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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Potty training

It's potty training season in the Rober household. Ty , being the stong-willed child that he is, is not making it so easy. We are relying on a lot of props and incentives. It's not uncommon to see Ty and myself walking into the bathroom carrying a box of Captain Crunch cereal, a caffeine-free Diet Coke, a bucket and a potty training seat. The cereal is to throw in the toilet to provide something to aim at (he also just likes to snack on them while he's getting ready). The Diet Coke is to drink to stimulate some "flow", if you will. The bucket is to fill with WARM water so Ty can dip his hands in it, flick water at himself, or just drink to fill the time. Once again, trying to stimulate and relax.

Ty doesn't do that last one so well. If we make him sit on the toilet and he doesn't want to or it wasn't his idea, he cries and screams until he shakes.
We have had some successes, but all in all, it's not really a pleasant experience. I don't really enjoy going through 6 pairs of underwear in one day, just to have one success a day. Using disposable diapers, I never thought I would have to "swish" anything in the toilet ( if you know what I mean. Think #2), but alas, me and Buzz Lightyear or Lighting McQueen go for a dip a couple times a day.

I need to remind myself that we have all been through it before. So please share with me some funny P.T. stories if you have any. If your stories involve your child not having success until they were teenagers, please refrain from sharing, as this would NOT be very encouraging to me at the moment.

6 comments:

Lisa Henderson said...

Oh Im so sorry but it will be so worth it! I have about 50 diapers left for Davis and Im not buying anymore after that so we will so be joining you in the potty endeavor soon. Good luck and maybe if hes so strong willed about things you should tell him after his next accident that he cant wear big boy underwear anymore. I know with Caleb if I tell him he cant do anything then he is determined to do it.

melissa said...

I thought I was going to pull my hair out with Avery- messes and accidents up the wazoo! I wanted to forget the whole thing and just keep her in diapers FOREVER- it honestly sounded like a better solution at the time. But, then one day- she just got it and never looked back. Now if someone could promise me that she won't be crying and shaking in fear everytime she goes #2 for the rest of her life, I would be much relieved. I am not looking forward to going through the whole process again with Finley, but we will survive...as will you and Ty! Good luck! Hang in there!

Annessa said...

I'm sorry, but that is perhaps the cutest picture of Ty ever! So artistic, though I'm sure he'll despise you for it later.

Potty training - sorry, Natalee trained herself. Gehrig, that's another story. He was "able" around 2, but didn't "decide" to until he was almost 4. It was something I decided not to battle, because that just made it worse. We did pull-ups for a long time, and during the night for even longer! Gehrig finally decided to actually pee in the toilet consistently after he had a growth spurt, we'd moved to San Jose, and he could reach the toilet and stand, "Just like Daddy." I told you, it was nothing I could control. Same with eating, sleeping through the night, learning to read and pretty much everything else in his life - it's when he decides he's going to.

V and Co. said...

i have no advise for you. for you see it was such a wonderful experience for me with all three boys that i've completely blocked in out of my memory. sorry. best wishes though.

Mae said...

I agree with Anny, that has got to be one of your best photos of him of all time.

You should have seen three of us (And the backpack) try to cram into the truck potties for him to attempt to go. It didn't work. Although he really likes singing "Tinkle, tinkle little boy!" with me. Did you notice that's what he was singing into the church archway? I was worried I would be struck down by lightening for blasphemy.

Grandma Caroline said...

Ready for one more story?

When it came time to potty train Lisa, she was just like Ty. Strong willed, and I tried everything! This went on for several months. We had accidents daily. She would stand in front of me and start peeing and say, oops mommy, I pee pee! I got so frustrated with her that one day I had just had it up to my eyeballs! I had Brian and Matthew and Mark to take care of and I finally blew my stack! I pulled her by the arm into the potty where I kept diapers, which was off of our family and it was carpeted. I gently threw her down and pulled off her pretty panties and screamed "OK, YOU WANT TO BE A BABY, SO NOW YOU CAN BE A BABY AND YOU CAN'T WEAR BIG GIRL PANTIES ANYMORE! I pulled out a diaper and put it on her and got up and walked away. Not one minute had passed until she came stomping out of the potty announcing "I no baby, I big girl now!" as she pulled off the diaper and went over and got her panties where I had thrown them, and put them on. From that moment until today that girl never had a potty accident that I know of. Brian and Mark were potty trained with M & M's in one day. What can I say?