I had the grand idea to try potty training with Doodle when we got back from our recent trip. He’s over 2 1/2 and we call him Mr. Particular because he likes things to be just right. He isn’t a big fan of messes and can’t stand for things to not be in the right place (most of the time).
I thought that maybe he would potty train quickly since he would likely be upset when he got his clothes and underwear wet/dirty. And I was right.
Day One:
Doodle slept until 10:45 (we arrived back home at 1:30 that morning). He woke up and didn’t eat until my parents arrived with lunch at around 12:30 (I offered him breakfast multiple times!) After lunch I changed him from diaper to underwear and he was really excited (we’d been talking about it for a few weeks.) I had him sit on the potty but nothing came.
He had a pee accident around 3:00, just when I was thinking about taking them up for nap, so I took him up, changed his clothes and put a diaper on under his clean underwear.
He woke up dry and we took off the diaper and sat on the potty again and nothing, again. After dinner he had another pee accident. Again, being basically bedtime, I took him upstairs, changed him and put him to bed.
Day two:
Doodle slept until around 9:00. After breakfast Sugarplum took him to the potty (I was feeding Pipsqueak and Doodle didn’t want to wait.) He pooed in the potty! Yay! We all said “Yay, Doodle! You did it! Awesome!” and we even called Daddy to tell him and Grandma and Grandpa, too.
We sat on the potty a few more times before nap at 12:30, but no pee. I again put a diaper under his underwear. When he woke up from nap we had to take Sugarplum to gymnastics. I forgot to check him before we left but had planned to have him in a diaper while we were out.
I took him to the bathroom at gymnastics, fully expecting a WET diaper, but he was still dry! After gymnastics we went to dinner with family and when we got home for bed his diaper was (obviously) wet. I put him on the potty again, and again nothing. Diaper under the underwear again and off to bed.
Today was day three of our adventure. And the last for now.
Doodle showered with Daddy while I unpacked from our trip, after he sat on the potty for awhile (but did not go). After the shower, I got him back dressed in his underwear and pajamas. He desperately wanted to get dressed but I told him not until he peed! And so he did. On my floor. I saw it happening and said “oh no! Stop the pee, let’s go put the rest in the potty!”
I took him into his room and sat him on the potty but again, nothing. I removed the wet clothes and got him dressed.
About an hour later we were downstairs, I was feeding Pipsqueak on the couch and Doodle was making me “lunch” at the play kitchen when he started worriedly screaming “poo! poo! poo!” I rushed him into the bathroom but it was too late. I cleaned him up and took the dirty underwear upstairs to rinse out and add to the pile of wet clothes and Pipsqueak’s diapers. I wanted to to run to Target for a few things so I took back down to find a dry diaper.
But when I tried to put the underwear over the diaper he got hysterical and was saying “no! no!” So for now, we’ll let it go. I don’t want potty training to be a traumatic experience for any of us and I don’t want it to be harder than it has to be.
I’m not too worried about it, we’ll come back and try again in a few months. Honeybun took three tries, a few months apart each, and the last time was super easy. Sugarplum I pushed too hard too soon and it was a DISASTER! (More on Sugarplum’s potty training adventures here.)
So we’ll wait, try again maybe after Christmas. And until then deal with judgmental people like the checkout lady at Target who, while ringing up my size 5 diapers and extra-strength laundry detergent, asked if he was still in diapers, gesturing towards my tall two-year-old. I lied and said “potty training is a work in progress,” but what I really wanted to tell her was to mind her own business, he’s only 2 1/2 and has plenty of time to learn to use the potty (which would have just been a knee jerk reaction to our recent failed attempt.) But right now we will focus on working on more important life skill, like talking (speaking of which, I need to go call the early intervention office…)
