Sunday, August 15, 2010

Potty Training Report Card

Last week's unexpected successes with potty training were exciting, but the week that followed presented challenges. I'll spare you the soggy details, but I will say I've done a load of Caleb's laundry every other day this week to ensure he has enough changes of clothes for the next day's attempts at potty training.

So I decided to use this past weekend to refocus our potty training efforts. I figured if one weekend of potty training had brought us that far down the path do Diaper-Free Land, surely another weekend of nothing but potty training would really help to seal the deal!

Turns out, though, that two weekends of potty training make mommy crazy. ("No TV and no beer make Homer something something.")

Although Saturday was bad, Sunday, on the other hand was a great success! In fact, it was the most successful day we've had to date. No accidents! Even after nap time!

We attempted a trip out in public on Sunday for the first time during our two potty training boot camp weekends. We went to base to run a few errands. Before we left the house, I packed a bag with three changes of clothes and Caleb's new travel potty.


What' s that I hear you say? What kind of travel potty are we using? Well, I'm glad you asked. Because I freakin' love this thing.

We are using the Potette Plus by Bibs & Stuff. Here's the Potette lined up next to his frog potty (his personal favorite potty) and a potty seat he's still a little unsure of. The Potette is on the left, sans liner.

Now, to use the Potette, you also have to buy Potette liners, which are essentially small, plastic carrier shopping bags that smell like baby powder and have an absorbent pad in the bottom of the bag. Here' s the Potette with the liner in it. You can actually pull the liner all the way around the lid (and I usually do.) I suppose you could just use regular carrier bags, but that absorbent pad is nice!
Here's a peek down at the absorbent pad at the bottom of the bag. Genius little piece of material!

Once your kid has done the deed, you pull the bag off the seat, tie up the handles, and toss it in the trash! No mess to clean up! Super easy! Then you can fold the legs of the Potette flat for storage. Brilliant, right? It comes with a large plastic bag to store it in to keep it separate from whatever else you are carrying with you.

The legs can also pop out to create a little portable potty seat, too! Caleb's still a bit intimidated by big toilets, but hopefully this will help in public potty situations down the road.

Although he's still intimated by big toilets, Caleb loves having his Potette! He's used in the BX, the Commissary, the Arts & Crafts store, the vet's office, and even on the side of the A-11 during Thursday afternoon rush hour traffic. (That was just tonight!)
We're still having accidents, but he's making progress! The last two days, he's only had one accident each day at school. We've had some rough days (and nights!), but if I were to plot it on a chart, I'd say overall, we are moving in the right direction.

On Sunday, after he successfully stayed dry for our trip to base, I figured we'd venture out to our neighborhood after his nap. I took along the Potette, but he never needed it.


We brought out his scooter. He's finally figured out how to push himself along, but he can't seem to get much momentum going, so he prefers a little push.


We also brought out his tricycle. He still hasn't figured out how to pedal, so I pushed him along for a bit on that, as well. He loved it!

Caleb loves the sticker charts we've been using. He gets a little sticker for #1 and a big sticker for #2. Not too many big stickers yet (and none in this pic.) That's okay! We'll get there. (By the way, we're on chart #3 now!)

Over all, we're making progress. There are dark days where I'm tempted to put him back in a diaper and try again when he's 14, but then there are days when he does great! The laundry is never ending, but what can you do? He's a big boy, and he's demonstrated in so many ways that he's ready. I just have to remind myself to be patient and to ride it out.

Good job, big boy!

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