Potty Progress!
I just have to brag on Sawyer real quick.
After a long, long, loooooooong road of resistance and messes and tears and triumphs, he is FULLY POTTY TRAINED.
I can hardly believe it myself – this has definitely been the biggest parenting challenge to date. He was not an easy kid to train. All of you who just slap some underwear on your 18-month-old and have them mastering the toilet in a weekend can kiss my pregnant white butt. Because I’m here to tell ya, it’s not always like that. Oh man, is it not.
We started the process back when he was two and a half, so about a year ago. Yes, a YEAR. We went through lots of resistance in which case we would stop for a few weeks and then start again. He’d go back and forth between no accidents and pooping on his floor and painting the walls with it when he was supposed to be sleeping. NOT. FUN.
Finally, one day something clicked and he stopped having accidents and being obsessed with his own droppings. He’s been mostly accident-free at home for a few months now. Which left us to work on outings and bedtime. He was highly resistant to using any toilet but the one in our house so out in public was a challenge. But a few days ago, he did a 180 and started agreeing to go pee while we were out and about. He’s successfully gone on four or five outings now with no accidents so I’m calling that mastered!
As for nights – he has always been a heavy night-wetter. Would wake up soaked most of the time. We’ve been cutting back his liquids in the evening though and he was waking up dryer. Couple that with him thinking he was being slick by taking a crap in his diaper as soon as we put him to bed just so he could come back downstairs, and I was DONE with diapers. Last night was the final straw and I put him in some underwear and told him no more diapers, ever. I expected to be woken in the middle of the night to clean soaked sheets, but surprisingly, he went the whole night dry!! I was so proud.
So tonight is his second night in underwear. I made him some special fleece ones so in case he does wet the bed, it’ll be contained a little better. He’s already come down twice to potty though and peed both times, so I’m thinking he’s probably good for the night.
If you’re thinking of asking me for tips – don’t! I don’t know any. As if that isn’t obvious by the year it took to train my kid, haha. But seriously, I feel like I’m still clueless, and we get to start this whole process again with Beckett soon. But hey – at least now I won’t have three in diapers!
