P is for Potty

I finally decided to potty train my son. It's been about a year and a half since I first tried to do it. We had gotten a potty training book and a toilet seat for his 1st birthday from his great-grandparents. I introduced the potty to him and sat him down the toilet a couple of times. But he just didn't get it.

This time around, he was showing interest. Ever since he started watching Cocomelon on Netflix, where a character named JJ is encouraged to go potty, Roman has been saying the word "potty."" He has never really done that before.

So I decided that Labor Day will finally be the day! I ordered him the Summer Infant potty that looks just like a regular toilet. It comes with a cushion seat that will fit an adult toilet when it comes time for him to transition to the regular toilet.

Day 1

It was as an eye opener. I decided to just completely take off the diaper and let him run around the house in his chonies/briefs. I took him to the potty every hour... from the the time he wakes up at like 730am. We were excited! BUT... I made a deal with my husband to let him take care of the poo poo accidents while i took care of the pee accidents. I think I counted 5 accidents during the day. There were times he would sit on the potty, then 10 mins later while playing, he would just stop and I would pee trickling down his leg. Luckily, we had the day off so I was able to keep an eye on him. I guess we didn't realize just how much he peed without the diaper??? I was beginning to worry that he might have an overactive bladder. (But now looking back, I think the sensation was just so new to him.) Since I didn't have any "treats" to give him, my husband and I would just cheer and give him high 5's whenever he would go in the potty. I also made sure he wiped his thingy with a wipe, "flushed" his toilet, and then washed his hands. There were no poo poos that day.

That night, after we did our routine, (potty, floss, toothbrush, wash hands, bedtime stories), I let him lay on the bed bare butt. Then once he fell asleep, I put on a diaper. He did wake up and said "mommy potty" to which I quickly reacted and took him to the potty. Then when we went back to bed, I put the diaper on him again. The next morning, I did see that the diaper was still wet. So he probably went during his sleep at some point.

Day 2

I did the same thing, put him on the potty first thing in the morning. Then I took him every hour every hour after that. I TRIED to just take the chonies off and let him run around bare-butt... but it honestly kind of bothered me how he would touch his thingy constantly. SOOOOoooo I put the chonies back on. However, between 9-12... I ended up taking him every 30 mins just to avoid any accidents. I think we still had quite a few during the day! I felt like we went through 3 packs of chonies pretty quickly. By the way, we chose the word "titi" to call his thing. It is the Tagalog word for penis. So I would normally give him a command to "punas your titi" which means "wipe your titi" and he would understand. I think we had a total of 4 accidents. Including a poo poo accident... whilst I was changing his chonies! I think one of them hit me on the hand and he started laughing! Good thing they were all solid pieces. That night, after the bed time stories, he told me "mommy potty" so I quickly took him to the potty. I did the same thing again, wait until he fell asleep, then put a diaper on him. The next day, the diaper was DRYYYY!!!! I was amazed :)

Day 3

Potty every hour, but every 30 mins between 9am - 12pm. This was the first day he actually went poo poo in the potty. Again, accident after naptime. Still working on having him tell us when he needs to potty. At the moment, I am still taking him every hour. Night-times are a little easier because I'm already off work and I can keep an eye on him better. Did the diaper thing again as soon as he fell asleep... and next morning, he woke up dry again :) So I figured he is totally getting this!!! Woo hoo!!!

Day 4

Perfect day!!! No accidents!!! Still took him every 30 mins from 9am - 12pm. And as soon as he woke up from his nap, I quickly took him to the potty. Happy mom here :)

I just realized that the 3 day potty training thing actually works. Except... we didn't do the bare-butt technique and I didn't give him extra juice or water. I learned, for our experience, rather than asking "do you need to go potty?" to which the answer is always "no"... it is easier to just have a schedule for him and just say "let's go to the potty!" I think he will eventually learn to say he needs to go.

Day 5... BIG DAY!!! Today is the day we go out of the house.

So, Chris took the day off... and I took a half day so that we can take Roman to see the giant dinosaurs in Cabazon. https://www.cabazondinosaurs.com/

So Roman woke up... did his usual thing. Then Chris and I made sure to pack the potty w/ us in the trunk of the car. We got him ready w/ shorts and everything... since he's only been walking around with a sando and chonies for the past couple of days. I also bought some disposable plastic liners for the potty. But honestly, I think we could do with regular plastic bags. I just didn't want to use the thick ones we have been getting from the grocery stores. I'm not sure if the thin vegetable plastic bags would work though. Those might be too small. So before leaving the house, I had Roman sit on the potty, cleaned it out, then packed it in the car. The ride there is about 1hr and 15 mins. As soon as we got to the Dinosaur place, I put the liner on the potty and had him go! Potty Liners from Amazon

We figured, potty training should also be easy when you are on the go. I thought about getting a foldable one with us. But it would be another thing to spend money on. When he gets older, he will learn how to stand and aim when he is going potty. So it is safe to say that this trip was successful! He also didn't potty during/after naptime. His shorts stayed dry the whole time :)

Day 6 was another outing day... and no accidents!

We went to late lunch/early dinner in HB and brought the potty w/ us. We did a bike ride by the beach and drove home.

I also started to just take the diaper completely off while he's sleeping. So he pretty much sleeps bare-butt. And just like that... we are DONE w/ diapers in less than a week of potty training!

Day 7

It was a full day without Mommy. He went with Dad to Grandpa Skippy's house. I guess he had an accident there... he did tell someone "Potty" but he was so busy playing with the kids that he probably told someone after the fact.

WEEK 2

Pretty much no accidents on 09/14, 09/15, 09/16... I have been diligently taking him as soon as I hear him wake up from his nap. That seems to be another skill he has to learn.

Wins:

- He tells us when he is about to poop, every single time!

- He has learned to use my mom's cell phone in a different room, and calls me in while I'm working, to tell me he has to use the potty. Most of the time it is to pee.

- He is still waking up dry in the morning

- He is so used to taking the potty w/ us even when we are not at home

Still needs improvement:

- Telling us when he has to pee

- Still need to work on getting up to potty after naptime... he has wet the bed a couple of times

- Still bare-butt at night... I left the chonies on one time and he ended up peeing at night on the bed.

Overall, I am super proud of our son who also turned 3 not too long ago :)

He's a smart boy and adapts to new things very well.