Potty Training 101

Goals for the summer:

1) Get Elliot out of diapers

2) Convince him to sleep in his bed

My precious new momma friend Meg, is doing awesome with her sweet new baby Jaxon! She read the book, made a plan, and is sticking with it! She is amazing! Check out her blog link to the side! Congrats to Meg and Hunter on sweet baby Jaxon! We are so happy for you! Welcome to motherhood! 

I did not read any books before Elliot came along, except for the one that tells about their growth during pregnancy! (Very short chapters, once a week) We rocked, fed, cried, and slept in no particular order. I expect their will be more to this story come October! We did not follow the rules from birthing class.  So it's not surprising that I didn't read a book or make much of plan for this chapter of our life either!  I did read several blogs and some magazine articles. I took a few tips from those and decided to go for it! This is the first week of summer that I have had free and am determined that he will be trained before the beach in July.

Monday - A special trip to the store for Big Boy undies.  Which was perfect for my child who is a shopper. He also found a tank top, shorts, and some socks! But because we have a budget, we left with just the essentials - undies (of his choice) and one pack of pull ups only for nighttime! I should also mention here that we are completely out of diapers! It's my motivation for success! 

Tuesday -  Get up and get started! Undies from the start. I made up the rest of the plan while having breakfast with my mom. The plan - set a timer for 45 minutes. When the timer goes off we stop and take care of business. I told Elliot the plan. He enjoys a good schedule. I set the timer on my oven, which is loud enough to be heard through the house. Elliot knows the plan! To spare the details and not be too embarrassing, I'll sum it up!   

2 accidents (one of which I claim as my fault)

3 uh-ohhs (which had a positive outcome)

5 success stories (only one load of laundry for the day)

Total - Day 1 - 50% success 

Fun quotes from Elliot

"I get candy bar now?" (This was his part of the plan)

"High five, momma! Good job!" (saying congrats to himself)

"Yeah! Time for candy bar!" 

-- He loves picking out which pair he gets to wear!

Wednesday - Same plan, timer every 45 minutes. The plan he developed of rewarding each success with a piece of candy. It is not a full candy bar and his favorite today has been lifesaver mints. It is currently nap time and we have had only one uh-ohh and no accidents! 

Favorite quote of today - After not taking care of business, he wants a piece of candy.  Uhm, no.  His reply, "I try again, so I can get candy?"  It worked, and he didn't have an accident. For week one we are getting on track. 

Concerning side effects: My child may possibly feel the urge every time he hears a timer or bell!