Potty Training in 3 Days...Really!

Let me just start this post by stating that I am well aware that I am no expert at potty training and have only done this once so I should not act like I can give advice. This is simply a retelling of our experience and anything that I feel will be helpful to others. So here goes...

In anticipation of potty training I decided to ask a lot of mothers how they did it and what method they used. In my mind I really thought this was going to be the hardest thing I have ever done as a parent. Most days it just seemed like an impossible hurdle we had to overcome...of course I had not even tried to get over the hurdle yet, I was just very nervous. If you know me very well, this would not surprise you. I love to completely worry and over prepare for something to find out in the end it wasn't as bad or impossible as I feared.

Potty training turned out to be no exception!

After my research, I decided to go with Lora Jensen's 3 Day Potty Training Method. I had a friend who had used it and she just raved about it and said everyone she had known who had used it had been very successful. I had a hard time giving up three days of staying at home but knew it would be worth it. Luckily, Pepper is now taking a bottle during the day so I was able to get others to watch her for the first two days. The first day Cody took her to church and then watched over her during the rest of Sunday. Monday, our dear friends Katy and Todd took Pepper all day long until it was time for bed and then Katy came over and gave Pepper a bath and got her ready for bed. How lucky am I to have such wonderful people in my life! From the first morning this method worked like a dream! I tweaked it just a little but in the end I would recommend this to anyone who is getting ready to potty train. I love that the method lets the child learn to recognize what their body is telling them and never makes them just sit on the potty when they don't really have to go. Sorry if this is too much info but Morgan was even pooping on the potty on the first day and does not seem really scared at all of his potty. All three days he has woken up dry from his nap and this morning he woke up dry from an entire night of sleep. I was really worried about getting rid of all the diapers on day one but it has worked out perfectly and since they are not there for you to fall back on you have to keep going no matter what.
One of the ways we tweaked the method was after two times of wetting his underwear on day one Morgan refused to put on more underwear so he went commando. My sister-in-law Joanna had recommended having Morgan go commando, that is how she did it with her four kids, and I think it worked best. That way Morgan didn't have to fight pulling something down and could just run in and go by himself whenever he needed to. Also, because there was nothing holding him in or catching the mess he was more anxious to get to the potty in time. That is why I think the poop part has worked so well (the only times he has pooped in his underwear is when he was alone with underwear on). Also, now that Pepper is back and I have to feed her bottles and put her to bed and leave Morgan alone for minutes at a time, he can go with no problem. I just take off his underwear before I go in with Pepper and he has had no accidents being left alone, even poop!
Thanks Joanna for that great tip.

I was also unsure about using food as a reward and wanted to do a sticker system. Once again, wise Joanna suggested that Morgan would need an immediate reward not just a promise of something in the future. So he would get two M&Ms after each successful, no mess bathroom visit and a sticker on his chart. Once he got a certain number of stickers he got one piece of a train. It seemed to work perfectly and after he had filled his chart at the end of the second day and had gotten all three pieces of his train we stopped the sticker chart. He seemed to like the chart but also didn't seem to miss it once it was done. Now that the three days are over he still gets candy every once in awhile, mainly when he remembers to ask for it but it is not a must.

It was fantastic getting to spend so much one on one time with Morgan again. I think he really enjoyed having my full attention and I loved getting to play with him. I think we must have read almost all the books in his room and that is saying a lot!

Today is Wednesday and playgroup so it will be our first venture outside and with pants on but I am feeling hopeful. Yesterday I invited a friend to come over for a bit to work on dealing with playtime and distractions. He had one small accident but was able to stop and finish in the potty so I think it was a success. When he woke up dry this morning I wanted to cry for joy! This may not be the end of his accidents but I feel very good about our successes so far and Morgan's ability to know when he has to go.

I really don't think Morgan is some sort of super-potty genius, I just think he was really ready and that the method works great. If anyone has any questions or wants to talk more about how it worked with us, please let me know. I always love talking about the new milestones in our lives. I really loved how much knowledge and helpful hints the other mothers gave me too. I didn't use every suggestion but I felt like I had a really good idea of what we were getting into and I felt prepared. Very key for me.

Thank you to Cody for all of his support and for taking such great care of Pepper and our family. If you doubt how much I've been stressing about this for months and months, just ask Cody about it sometime! He is so great at calming me down and telling me that I am doing a great job as a mother. I have had many panic attacks that I am failing my children in some way or the other and he always gets me back to the reality that I am doing the best I can.

Thank you, Cody. I will love you forever and you will always be my favorite!