Farewell Diapers, Day 3

You know, this whole process has been incredibly challenging!  Landon has been congested, coughing and fighting a head cold since Wednesday-ish.  I took time off work to get him potty trained so I wanted to move forward with it.  I honestly think it may not have been so hard had he been feeling completely well.  My timing sucked but we made it through! 

Day 3 started at 5:40 in the morning to a wet bed and poopy pants. In my bed. Yuck.  We got cleaned up, put fresh sheets, big boy undies and jammies on and went back to sleep for a couple of hours.  I was wiped out from the previous day and from not sleeping well myself because of Landon's snoring due to his congestion.  I just kept reminding myself what I read in the book.... "Stick with it.  It works.  By the end of day 3 he will get it."

Let me tell you, on Day 3 he GOT IT!  Not only was he telling us every single time he needed to potty, he was actually running to the bathroom on his own and smiling while on the potty!  

Pooping.  Honestly, I wasn't sure if he was going to get it.  So many people told me that their boys took forever to poop in the potty and that it was just harder for boys.  I had kind of resigned myself and thought, "I'll just let Mom get him to do it when she comes Monday.  She has a special way with him and I know she'll be able to help."

At 11:28 Saturday morning (Day 3, Y'all!) Landon went in to the bathroom after telling us he needed to potty.  He sat there and I told him I would be right back.  As I walked away, he pushed the door shut.  Next thing I know, he hollers, "I'm all done Mommy!  I went potty and poop!"  And boy did he!  I nearly cried and you all are lucky because I almost took a picture of that poop.  We celebrated BIG.  Boy did we celebrate!  We danced and sang and spun around and smiled!  He was very proud of himself and we were crazy proud too.  I was honestly shocked!  He got a sticker for his sticker poster and he got Elmo slippers.  A BIG reward this time!  I had decided to give different rewards for poop.  He would get a coin to put in his special ceramic piggy bank that he doesn't ever get to touch, plus something else.  This time it was the slippers.  If you're wondering why he doesn't get to touch that piggy bank, you can read all about it right here.

The rest of the day was pretty good!  I'm proud to say he wore the same pair of undies all day because he didn't have any accidents.  He is a potty and pooping pro!  He's kind of funny when he needs to go.  He walks around on his toes and says, "Uhmmmm-hmmmm" over and over and also randomly say, "NO SIR!" as if telling himself he doesn't want to go just yet.  It's really cute.  We just keep reminding him to let us know when he's ready and that he is a big boy now so it's up to him to keep his undies dry and clean.

We spent so much one on one time together, which was really wonderful.  He would give me random hugs and kisses.  I know even though we were in a teaching moment, he thoroughly enjoyed this time and so did I.  We cuddled, read a lot of books, colored, did some crafts, played, laughed and even cried. 

We are now on day 4 and he's rockin' it.  He stayed dry all night and has always stayed dry through his naps.  I was really unsure about not using Pull-Ups and even had some on hand.  I just decided to commit to teaching him to read his body and those Pull-Ups are going to stay in the closet until we donate them.  This process has not been easy but it has been worth it.  I used very simple inexpensive rewards and it worked for us. 

Mama and Daddy are so proud of you, Landon.  Kid, you'll move mountains!  

Elmo slippers - Poop reward!

Moon Dough - Poop reward!

Loving his Moon Dough

Making a cotton ball Snowman

Snuggled up with his big boy undies on ready for a nap

Making a cotton ball snowman

Sticker Poster.  He gets a sticker every time he goes potty or poop and can put it anywhere on the poster he chooses.

One coin for each poop in the potty.  This was really motivating for him because this is a special piggy bank that sits high on a shelf.

One pom-pom every time he sits on the potty but doesn't potty or poop.  He gets to take one from the can and put it in the glass.  Landon thought this was super cool and liked watching the glass fill up.  We emptied it each morning so he got to start fresh every day.