Oh Crap Potty Training
This is the literal name of the book a friend recommended for potty training. We were supposed to go down to Florida for President's Day weekend but in the weeks preceeding, news of the Zika Virus was rampant. I was only about 10 weeks but we told both my parents and my in-laws since we had been planning to visit them both. We used this rare opportunity of no plans to lock ourselves down and teach our little man how to use the toilet!
My husband took that Friday off of work and that week leading up whenever we were home I tried to do diaper free time, but knowing we'd be inside a lot leading up I also tried to get out as much as we could.
Friday was fairly horrific, accidents all day, all over the place in the split second we weren't watching him like a hawk. I found it helpful to write down the events of the day, both when we prompted him, (so we didn't do it more than every 30 min) or when he ate, peed etc. The point is to see progression and we did but the hours and days are so long it's hard to see. The next day was still miserable but more clear, we had no accidents. We had invited friends over for breakfast and playdates as to keep ourselves sane. It was a bitterly cold weekend so while both my husband and I took walks to get coffee at the end of our street the desire to go out was fortunately not there. The desire to be in Florida was.
We were in such a haze and so cautious, he didn't join us on these quick visits outside until I think Monday and those extended fairly quickly throughout the week. We took our time with what the author describes as "block one" but I felt building that foundation made the next "blocks" much easier.
I must admit I'm writing this all not at the time but now two months later as a friend begins to teach her daughter from the same method. I forget how hard it was and I think that's a good thing. We've had a few accidents but really just twice with me, once with my husband and maybe twice with sitters. The caveat on this last one is partially my fault. Since they likely are not going to read the book, try to express how important it is to you and your child that diapers are not a part of the picture anymore. While we chose to continue doing diapers at naptime and nighttime, I'm not sure this was the right decision and all three of us very much look forward to truly getting rid of them.
