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Gunnar, who will turn three in March, has been dabbling with potty training for months, with the first morning pee in the potty pretty much a sure thing. Trouble is, that's where the momentum ended most days.
Over the course of this "process," I've read a few articles about potty training in three days and diaper-free toddlers, and dismissed them as being unrealistic and a tad too "free" for my typical style. But Brian mentioned recently that one of his real-life friends swore by a similar approach, and we filed the idea away in case we stayed stuck.
In the meantime, we decided that New Years weekend we'd start ushering our son to the potty every hour or so, once the holiday hoopla was over. Armed with Cars Pull-Ups, lots of drinks, a musical potty, and an array of small rewards, we celebrated six successful pees in the potty on January 1--even though we'd spent much of the afternoon caught in a continuous loop of getting to the bathroom just a few seconds too late, crushing our eager-to-pee son every time.
The next morning--a snowy, no-plans, pajamaed Sunday--started similarly touch and go. After maybe the third "I want to peeeeeee" meltdown, while Brian was upstairs, it occurred to me that we weren't going anyplace anyway and abruptly and unilaterally decided that our three days of diaper-free house arrest were about to begin.
"We really need new area rugs anyway. It can be our gift to ourselves if we survive," I said to Brian as he reminded me that this approach was going to be messy (and not getting too worked up about my decision to turn our lives upside down for a few days without so much as running it past him first).
But to everyone's shock, after two minor puddles in the first hour, we had no more accidents that day. To help encourage success, we were offering Gunnar plenty of drinks and reminding him to try the potty every half hour. By mid-afternoon, he was going all on his own, and even on command before meals and bed.
The downside is that whatever money we saved on diapers that day went straight to extra heating oil and baby lotion for the little guy's chapped legs. Though he never complained of being cold, Gunny seemed grateful to finally get his diaper and PJ bottoms back right before bed.
Day 2 was another smashing success. Even though the roads were fairly snow-free by then, I made the most of having a reason to stay in my PJs and avoid having to clear off the car. Instead of bundling up for made-up errands I usually drag the two of them on just for the sake of getting out of the house, Gunny and Annie hosted their very first tea party for me and a small army of dolls and stuffed animals. My lovely daughter gulped her imaginary tea straight from the pot.
Every once in a while, I'd remind Gunny that he'd also need to sit on the potty if his body told him he had to poop. Just to reinforce the idea, with every meal and snack, I reminded that his body would soon turn it into poop that he would put in the potty. He already understood that he could magically turn juice, water, and milk into pee--and was just enthralled to learn he also had the ability to make the really good stuff. And thus, for the first time in his life, my son began not just nibbling but finishing sandwiches, apples, anything I offered that he could later alchemize.
Unfortunately, I blew our first No. 2 chance by introducing a pair of cotton underpants just after yesterday's lunch. I thought he was at the point of being able to pull them up and down and that they'd keep him a little warmer. But within about two minutes, Gunny deposited the previous day's french fries and cheeseburger in his new undies. Whoops. Told the boy they'd be "in the wash" until further notice.
A couple of hours into day 3--as I thought I was proofreading this post--I heard a shriek from the next room. "Oh, no! I LOST MY BODY!" Gunnar said in horror as he pointed to the turd sitting adjacent to the potty, which was assembled with its only two removable parts out of order. Both kids know how the potty is supposed to go together and that only grownups empty it--and will spend the rest of their lives being
