Potty Training Stinks...Literally

***WARNING:  This post contains graphic information about POOP.  Read at your own risk.***

 

Little Bro will be turning 3 in a little over a month and he is still not potty trained.  I know, I know...he should have been potty trained by now.  However, with having a baby last summer,  I just kept putting it off.  About a week ago, I finally decided that it was time and I picked a date to start.  Thursday, March 8th to be exact.  Now, we are in potty training mode.

I had a plan.  With Big Brother, I had done the "Naked Method" which seemed to work, so I thought I'd try it again.  The "Naked Method" consists of getting rid of diapers cold turkey.  You basically pump your child full of juice or water and let them run around the house buck naked for a day or two.  YES, you will have accidents, BUT this should teach them to recognize the feeling of having to go to the bathroom.  It is still important to take your child to sit on the toilet frequently to avoid some of these accidents, so set the timer and take him/her to sit on the potty every 30 minutes.  Of course, reward him/her each time they make it to the potty.  Then, after a couple of days you stick them in underwear and don't look back.  Yes, you will still have accidents, but with each passing day you will see fewer and fewer.
 

Thursday morning we were all set. I had the rewards: M&M's for Pee-Pee,  McDonald's toy for Poo-Poo.  (I had gotten a bag full of them from my neighbor's girlfriend.  Wasn't that nice?)  I had all my carpet cleaner, special undies, and my pull-ups (for night time).  Now, I just needed to get Little Bro on board.

The first couple of times he was so excited to get up on the potty and earn his M&M's.  I actually put him on backwards so that he wouldn't have a mess all over the place.  This is a trick I learned from my mother who potty trained SEVEN boys!  I believe she would be considered an expert.   After about five times on the potty, Little Bro started getting bored with it.  He also didn't like getting pulled away from playing to go potty.  Therefore, I started waiting a little bit longer and our accidents started to increase.

First, pee on the floor, then pee on the rug, then pee on the couch...then the worst possible...poop.   I had just finished taking him to the potty, so I thought he was safe. I started cleaning up after lunch while him and Big bro played in the living room.  Thank goodness Baby Sis was napping!  He comes running in to the kitchen with poo on his hands saying "Ewww Mommy, ewww Mommy!"  Not only did he have poop on his hands, on his legs, on my rug, but as I was walking to assess the damage...I stepped in some!  Yuck!  Into the shower it was.   Thankfully, we have hardwood floors!  Only a little of it got on the rug, and I was able to get it out immediately.  After that incident, I decided it was time to put the undies on! The afternoon was much better, only a couple of accidents.  Day two...not too bad.  Maybe five accidents.  Can't wait to see what Day 3 brings!

Wish me luck!  Feel free to share your potty training tips and tricks!