After having two boys in diapers for 3 months and Oliver about to start preschool, we decided it was time to get Oliver potty trained. We had been putting him on the potty off and on over the past 6 months or so, but never really put much effort into it and it wasn't going anywhere, so we decided to do one of the "3 day potty training" approaches over the labor day weekend. This method is basically to get rid of the diapers, fill him full of drinks and salty snacks and stick on him like white on rice for the next 3 days. The major reason I liked this method in particular was the emphasis on positive reinforcement - you frequently ask them if they are dry and when they say yes, you cheer and hug them, etc. Then when they say they aren't dry or they are starting to go, you whisk them off to the potty so they learn how to tell when they are about to go and to get to the potty. We also did a sticker chart, small trucks for pooping in the potty, and the ultimate reward: going to the space needle when he was done. The weekend started off great - we were all very enthusiastic about it and Oliver was loving the opportunity to drink juice, eat jello, popsicles, popcorn, goldfish crackers, fun fruits, and potato chips. Day 2 was a little more stressful, partly because this method said to get rid of night diapers too, which resulted in having to get up to change the sheets in addition to waking up with Liam...we were tired and bored (you have to stay within running distance of the potty). Oliver also had only pooped once, which is very unlike him and made us worry he was getting constipated...So we filled him full of blackberries and as much high fiber foods as he would eat. We were getting the sense that he was scared to go poop in the potty, so I decided to get a little creative. I rang the doorbell without Oliver knowing and when he answered it, there was a "poop stick" waiting on the doorstep that had been left for him by the "poop fairy" and it would help him poop on the potty without being scared : ) Not too bad for a quick improvisation of stuff I had lying around the house! On the 3rd day, we were all getting pretty annoyed with the constant "are you dry?" "tell me if you have to go potty" dialog and decided to take the show on the road. We walked down to Seward Park with the potty and Oliver did a fantastic job! He peed in it at the park and stayed dry all the way to get a treat at the coffee shop. He has also stayed dry for all his naps from the very first day. It has now been a whole week, including two days at daycare (with multiple outfit changes...) and he hasn't had any accidents in 3 days (and counting!). We decided to put a pull-up on him at night because he has never gone all night staying dry and we aren't sure he is physiologically able to do this yet. He got really mad when we put the pull up on him though, yelling "I wear underwear!", so we put his underwear on over the pull up and tell him these are just special sleeping underwear...
So today was the big reward! We went to the space needle (potty in hand) and had a great morning (accident free with two potty breaks). Oliver is very proud of himself and random people have been great too - everytime we stop for an emergency potty break on the street or at the park, people cheer him on : ) He starts preschool on Monday where they have a miniature version of a regular public restroom with little stalls and sinks, so hopefully he will get more comfortable using a regular toilet (he is too scared to even sit up on our toilets at this point) and we won't have to cart his potty around with us everywhere...
Way to go Oliver!!!
PS- I finally finished this post 2 years later, and we are just about to start potty training Liam. Wish us luck!
