Sunday, July 17, 2011

Lord, Give Me Strength

I'm going to start potty training Gunner tomorrow. It's time. He's ready.

I'm not.

I'm pretty stinkin' terrified of this milestone. I'm scared of the messes, the constant checking, the accidents, going out in public afterwards. I don't know what to do about overnights. But I'm mostly scared of the fights.

Spiff reminds me not to let it become a fight. But I know my son. He's stubborn, and he's a fighter. And we haven't been getting along very well lately, and my patience is already worn thin. I'm praying that I will be upbeat, positive, and always patient with him as he learns this new trick.

I decided to go with the Potty Boot Camp Method. It's supposed to teach the kids how to use the potty in just a day or two, with lots and lots of follow-up maintenance, of course. I like the idea of a quick and dirty get-it-done method. I have heard a lot of success stories using this method. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm sure you're dying to know.

On the plus side, Gunner is super excited about his Cars, Incredibles and Thomas the Train underpants. I think they will be a great motivator. I'm also looking forward to all the new toys. It's like potty training and Christmas all wrapped up in one stressful, messy little package.

Now I'm off to prepare. I'm making a sticker chart, wrapping little presents, and getting lots of bribes easily accessible. Wish me luck.

***And for My information, what did you do with your kids over night? Diapers? Pull-ups? Cold turkey underpants?

8 comments:

Madame Palmkey said...

Good luck! I wish I got stamps, toys and stickers and cute undies. Instead it turns out I get to clean the toilet as my reward for using it. LAME! Keep me posted. You know how I love poo stories.

Justin and JoLyn said...

GOOD LUCK!! I was terrified to train my Carson (who sounds an awful lot like your son) and he was by far the easiest! You just never know! I'm crossing my fingers for you!

Lauren said...

Do tell on how it goes. I've been dreading this eventuality myself with Josh. He still has a while to go since he isn't communicative enough yet, but when it does happen... yikes. I think this is the hardest transition yet for kids.

Janelle Dobson said...

You are braver than me. I'm using having a newborn as an excuse not to potty train, but I know I'm just really not ready for that bullet. The scary thing is that we only have 6 months until he's in primary, so I gotta get on it. As for nighttime, if he is dry in the morning he may be ready for undies, if its half and half then I'd got pull-ups. My big girl has never woken up dry so we just do diapers and she understands they are only for night. You can't push nighttime dryness- that will come with time and nothing you can do will change it.

Maggie said...

You know way more than anyone else about how potty training went with Charlotte. You will be great! He will be great! He will love it. I'd try just wearing undies at night and if it doesn't work, then get some pull-ups.

Nurse Graham said...

All I can say is "good luck". Potty training days are long in the past for me and I think I must have blocked the memories out of my memory much like blocking out the pain of childbirth.

Mel said...

I wish you all the luck in the world. I do think that your going about it the right way though. Lots of bribes! The trick is finding the one that will motivate him the best. And it's so hard to know. I would rather go through labor than potty train. My two oldest were both three by the time they were. As far as overnight, just check him first thing in the morning and if he's dry most of the time, limit his drinks at night and go straight to underwear. If he isn't, don't push him. Do Pull-ups until he starts being dry the majority of the time. Good luck! My prayers are with you!

Mindy said...

Janelle, having a newborn at home is the Perfect excuse not to potty train! I used that one for the last six months. I would still be using it, if I could. But as it turns out, I decided potty training Gunner while Hobbes is still mostly immobile is probably a pretty good time to do it.