in the living room and once again, I just took him straight to the toilet and let him finish there and reminded him to tell Mommy when he needs to go. A few hours later, he did just that! He grabbed himself and had a look of panic and I took him straight to the potty and he held it and went there! The day was filled with successes like that (although he doesn't yet understand his urge to go #2 -- which unfortunately went right onto Diego's head on the underpants). At night, the book says to limit the drinks they consume a couple of hours before bedtime and make sure they go potty right before bed. You keep them in their underwear EVEN AT NIGHT and expect to be changing sheets/clothes in the middle of the night. We had extra sheets, underwear and pajamas set out for the night for when this happened. Mark and I were *super* skeptical. He went on the potty right before bed and Mark put him down at 8 pm as usual.

Here's the shocker: Would you believe that kid did not have ONE accident all night long and woke up DRY?! We heard him at 6:30 am and I ran upstairs to see what kind of mess we were looking at and everything was DRY TO THE BONE! I was shocked! This kid always wakes up with a VERY full diaper. Sure enough, he sat right on the potty and went for the first time in the morning. Can it really be this easy?! Or are we in a honeymoon phase?!

We are so proud of our little guy and the way that he listens and follows directions. I think it truly helps that he is excited about going on the potty and always has been..but it still amazes me that he catches on to things so quickly. I know we haven't mastered potty training yet by any stretch of the imagination, but I will take this success as it comes!