bye bye diapers

i'm still a little bit too afraid to say that 'hendrix is potty trained'

but

he has not worn a diapers for the past ten days.  

and that is most definitely progress, and dare i even say, success?!?!  ;)

the potty journey started a long time ago, but i was very half-hearted about it at best.  he had shown some interest, along with a few signs of readiness like staying dry for long periods of time, and being capable of pulling his pants up and down.  

at that point in time i would just focus on it for  a couple hours at a time, and he would wear big boy underwear around the house, and when we would have to leave for work, errands, or whatever other distraction; i would put a diaper on him and we would pretty much lose any progress we may have made.  in fact, it got to the point where he would just hold it the whole time he had underwear on and wait until i put his diaper back on.  hmmmmm.

fast forward several months to the birth of our daughter and we had serious regression with desire to become potty trained.  he was even more capable, and even more communicative about it; but he was a tad bit jealous of the attention that blaire was getting, and wearing diapers was one way that he was just like her.  he liked to hide to poop, come tell us about it, and then climb up on the changing table himself to get changed.  he would even tell me which color diaper he wanted to wear next (as we cloth diaper so they are bold, bright colors).

i think i finally realized that it was less a capable thing, and more a stubbornness thing when we had a conversation that went like this:

"hendrix, do you want to wear underwear so you can be a big boy like gabe?" 

and he replied 

"mommy, i AM a big boy like gabe, but i want to wear diapers like blaire".  

hmmmmm. 

still, at this point i have a breastfeeding 3 month old that needs quite a bit of attention, and we spend most mornings attending fun activities (like library storytimes, gym playtime and playdates) before coming home for naptime, and then heading off in the car to pick up the kids and run them around to their activities for the rest of the afternoon/evening.  our schedule really didn't seem potty training friendly and i didn't want to battle about it.  i really just didn't.

but daddy had other plans.

similarly to how he decided hendrix was ready to move into his big boy carseat instead of the baby carrier or that he needed to transition to a big boy bed from the crib, daddy just decided we were going to do it one day (without my consultation) and there was no turning back.

i think he recognizes that there is a part of me that will always have a hard time letting go of things that make hendrix my sweet baby boy to let him grow into a strong and independant young boy. 

i will admit though, there was definitely a degree of frustration, maybe even a tiny bit of resentment, on my part that he likes to make changes that require most of the implementation from me (you know, since i am the one that is home with the kids all day monday through friday.....).  

okay, but he was right.

hendrix was ready.

it was time.

so last sunday, we had an ice storm that ruined all of our plans for the day, so it was a perfect opportunity to have all of mommy and daddy's attention and stay close to the potty all day.

per some reading, bud thought we would have the most success if we just put on big boy underwear, made the diaper no longer an option, and reinforced the concept in every fashion we possibly could.  we read books about using the potty, we played apps on the iPad that showed the steps of using the potty, we watched the pull-ups potty training dvd with various songs, games and stories about using the potty, we danced to the potty songs, we lived and breathed talking about feeling the urge and then sitting to wait.

despite spending hours sitting on the potty chair, we went through six pairs of underwear before we even had one successful piddle on the pot.  and that didn't happen until 6:30 p.m.  i was discouraged to say the least.  then we had a couple more little successes that evening followed up by him waking up in the middle of the night crying because he was wet.

i was ready to give up, but hubby said we had to try it for a full week before we knew if it wasn't going to work.  if we couldn't have a completely dry day by then, then he wasn't really ready.  oh brother. 

that second day he only had one accident and that was a poop accident, and then he started telling me when he needed to sit on the potty (in contrast to just setting the timer for 45 minutes and trying all day long).  and that night he stayed dry overnight.  breakthrough!!

the next two days we didn't have any accidents!

since then we have had a few accidents, but that is since we have added pant wearing back into the mix, and have actually left the house; we had to go back to work on day four, we have gone on playdates, and even went to a show at stephens auditorium; all while staying clean and dry!

we have progressed from rewarding for just sitting on the potty, to rewarding when he actually went on the potty, to now rewarding for going periods of time without accidents.  he is so proud of himself and loves telling everyone that he has mickey mouse underwear.  ;)

i still don't think that we have reached a point in which it is easier than him wearing diapers.  he doesn't have much advance warning, and sometimes i have to set blaire down mid-feed to help him.  we have to try before anytime we leave the house which increases my 'getting ready time'.  and i now have to see the inside of every public bathroom whenever we leave the house.  

BUT

it will get easier and better.  

he will get more independent about it.  

and he really IS a big boy now!

in the meantime, goodbye cute little jeans, and hello sweatpants!  lol