Potty Training Chronicles

We've adopted the policy of "slow and easy wins the race" when it comes to potty training around here. I loved the idea of potty training in a day or a weekend, but I also know my kiddo and he tends to figure things out on his own terms. I also really didn't want to spend my pregnancy with Baby #2 cleaning up JD's accidents all over the place. I would rather deal with diapers than that!

So around August, we started introducing the idea of the potty - more to gauge his interest than anything else. He was semi-interested, especially when we started the bribery, I mean, reward system. Whenever he went #1 on the potty, he got 2 jelly beans. If he told us that he needed to go, he got 4 jelly beans. This went on for most of August and part of September.

#2 just wasn't in the cards for us for a long time. I had the reward on the table - a Thomas the Train book with real wheels on it. I know he really wanted it. But the trouble was, he is a bedtime pooper. He tends to do his business after he sleeps, either in the morning or after nap. Either way, the deed was done before I could get to him to take him to the potty.

Then I went out of town for the weekend a few weeks ago, and Daddy and JD must have had a heart-to-heart about the situation. I got a phone call on Saturday night that JD had successfully had his first #2 on the potty (JD calls it "pooey on the potty")!

Daddy took JD to the bookstore to get his reward the very next morning.

And then it was on! He has been doing pretty well ever since...as long as we have a reward ("pooey prize") for the #2's (train, books, matchbox cars, etc). I think we are going to start phasing in Dum-Dum's instead of the pricey bribes pretty soon! We have even had a couple of dry days (with the exception of bedtimes)!

We might actually be fully potty trained before JD's baby sister arrives in December! Then the diapers start all over again...