By God - I Think He's Got It!

So, after having tried on and off since his 2nd birthday back in December, i think my son may finally have got the hang of this whole " potty training " thing.

Waiting for a steam train ride with Daddy and Pop, back on Fathers Day

I'm not gonna lie - he had me soooooooooo damn frusturated. He was able to tell us when he had set or dirtied his nappy, and was always wanting to come to the bathroom with us so he could " watch " - both signs of being ready to toilet train - but he would scream bloody murder if we even tried putting him near the potty. I started out last summer putting him in undies and taking him to the potty every hour or so, but he'd just cry and scream and then wee on the floor. We gave it a month or two, let him continue in his nappies and tried again.... same thing. Cry, scream, wee in his pants. Winter set in and that was the end of potty training, i wasnt even going to bother trying in the cold weather.

Then, along came Miss Tully and with her the idea that i now had 2 kidlets in nappies. Umm.... no. No, i just wasnt going to go along with that. So, a few weeks ago, i took Flynn aside and explained to him that Tully was the baby of the house wearing nappies, and he was the big boy.... and as we all know, big boys wear underpants. Could he try wearing his underpants for me that day? He said yes he could and, the rest my friends, is toilet training heaven. He's been in undies all day, everyday, for the past 3 weeks with only half a dozen accidents. At first we took him and got him to " try " and when he did a successful wee in the potty I gave him a sticker for his chart. Within 3 days he was going into the bathroom and going on his own, telling me when he was finished, and asking for his sticker! We also let him put his pull up nappies on at 5pm as i knew he wasnt too keen on using the potty for his #2's yet. However, that has also changed in the past week - we've had successfully #2's on the potty everyday for 6 days... which means Flynn is now only wearing a pull up exclusively for night time sleep.

I couldnt be prouder - or more amazed at how he just, one day, " got it ". Everyone told me he'd come to it in his own time, that one day it would just click, but i didnt expect to literally be one. single.day. One day he was in nappies, refusing to even look at his potty, the next he was agreeing to underpants and going like a boss! Guess it just means my baby boy is growing up into a little man - sweet big brother, pedalling a tricycle instead of using his feet, on the list for preschool and finally using the potty. I swear its only a tomorrow away and he'll be in kindergarten!

Potty Training, Mach 2

So - i have decided that toilet training is going to the next level here at our house. I started out after Flynns 2nd birthday with a prett casual approach, thinking that because he is such a great communicator that he would be relatively quick and painless to train. Um.... wrong! He may well be a very good communicator for his age, but after 2 months of trying the casual approach, methinks my son may just have a tad of the lazy about him too. He's quite happy to tell me he needs his bottom changed when he's wearing a nappy, but when he's in undies he'll just run up to me, or right next to his potty, and wee on the floor. Its like yanking down his undies and sitting is too much hassle for him, you know?

Dont get me wrong - i'm not blaming him. In fact i will quite happily and honestly throw my hand up and say that we havent been super consistent. With me working part-time, and the days that i do have off we tend to have very busy mornings ( at the very least ) the whole " lets put undies on/ lets sit on the potty every half hr " thing hasnt exactly been a strictly regular occurence. It has to be confusing for him, Mama being all gung-ho with the potty time one day, and chucking him a nappy and running out the door the day after. Unfortunately though there isnt much i can do about that - i have to work, at least for the next 5ish months before i go on maternity leave.

However, i'm ready and willing to change tack. Of course i've done a bit of reading up on all the toilet training tips and tricks, and after observing how my son is very fast growing up, i think the old sticker chart might be worth a shot.

My Flynn seems to be growing into the typical older child in that he's quite eager to please and he likes having rewards for his efforts that he can show others. ( I remember being in primary school, wanting to do the best i can to please my parents and teachers, but i had a merit award to show for my work well... so much the better ). So last night at bedtime Flynn and i had a little chat about how we're going to buy some special stickers, and when he does a wee or a poo Mummy will put them on a chart with his name. " I show Poppy and Grandma my stickers? " he asked.

Of course you can Pickles - and in that little sentence alone i think this plan may just prove more fruitful than the softly-softly method. If he can get something shiny and cool that he can show his grandparents, and they'll go on about how proud they are, which will in turn make him feel proud well then... so much the better.

Putting The " Pee " In " Potty "

It seems that every " Mummy " blogger worth her salt has done a post about toilet training in the past few weeks - and, as late to the party as i may be, i'm jumping on that bandwagon too. Or the Toilet Train, if you want to go that way.

Flynn turned 2 last month and Mick and I had already decided that particular milestone would signal the start of offical potty training. I know your supposed to wait for all the "signals " but if your child is showing some, but not others well... whats a Mama to do? We'd bought a potty back at 18 mths old at the advice of our child health nurse, just to get him used to the idea of what it was and what it was for. It sat next to our toilet, and Flynn would sit on it of a morning ( fully clothed ) to brush his teeth. Occasionally i'd ask him if he'd like to try sitting on it, maybe try doing a wee when Mummy was going to the toilet, but the answer was pretty much always a polite, but firm, " No Mum ".

But turning 2 was Flynns D-Day. I started sitting him on the potty once before lunch, once after his nap and then right before his bath for a few days to get him used to both the concept and how sitting on the potty actually felt. We had a poo on the potty on the 2nd day, and the one after that ( my son has an admittedly very regular schedule for those, so i think we fluked it ) and i thought " Oh man, this going to be a cinch! " And then... nothing. He didnt want to sit down when i asked him, and he'd just wait til his nappy was back on and then he'd go.

So i asked my parents advice - Mum said put him in undies. Tell him they're for big boys and it might have two effects: 1) he'll feel proud wearing them like a big kid and 2) when he does wet them he'll soon figure out it doesnt feel too good and want to go on the potty. So we've been trying it - on the days i dont work Flynn goes into undies as soon as we get up, and only wears a nappy for sleeps and when we go out. It had been two weeks of wet undies, one pair of soiled jocks ( strangely, he still managed to hold in those #2's until a nappy was on ) and lots of begging and pleading on both our behalfs. That is.... until yesterday.

Monday we had a successful poo in the potty. I clapped and i cheered and i told him how proud i was. We flushed it down the loo and waved goodbye to it. I told him that if he could do a big wee in the potty that there would be a pay off - a " special present " for learning how to be a big boy. I worked Tuesday so he was in nappies most of the day. But Wednesday afternoon, after an hr and half in undies without an accident before his nap, and a dry nappy when he woke up, i knew the time was right. We sat down together, me on the floor and him on the potty. We read " Olivia " twice. He begged to put a nappy on but i told him no, a wee was going to come, and he could do it in the potty. And then, just like that, we had action! I was so happy i almost cried. Ok, maybe i did a bit. But we had success, and then after a trip to Big W to buy the "special present " ( he chose a new truck... ) we had two more successful potty attempts that afternoon, and one this morning.

I know this isnt all over - its gonna be a while yet before i can say Flynn is day trained, and even longer before we have nights covered, but i'm just happy that after almost a month of frusturation for everybody that we've had that maiden success. I'd love to have him out of nappies during the day by winter and thankfully i have both his daycare " Mum " and my parents on board, so he can be nappy free most places he is during the day. I'd love any suggestions, tips or tricks you fellow mamas might have on how to help him along aswell. So - how did your kids go? Any potty training secrets you should be letting me in on?