The Elferings

After my expert sisters both told us we “missed our window” for potty-training Mac, we started to force the issue.  Apparently we were not seeing the right “signs” that he was ready.  From what I’ve seen, I’m still not sure if I agree with them that he has been ready, but at least we’re making some good progress from the first day of a VERY long power struggle to even TRY to go in the potty.  On Sunday, Mac actually went – TWICE!  It was actually amidst yet another power struggle against something new – I wanted him to put on his pull-ups for the first time (we were out of diapers and ready to move to something he could pull down and up himself).  He refused, so I let him wander around his room naked until he was ready.  He called me in several times, but when I got there, he could never tell me what he needed.  About the 10th time, he said something about “all over the place,” and I panicked, thinking he had made a mess, but I didn’t see anything.  Then I asked him if he wanted to try tinkles in the potty, which he did, but when we were in the bathroom, he got kind of worked up and started crying, almost like he was scared.  My mother’s intuition made me think (aka, I guessed) maybe he can feel that he has to go but is scared of what will happen, or that he’ll do something wrong, or he just didn’t know what to expect.  I encouraged him to sit on the potty, which he did, and he started to go!  I was very excited, but I kept my cool so as to not interrupt the flow (tee hee).  Jeremy happened to be walking by, so he got to see that first time too.  But when he was done, Mac still wouldn’t put on the darn pull-up, so our power struggle continued.  About 10 minutes later, he called me in again, and said, “Mommy, Mommy, Mommy… tinkles!”  I went running, we got to the bathroom, and he sat down and went again!  Then I asked him again if he was ready to get dressed and go outside, and he said, “yes.”  So I said, “ok, let’s put on your pull-up,” to which he also finally said, “YES!”  Needless to say, the pull-ups are no longer a struggle.  But he hasn’t gone in the potty since.

Once I’m done with school for the year, we’ll likely move to underwear so he can really start feeling when he’s going.  Plus, we’ll be outside more – a tip from the pediatrician was to let him run around naked outside – he can feel it coming, and it’s not nearly the mess!  My sisters were surprised when I told them that even his first time going on the potty he could start and stop - apparently that’s a very advanced skill?!  Obviously I know nothing…  We hope his progress continues, but we are fairly confident that at the very least he WILL be potty-trained in time to start preschool in the fall.  Yikes!