Well, all the signs were there that Sawyer was ready to be potty trained (including his willingness & positive feedback about the idea). Yesterday was our big day of attempting the "one day method", one on one, no distractions, all drinks & all potty everything. By the end of the day he hadn't caught on to his "potty urge feeling" even the slightest. He was positive & upbeat, never complained about doing any of it, loved his underwear, helped me clean up every accident happily, but never on his own had even the slightest clue when he was about to "go", to even have a chance at going to the potty himself.
Last night I went to bed so confused about what to do next. According to the method I'd done, he was supposed to have gone potty on his own by the end of the day (usually less time, even). Do I do another entire day of that? Do I just keep him in the new underwear, having clueless accidents every 1/2 hour? Do I go buy those "cool sensor" pull-ups I saw advertised on tv until he starts to understand his body better?
This morning I continued on with having him sit on the potty at opportune times, putting him in his new underwear. Not only did he not go at all, but he really didn't want to go. He was starting to hate the potty and any talk of doing it. Wow, what a change from yesterday!
Now what?
After all the reading I've done, all the advice from the doctors who wrote the "What to Expect..." series has been spot on with raising Sawyer & hasn't led me wrong. I've decided to use their potty training rules, and not push him (once a kid starts showing hate, it's a problem). I'm in no rush to potty train him, I only tried because I really was convinced that he wanted to. If you push when they don't want to, it can really scar them, plus take much much longer than it should, and you're just making more laundry (and frustration) for yourself. Silly.
Plus, so much of the literature say that, in general, boys are older before they start to "get it", usually around 3 1/2.
There are also so many stories of just waiting until a child is a bit older, and they actually are the ones who come to the potty on their own, ready and willing, and practically doing it themselves. It's not like Sawyer is in some rush to get potty trained to start at a preschool or anything, so why not wait until he's truly ready?
So I prayed last night that I'd be in tune with him and what he needs, so that I wouldn't destroy his chances at successful potty training in the future either. Today, Sawyer and I had a very deep, gentle conversation (you'd be surprised how deep our conversations can get sometimes :), where he told me he'd like to "put the potty away, and have diapers back on" for awhile. I think that was the answer to my prayer- an actual answer of what Sawyer needs right now- FROM Sawyer. I was very pleased with the way he talked with me about it all, and felt surprisingly ok with that decision.
It looks like I'll need to make another trip to the store for diapers.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
I really liked this post. I liked how you came to your conclusion and how mature he was able to be and tell you exactly what he wanted!
Potty training scares me a little, like where to start etc. But I take comfort in knowing that there are few adults that I know that don't go in the potty... so we all usually get it eventually, right?
Hey Carrie-
I think you're right, sounds like he's not ready yet. Since kids are one of my specialties, I get to deal with this a lot. When you decide to try again, social stories and positive reinforcement schedules can be very effective.
Jenny
I just potty trained Dani (22months) I always read that it takes about 3 days before you can throw in the towel. It took me completely 10 days to potty train her to the point she tells me when she needs to go. Allie it took about a month. You are more than welcome to call me if you would like to hear more of my tips and advice 715-544-4351. But you know you child and inspiration tops all books and advice!! Your a good mom!
You're such a good mom! I love how you & Sawyer communicate so well! You can try the pullups, my thought on them, was that they were just a more expensive diaper, however, they were easier to get on & off when we needed to rush to the bathroom, so if you're looking for a good way to get them up & down quickly, then maybe that will work, but as far as wet sensors, that is a bunch of bologna!! True, it doesn't suck the moisture away, but that didn't seem to bother Caity.
That's cool that you can communicate so well with him. I agree with Shanda about the pull-ups...I think it's too close to a diaper to really do any good. Good for you for being patient.
Don't fret Carrie, lil Z took until he was 3 1/2. It was pretty constant accidents when we started at three, and finally we gave him a goal...I bought him a large section of Thomas Train (the chocolate factory!), left it in the box and put it in the bathroom. He could only look at the box while sitting on the potty, and could only open it once he'd been dry for a week (not counting nights). After that week, he had no excuses, because I knew he could do it. But like I said, this didn't happen til after he turned three.
Sawyer is smart, he will get it. And until then just live it up that you can go anywhere and do anything and not have to worry about hearing, "Mom, I have to go potty." Potty training is usually a lot of stress, so it is good that you are not pushing him and making it more stressful. Good luck.
Post a Comment