Potty Training!

So, the first order of business after returning from Kansas (before I decided to renovate the downstairs bathroom... and well before I decided to tackle our yard sale) was to get Liam potty trained. I had kinda toyed w/the idea all summer because he had been showing some interest and showing that he could do it... BUT, I hesitated doing it before our big trip back to Kansas. I just didn't want to have to deal with accidents while flying/traveling. So I decided to wait. But, I did start prepping him for the big day even before we left for Kansas. We watched the same potty video that Elizabeth did when she was learning (Go Potty Go!) and I let him practice when he was interested--he was a pro as long as he was naked. I also told him that diapers were for babies, and when we got back from uncle Matt's wedding we were going to throw away all his diapers and say "bye-bye diapers." I would tell him this just about every time I changed his diaper... and he'd always repeat, "After Uncle Matt's wedding? Bye-bye diapers?" And I'd say, "Yep."

Well, as soon as we got home, true to my word, we "threw away" his diapers (by this, I mean I let him throw all the diapers into a trash bag, and later I put the diapers back into his drawer--which we still use at night time). Since I've always heard it's better to go straight for the underwear (instead of pullups which are so similar to diapers, and 2x as expensive) we went straight for big boy underwear. The first few days we had a few accidents when he would forget... but, surprisingly, he never once had an accident at nap time... not even the first day! Then we got to where we had maybe one accident a day (usually on the playground at preschool) but after a week of training... no more accidents! He even woke up super early one morning, after about a week of training, calling that he needed to go potty, and when I went to get him, his diaper was dry! He had stayed dry all night and was calling to go potty! Even though it was 5am, I was STOKED!

At this point I think he's ready for night time training, but since he's still in his crib it makes it hard for him to get up and go by himself. So I think our next step will be to introduce the big boy bed, and then some time after that, work on night time training. He also needs to learn how to pull up/down his pants because right now, he still isn't coordinated enough to do that. So when he has to go, he absolutely needs someone to help him. Obviously, though, the goal is that he can learn to go on his own when he needs.

Anyway, this has gone a million times smoother than with Elizabeth. I had to coax her with sticker charts and reward her with marshmallows. At times she would fight me on it. Still, I thought she trained relatively easily... but this didn't even feel like much work on my part. It was all him and he made this so easy, which I think has a lot to do w/his easygoing personality.

It's funny, too, how proud he is of himself. He tells me all the time, "I a big boy. I go on the potty!" And it's amazing too how this has opened up such an awareness of his body. While he's going, he'll tell me, "Mama, I pushed down my penis! I pushed it down!" Lol! And one day at lunch time after he took a big drink of his juice he told me, "Mama, my juice goes down into my tummy and then down into my penis!" Lol! So funny!

Anyway, I'm SO proud of my big boy! And yes, I know he's going to kill me for posting this pic... but mama is so proud! I love you, son! :)