Yesterday was okay. I was really attentive. Lots of praise. Lots and lots of praise. As long as I caught him right at the beginning he could finish in the toilet, which I took to be a super good sign. He didn't ever tell me when he had to go. The only time he really said anything was when he was already soaked. But I figured that would come with time.
Today was harder. Many more accidents. Much more mess. One particularly bad time there was a trail from the toy room, down the hall, to the bathroom and still the bathroom was soaked. Walls, floor, toilet, cabinets. Everywhere. It was like a fire hose he couldn't shut off. Still keeping everything positive. Still doing absolutely nothing when he's awake but playing, reading, occasionally watching a show, and always asking him to tell me when he needs to go. Praising when he's dry. So excited when anything happens in the right place.
So in an effort to remember something positive from today, here's a pro/con list. Just so I remember that there were some pros.
Pros:
- Moments of hilarity. Like the above fire hose incident. Seriously, pee all over the walls. Sometimes it's so much and so frequent all I can do is laugh.
- Moments of snuggling. He was very willing to climb in my lap, lean against my shoulder, and read books or just sit with me and talk about his toys today. Those moments were wonderful.
- Playing and staying really close all day means catching so many funny things he says. Constantly writing down quotes and laughing at my cute boy.
- He took a nap. He wouldn't yesterday but I was so glad for the little break today. It was really a little miracle considering there was an AC guy and a plumber here right around nap time and he still fell asleep.
-the AC is fixed. Everything should be fixed now and should be covered by our home warranty. That is great news!
- Glenn is in town and he's not terribly busy at work this week which means he's home at a decent hour. We're both so glad to see him when he walks in the door. A much needed break and re-surge of positivity and encouragement.
- Our one big success of the day was that he woke up from his nap dry. One less time to change the sheets and I was so so proud.
Cons:
- So. Much. Mess.
- Saying the same phrases over and over and over. Poor Tate's stopped listening to me. Stopped responding to my questions all together. Like he's learned to tune out the things he's bored with hearing.
- Tate has yet to tell us that he has to go before he's gone. It's either we're catching him as he's just starting and we run him to the bathroom, or he's just soaking himself and staring down in silence unable to stop or just uninterested in stopping.
We're sticking with it. I have not cleaned up this much and stuck with it for 2 days to just give up. He will get it right? He will figure it out and start telling us BEFORE it happens eventually, right?
I definitely had some unrealistic expectations about how fast it would happen. So now I'm starting to re-arrange my plans for my next week. Visiting teaching should probably be done this weekend when Glenn's home so I don't have to bring Tate. Should I have the YW presidency meeting here so I don't have to worry about him having accidents at their home? Because unless something drastic changes, that will happen. More than once.
Am I going to be able to leave the house any time soon without a feeling of panic? Glenn's going to be out of town next week for a while. If it's several days like this alone not being able to leave, clean, cook, check my email, read a book....I might lose it.
It's okay. One bad day. At least there are several pros to be found. I'll focus on those tomorrow. It'll happen.
5 comments:
You know this may take longer than three days right?
When I started potty training Nathan, I thought if I stayed home for a week straight, he'd be good to go. Not true. I think some kids are that way, but not mine! Luckily it DOES get better. The accidents get less, but they did still happen. But there IS light at the end of the tunnel. I think having unrealistic expectations at the beginning was my downfall. I tried my hardest to be patient for that week and then when it wasn't over by the end, I lost it. The best advice I can give is don't put him back in diapers, just don't make it an option (except at night possibly). It's hard, but it gets easier. Eventually you can take short trips out and about, then longer and longer until you really don't think about it anymore! Good luck! Also, Nathan didn't start telling us he needed to go for quite a while. I just had to let him have accidents so he could feel what his body was doing, rather than having him go at a certain time every day. One advice that I got was to give them m&m's after they go. I'd give Nathan 1 m&m for peeing and 2 for pooping (we struggled with pooping for a while). I also stopped making him wash his hands every time until he got the hang of it, otherwise he was just getting so sick of the process he didn't care anymore. And, even if he had an accident, I'd sit him down on the potty chair after, so he knew that is where he should be (sounds like you are doing that). Anyway, good luck. Maybe stock up on some chocolate and ice cream for YOU! One day it will just click and you will be amazed. Until that day, you may be really annoyed! :)
PS - I hope it goes smoother with you than it did for me with Nathan!
And just think...if you stick with it, no more diapers! (at least til Jan 1, right?). It's a tough road, but so worth it. I loved the fire hose analogy. Hang in there, my dear. You're welcome to come to Austin any time while Glenn is out of town (or with him, too)!
Hey we're potty training at our house too. Tate should come over and watch "Potty Power" with Daphne. It would be brilliant.:-) Last week we did not have one accident--in public! Today, Daphne refuses to wear underwear, saying, "I don't want to be wet any more." Poor girl. Learning to use the potty is hard work!
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