Diaper Free....Could it Be?

We have had a child in diapers since September 27th, 2006.  Then on March 21, 2008, we had TWO children in diapers which continued for 10 months.

We were beyond thrilled when we got Jackson out of diapers, but I was never one to say potty training was easy.....on him or I.

Pampers has been a huge part of our family for almost 4 solid years.    

Sunday night, Garrett went to sleep knowing that the Potty Fairy would be coming to our house that night  - 

The Potty Fairy came and took all of Garrett's diapers - 

    Replaced them with big boy underwear - 

and left a basket of rewards -

Garrett was extremely happy when he woke up Monday morning and discovered what the Potty Fairy had left for him.  

He was ready to put his big boy underwear on and get started - 

His big brother quickly corrected him and told him he was supposed to take his pants off first - 

Day 1:  He did so well!  He only had 2 accidents all day which was fabulous!  He was kind of motivated by the rewards, but he was more excited about getting to put his underwear back on after he went potty.  Jackson is sure enjoying the rewards.  He thinks he needs them too....

Day 2:  A little more challenging.  

Garrett wasn't as excited as he was on day one.  I also bought the e-book called Potty Training in 3 Days.  I basically combined this technique with the one I was already using.  Potty training is all about staying positive (which can be so hard to do), so I try to avoid forcing him to "try to go" which ends up relating the potty to a negative place he doesn't want to be because he was forced to be there.  

One thing Potty Training in 3 Days taught me was to never ask "Do you need to go potty?"  This question can quickly be followed with "NO" and the conversation is over.  Instead, it says you should say "Let Mommy know when you need to go potty." and you say this over....and over....and over again.  This isn't a closed question, so it gives him the opportunity to think about it and make the decision on his own.  He thinks he is in control, not me.

On day 2 that is what I said and never forced him to go to the potty.  There were two times that I KNEW he needed to go, but he didn't DECIDE to go.  So, when the accident started, I quickly scooped him up (as it was dripping all over us) and ran him to the potty.  We were still able to celebrate that he got [some of] it in the potty, didn't mention what didn't get in the potty, and then I just said "Yucky! Wet underwear!  Let's put on some dry underwear!" and we went on with our day.  

Day 2 was the hardest day for me because I had to watch and play with him all day long so I could quickly see if an accident was starting.  Even though he only had 2 accidents on day 2, there were the moments that I thought to myself "Is he really ready for this?," but looking back, it was still a great day!

Day 3:  WOW!!!

While eating breakfast, I said several times "Let Mommy know when you need to go potty."  {silence}

Then as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I looked into the living room and Garrett was gone.  I pictured him hiding somewhere with wet underwear, but then I found him in our bathroom, sitting on his little potty, and he said "Me need to go potty Mommy."  (I didn't even know he was fully capable of pulling down his underwear on his own!) And this is how our day went!!  When he needed to go, he just went in the bathroom, on his own, and went!  No stickers, no prizes....just celebrating! 

Since Garrett was doing so well and we had been locked up in the house since Monday,  I decided we would take a risk, leave the house wearing underwear, and drive through Chick-fil-a for lunch.  Garrett fell asleep in the car and when we got home he didn't want to wake up, so I let him sleep.  He slept for about an hour and when he woke up he was groggy from his nap and hungry.  I said the quote I have said 1,032 times now..."Let Mommy know if you need to go potty!" I knew he needed to, but he was really focused on his food!  

Then, it happened.  I ran him into the bathroom to finish, then when we returned to the kitchen, and I started to clean it up, he ran over to Jackson and said "Oh noooo Jackson.  Look what me did.  Me made a mess.  Oh noooo."  He then walked back over to me and said "It all clean now Mommy?"  I said "Yes, it's all clean!!"  He said "Okay, Mommy" and the rest of his day has been great!

Although we are only on day 3 and haven't been out in public, Garrett is convincing me that when it comes to potty training, it really is the child and every child is different.  I dreaded potty training Garrett because Jackson seemed to take forever, but it has been so different with Garrett.  Although I could try to explain every reason why I think it is different this time around, I will let this picture do the talking.  I think it sums it up pretty well....