First of all, I must say that as I thought about writing this post, what came to my mind was...'should I just be writing this in my journal instead?' I'll do that too, but I wanted to get this out there on the internet journal too. :)
Secondly, I always HATED it when people would use the word potty especially to anyone over the age of 3 and now it has become a word I probably repeat the most during the day. It's yet another one of those 'I'm eating my words' moments that I have had repeatedly as a parent.
I decided to get going on potty training with Drew mid-October for various reasons. One being that I had a week in there that I had totally free, I wanted to get it done (or going) before the holidays, and I thought he was understanding enough and ready. (From all that I had read/heard it seemed like a good week would get a person far...NOT FOR US.)
I'm a book person. I like to read parenting books of all sorts. Yep, I'm one of those that says, "well, in a book I read..." that I'm sure makes most 'seasoned' parents or other people roll their eyes. But what I like about it is that I read different parenting books so that I can see what is out there, and then decide what will work best for me, my style, and my kids' style. Anyway, not to get too far off track...I had bought two different potty books and had done plenty of reading online. My first mistake was that I didn't read both books all the way through before I started. hahaah The first book I read was one that has training suggestions according to personality, so I took the personality test of Drew and only read that section. After 2 weeks of getting nowhere (consistently) with the potty, I read through all of the personalities and discovered that the quiz questions put Drew in a different category than he really was. So reading 'his' section gave me some new insight.
So, after two weeks of going about it casually, I hit it hard core for another 2 weeks. We would have good days and bad, as expected, but it just didn't seem like we were headed toward any good progress. So I dropped it for a week (even though some books said don't, I felt encouraged by the others say do drop it if there isn't progress:).
After that week I revisited the idea but didn't push anything. After the previous weeks, he could hold it for 2+ hours so I would have him sit after that time and started doing great! It only took a short time on the pot before he did his business. So this week is starting week 3 and (I hope I don't jinx myself) it's been the best week so far!! Today he ran to the bathroom twice when he had to go...that's a big deal. :) I'll spare you the rest of the gross details.
So here is what I have learned and want to share:
*Treats may work great for other kids...not for Drew. (Reward yourself though:) It just caused problems. He is seriously motivated to just make us all happy (I hope that lasts throughout his life)!
*Showing by example with a doll or stuffed animal was awesome in the beginning.
*I need to trust myself and my instincts. I'm usually right with my own kids. I know them unlike anyone or book. :) Also, I usually am right when I think he has to go eventhough he says he doesn't...that's when a lot of the accidents happen.
*I loved reading the book about your child's personality and how that will affect potty training. I feel like now that I have his personality more pinned down, it has helped me understand him more in general and why he does what he does, and also with disciplining him. I'm totally going to use it with Brynn. She is a totally different personality type and maybe treats etc will work great with her.
*There will be accidents and that's how it is...it's fine. Just hurry and clean it up and everyone move on. :) I know that I'm not out of the woods yet, and that we still a lot further to go, but we have come so far and now I can actually see the light at the end of the diaper tunnel.
Anyway, not sure if you have made it through this far...it's a lot of text, but I just wanted to get that off my chest.
