With a long school-free stretch in front of us (Zachary is off both for MLK Day Monday and a kindergarten in-service on Tuesday, plus no school on Wednesdays), we decided to make another attempt at potty training this weekend. Yesterday, after swimming, two of Zachary's teachers helped us put together a "potty party", where I, the teachers in turn, and mima spent much (most) of the day just hanging out in the petite downstairs bathroom. Z enjoyed most of the time spent there, getting tons of attention in addition to checking out a bunch of toys and activities presented just for the occasion. We also had various kids books on the subject at hand, including his favorite retro '70s (okay, 1980)
book, which he hadn't read in months and was pleased to see again. Ironically his favorite book choice was a morality
tale that has nothing to do with toilets -- but seems a wholly appropriate title for this blog post anyway. Because one thing Zachary demonstrated this weekend was a bladder of steel, with often hours going by between, um, "events". So hey, at least he's got decent control (if, as proven several times, poor aim). He went several times in the potty over the course of the day, but frequently kept his legs figuratively crossed well past the point of visible discomfort. This was the point where we'd ask him if he wanted more juice or milk, and he'd emphatically say yes and then guzzle it down -- so clearly that connection hasn't yet been made in his mind! Between potty trips, he got to wear some new Thomas-themed underwear that he was very excited about, and we'd check for dry underpants and give him a stamp for successes.
Today was a bit more difficult; we had an epic marathon of toilet sitting (the process had been that he stay on the potty until he went) for about four and a half hours, which ended in mutual frustration, a soaked bathroom, and a very sad mommy and Zachary. When Meh went to work (and with Owen frequently fussing), I regressed back to less toilet time and frequent underwear checks with him wearing underwear under a diaper -- most of which were similarly ending in wet underpants. But after an exhausting, underpant supply exhausting, and seemingly unproductive day, Zachary looked at me and said "want to sit on potty". He grabbed my hand, walked me over to it, and 10 minutes later he had a big success. And so what if half of it missed, it was still great to see him initiate this step. Of course, during bath time he proceeded to pee in the tub, so definitely still some work to do here. But despite the challenges and setbacks, it's still good to see him overall enjoying and talking about his time on the often empty pot.
With a long school-free stretch in front of us (Zachary is off both for MLK Day Monday and a kindergarten in-service on Tuesday, plus no school on Wednesdays), we decided to make another attempt at potty training this weekend. Yesterday, after swimming, two of Zachary's teachers helped us put together a "potty party", where I, the teachers in turn, and mima spent much (most) of the day just hanging out in the petite downstairs bathroom. Z enjoyed most of the time spent there, getting tons of attention in addition to checking out a bunch of toys and activities presented just for the occasion. We also had various kids books on the subject at hand, including his favorite retro '70s (okay, 1980) book, which he hadn't read in months and was pleased to see again. Ironically his favorite book choice was a morality tale that has nothing to do with toilets -- but seems a wholly appropriate title for this blog post anyway. Because one thing Zachary demonstrated this weekend was a bladder of steel, with often hours going by between, um, "events". So hey, at least he's got decent control (if, as proven several times, poor aim). He went several times in the potty over the course of the day, but frequently kept his legs figuratively crossed well past the point of visible discomfort. This was the point where we'd ask him if he wanted more juice or milk, and he'd emphatically say yes and then guzzle it down -- so clearly that connection hasn't yet been made in his mind! Between potty trips, he got to wear some new Thomas-themed underwear that he was very excited about, and we'd check for dry underpants and give him a stamp for successes.
Today was a bit more difficult; we had an epic marathon of toilet sitting (the process had been that he stay on the potty until he went) for about four and a half hours, which ended in mutual frustration, a soaked bathroom, and a very sad mommy and Zachary. When Meh went to work (and with Owen frequently fussing), I regressed back to less toilet time and frequent underwear checks with him wearing underwear under a diaper -- most of which were similarly ending in wet underpants. But after an exhausting, underpant supply exhausting, and seemingly unproductive day, Zachary looked at me and said "want to sit on potty". He grabbed my hand, walked me over to it, and 10 minutes later he had a big success. And so what if half of it missed, it was still great to see him initiate this step. Of course, during bath time he proceeded to pee in the tub, so definitely still some work to do here. But despite the challenges and setbacks, it's still good to see him overall enjoying and talking about his time on the often empty pot.
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