Potty Trained

Day 1- 8 pair of underwear. We won't give up that easy. (Monday, October 19th)Lots of water and a timer so that I could get an idea of how often.

Day 2- 5 pair of underwear. Definately signs of hope. However, I doubted that he was really ready, thinking that maybe his bladder wasn't big enough yet. He's 31 months, that's probably old enough, but I still wondered. However, my doubts dissolved when the next morning he had a DRY diaper.

Day 3- 2 pair of underwear. Could it have been that easy?

Are we getting close?

Day 4- 3 pair of underwear

Day 5- peed his pants while at a friends house- we've gotta run faster!

Day 6- pretty good kid!

Day 7- 4 pair. What in the world happened there?

Day 8- 1 pair. It's a new week!

Day 9- Benson you are SO AWESOME!!

Day 10- This potty thing is sticking!

Day 11- Poop in his pants??!! Wow-I didn't know that I could get this frustrated with him. He peed his pants at the library- I guess I couldn't get to the bathroom fast enough. Then twenty minutes later, when we're checking out with our books, he left a huge puddle on the counter as it dripped down his leg. Don't forget I have Andrew and a stack of books, and a really embarassed look on my face. Oh, and I did not have the diaper bag. I spotted some lysol wipes behind the counter and casually asked the librarian if I could have one. That mess was done, now on to Benson. Benson apologized over and over through his tears. I had to tell myself, 'he's learning, he's little, he's doing great' as I took off his shoes, to take off his wet pants to wipe off wet legs, to replace wet with clean and dry- all while in the backseat of the van. I thought- we're good now, so I decided to stop at Smith's to pick up some pictures. Benson sounded the alarm and we went straight to the bathroom. Before I gave him the okay, he was not aimed correctly and peed all over me. Kimball received a text saying something like, 'I give up, I'm going back to diapers, they are so much easier.' Later that night I found myself giving him lots of hugs and encouragement, feeling bad for being so hard on him. It's common to hear him saying, "I'm doing great! I'm a big boy. I don't pee in my pants, I don't." He went poo the very first day we attempted to train him and Kimball and I had already decided that we were going to make it a really BIG deal, since we'd heard that can be an obstacle. We gave him popcorn and a movie AND a treat. Now when he goes to the bathroom he'll say, 'I get a treat, and a movie, and popcorn (and with even wider eyes) and a treat." (oh now we're up to two treats? (:) It's really adorable, but can't be an everyday thing. Now, he gets to blow out a candle. Kimball came up with that one, and he loves it. Originally, I was just letting him flush the toilet since I hadn't ever let him do that before. It totally worked, along with lots of clapping, excitement, and cheering.

Day......It's now been a whole month and NO accidents for almost two weeks with greeting the morning with a dry diaper 80% of the time. He even went for 6 hours travelling to Portland without a potty break. It all started when I told him he was a big boy at church and then he said, "I want to wear big boy pants now." The next day was our first attempt, even though I was not ready. I was in no hurry and love the convenience of not having to know where the restrooms are located everywhere we go. Diapers were great for me- at least for a few more months.

I have to say that Benson really gets all the credit for potty training. He is such a good boy and so motivated to please us. I'll admit that the first time I saw him in big boy pants my heart just sank as I realized that he is growing up and just moving right through stages and onto the next. Kimball thought that I was a tiny bit silly, until he came into the kitchen and Kimball took a look at him. He immediately felt the same way. It amazes me that he can do hard things. I'm really proud of him!

***update (November 25th) He is doing GREAT! Now when he says he's 'gotta go', he can hold it longer and I don't feel in a panicked rush. Really, he is awesome!!