Potty Training Day

Today was Devin's big potty training day! I did this method with Aiden when he was Devin's age and it really worked out great. This book was recommended to me by my dentist's assistant and after reading it knew it was the method for us. The trick is to not attempt to potty train-at all-before doing this. Therefore there are no other preconceived notions on what is entailed and there aren't any negative connotations to using the potty. This book is slightly outdated, and did change a few things, but will explain.

Part of the training the book outlines for you to do with your child is for him to train a doll. By teaching the doll how to go potty will help reinforce the steps it takes, provide positive reinforcement for completion of the steps, and give you the opportunity to reward with snacks and drinks, which allow for ample potty opportunities.

I had to go out and buy a doll for us to use (since we don't have any, and the one we used for Aiden is in storage). The book specifies a potty doll that you can feed drinks and then can get it to "potty"...I'm not sure they make those anymore, and if they do I didn't investigate how to obtain one. This was a bath time baby and it did have a hole down there to eliminate water from the inside, but it just leaked out which would have been a disservice for what we needed. So instead I just brought in a cup of water and poured it into the pot when appropriate. I also had to makeshift the underwear for the doll a bit. I just used one of the smaller pairs we had and pinned it in the back so it stayed on, but was easy for Devin to pull down when he was teaching.
Another deviation was that I trained on the real toilet. Aiden was actually scared of the little "singing" potty and I figured when we're out and about all they'll have are big toilets anyway...so might as well learn now. Because of Aiden's experience, I chose to bypass the little potty all together and only used it as a tool when he trained the doll, and the stool to reach the sink. Aiden also responded better to learning to pee standing up rather than sitting down like the book outlined, so I chose to do that with Devin as well. Each child is a little different, and I think you should adapt to how the child wants to learn to make it a positive experience for both of you.

Because we weren't training on the little portable potty that can be placed in the kitchen like the book said, I chose to lay down a painters tarp and rugs to protect the carpet from accidents and make it an easier for Devin when he had to clean it up.

You must be prepared with lots of tasty snacks and drinks.

Here's the big boy enjoying some of his treats after successfully going potty like a big boy-and keeping his pants dry! That's another key thing, to reward that he has dry pants, not just that he can go on the potty.

Another must have is a "pee-pee" stool if you are training on the big potty...made lovingly by Papa when Aiden trained.

I'm a Big Boy now!!
In more ways in one...he's bypassed the first set of underpants I got for Aiden, and is already in size 4T that Aiden was wearing only a month ago...
Devin had a very successful day of training and has the procedures down. He does everything on his own, but still needs a bit of prompting when he's in the middle of doing something and makes "the face". I'm glad Aiden doesn't have school tomorrow so we can continue to stay home and reinforce the training he learned today. The important thing to remember is that once you take the diapers/pull-ups away, they stay away. For better or worse.
The book states that it's ok to wear them to bed or when their sick, but I've chosen not to. The mattress is encased in plastic and I just lay a large towel down, so if he wets the bed (which I'm sure he will) it's the only thing I have to change until he gets it.
I'll keep you posted on how he does in the next few days. But right now, I'm the proud mommy of a very Big Boy!!

**Please note that this post is in no way a complete source to use if you are choosing to train your child this way. You must read the book and follow all the procedures and use the language indicated. This is an all day venture and helps if it is only you and the child in the house for the day of training. I had to choose a day that Micah was available to take Aiden out (which is difficult because of his crazy schedule), so that's why today was the day. Micah and Aiden left for church a little after 8am and didn't come back home until after 6:30pm. It's crucial not to have any distractions during training and to have a complete understanding of the book's procedures and advice-so read the book! ;)
~Update~ we woke Devin up to go potty before we went to bed, and he was dry. He was really tired but finally did go potty. We anticipated he'd be wet this morning, but he came into our room around 6:30 saying he had to go potty-so we hurried fast to the potty where he went successfully and showed us how he had kept his pants dry all night! Woohoo!! Part of me thinks he would have stayed dry even if we hadn't woken him up since he only went a little bit. He's continued to stay dry all morning and going on his own. We're so proud of him :) Even planning a short outing to see how he does. Crossing our fingers he continues this trend and is officially "trained"!