Officially Toilet Training!!!!!

Well, today is Day 2 of re-trying to toilet train our 3 1/2 year old Ethan. We tried off & on this past summer, stopping when it became too frustrating for Ethan & trying again after some time had passed. Then, when Ethan started daily preschool this year, we put him in a pull-up for school since he wasn't yet toilet trained. For awhile, I would change him into underwear when he came home from school, but with him occasionally napping....and needing a pull-up for that as well, I think it was just too confusing for him.

So, now that he is showing REAL interest in toilet training, I was concerned about putting him back in pull-ups & causing this confusion all over again. Plus, he WANTS to wear underwear....and hates putting the pull-ups back on for bedtime. I am SOOOO thankful for this "change of heart" that he has had about using the toilet. Yesterday, I contacted Ethan's preschool teacher, and we both agreed that it would be best for Ethan to stay at home & focus on toilet training. There are only 5 days of school until Christmas vacation, and we are still hoping to go for his class Christmas party next week...so he will only be missing 4 days. We both felt like we should take advantage of this timing as well as his interest. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Ethan's school????!!!!!

Ethan has been awake for 3 hours now, and we haven't had any accidents. I talked with my sister this morning when she dropped off her kids at my house, and asked her about her experience toilet training her son. I was concerned because Ethan doesn't EVER say he has to go to the bathroom or use the bathroom on his own. She told me that her son did the same thing. She assured me that he will get the hang of it over time.....I just need to be consistent and positive. Awhile ago she bought Ethan a potty watch for him, and we started using it today. I take him to the bathroom every 45 minutes, and we haven't had an accident yet today! YEA!

I am doing a couple of things differently....besides using the potty watch. The first thing I am doing differently is not asking him if he has to go potty.....I am just telling & taking him....every 45 minutes. Eventually, I am hoping to extend this to an hour & maybe longer. The second thing I am doing differently is letting Ethan take the lead. He is REALLY into his picture sequence strip that my friend Jenny made for us. I had to tailor it a little bit.....like adding the words "in the toilet" after the words "go potty".....that was a messy lesson! HA! He is really relying on this support aid, and I am letting him. I have to learn to let him do it on his own. I have to learn to take out my voice/support as he becomes more independent. I have to learn to let him struggle with pulling up his underwear & not step in to help......even though it is very hard for me. But each time, he gets better & better....faster & faster....looks at the picture less & less. In fact, the last time I took him to the bathroom, I literally did nothing except get down the jar of jelly beans for his reward. I said nothing....I just was there in case he needed help, got stuck on the steps or got frustrated with it......and he did great!!!!

I am so glad he is showing initiative! It's so similar to when we taught him to drink out of a straw. We tried & tried to get him to do this...in our eyes....simple thing. Grandma Holly even tried her trick that helped Ethan's cousins "get" it.....but nothing was working. Not that that is a crucial thing for him to learn, but I felt like he was old enough to be out of the sippy cups & into older kid cups....a lot which contain a straw. And then, one day, after weeks of us not trying....we were at a restaurant....and he reached over for his drink & drank it out of the straw! As if it was something he had been doing all along!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited about this! I am really hoping he gets it this time. I know accidents will happen, but the fact that he is interested in learning & doing it is a HUGE benefit!

Last night, I was telling Ethan that IF he laid in the bed to sleep, THEN he needed to wear a pull-up, and it is okay to do that....he is still a big boy. After he reluctantly let me put it on him, he walked over to his dresser & pulled out a pair of underwear. Corey & I were so excited that we couldn't help but laugh. Corey explained that after he woke up in the morning, then he could wear his big boy underwear. They laid them in a special place in Ethan's room, and Ethan climbed into bed.....repeating what Corey had told him. When I went into Ethan's room to get him up for the day, the first thing he said was, "Go potty & put on underwear"....and that's exactly what he did! He grabbed his laid out underwear & RAN to the bathroom. By the time I caught up with him with his clothes for the day, he was already well into the sequence of pottying. YEA!!!!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(PS.....I would put him in underwear at night time IF he was dry in the morning.....but he NEVER is......his pull-up is very full....so we will work on that later......)