Going into this, I didn't realize how much work it is to potty train. I figured, get him the potty, the stickers, lots of encouragement and away we go. I read that it takes up to 12 months for a child to be fully trained (is this really true??)
The first day I started tracking his urination schedule which helped on the second day. Obviously he's not going to pee at a specific time but it was more motivation to get him to the potty. So what have I learned so far? (Day #4)
- Mason accepted this new routine better than I had hoped for
- He has associated the 'ding' of the microwave timer as it's 'time to pee' (confused him when I set the timer for the oven lol)
- He likes the stickers + candy but it's not a big deal to him anymore so I'm going to remove the chocolate treats
- He's comfortable with pulling his underwear down and up on his own
- He usually pees immediately or within a few minutes, past that he's gone running
- He loves me to read him stories while on the potty
- We had a few accidents in his undies which prompted him to yell 'Pee! Pee! Pee!'. I have to constantly reassure him that it's okay and that it's part of learning. The bonus part is that he now is aware of what his body is doing
- He has yet to poop in the potty or while he's home (has only done it at daycare and I don't think they are assisting me with training)
- He wears pull ups during the night
- He still runs out of the bathroom after he's peed, gotta focus more on the hand washing part
- While he protests peeing on the potty a few times during the day, he changes his mind half way through (which means I can't back down)
- He seems quite proud of himself
- I still give him stickers for 'trying' even if he doesn't have to go quiet yet
I think we are on the right track, if anything it's saving a few diapers and he's now aware of when he pees. Next phase is him knowing he has to pee and telling me.
Great process so far, I am so proud!