A Monkey in Monkey Underwear!

There were times, before this one, that I thought Turner was going to potty train.  Like eight months ago.  Or, back in September when I dropped the last diaper I had with me in the toilet.  But, neither time was Turner really interested in spite of his having good control of his bladder.  He told me this, whole heartedly, as he would shout "I am not ready to wear underwear!"  It did not matter that Jagger wore underpants.  Nor his brothers.  He liked his diapers and rarely gave me a hard time to change him.  So, I let him be.

I am not one who believes in forcing the situation.   It is much easier just to wait until they are ready rather than stay house bound for three days and take the kid to the bathroom every 20 minutes.  That way of training is just not for me, I didn't think.  I did, admittedly, work the bribery angle a bit, as it was already decided, by him, that when he trained he, similarly to Ryder's potty present of a guitar strap, would get a case for his guitar.  But, he could wait for it. Instead he pretended he had a case and would tell me, with a pointed finger, to "watch out for my case right there" as I would approach him while he was strumming his favorite instrument.

Then, on Martin Luther King day, ten days after his 3rd birthday, Ryder was sick.  We were going to be in the house all day, anyway.  With nothing to do.  And, Turner is a kid who has control.  A bit of obsessive control, sometimes, but that is another story.  So, I had a lot of faith in him and decided that MLK day, a day of service, would be the day.   We discussed it the night before and he jumped on Ryder's bed, with delight, chanting "I'm ready now, I am ready now!"  And, when we woke up Monday morning we put him in underwear.

I became someone new for that particular Monday and did things that I think I may have said I would never do.  Like move the Elmo potty down to the first floor and set a timer to take him to the bathroom every 30 minutes.  Ew.  And, we had a great day.  After the second timer went off and I told him it was time to go he looked at me and said "I don't feel it yet.  I don't have to go."  And, being instantly reminded of Chase training, I believed him.  And, I didn't set another timer and he spent the rest of the day telling me when "I feel it, mommy" and we would run to the potty and he would go.  There was never an accident.  Never an almost.  Never an issue.

Until he had to poop.  Then he pooped in his underwear.  He told me he was going to.   He even asked for privacy.  But, when I grabbed him and put him on the potty he wouldn't go, he refused.   We read, we sang, we played guitar and all the while he kept his bung hole shut!  Then we got up and he pooped in his underwear.

The next day we went to the guitar store to "look" for  case.  He found the one he wants but knows he can't get it until he poops in the potty.  At least once.  He seems to be ok with waiting.  I also went and bought him a fresh pack of Paul Frank monkey underwear because he didn't seem to think his brothers hand me down Superhero pants were good enough. Plus, it looks cute to have a little monkey in monkey underwear.

It's been a bit over a week now.  Turner is 100% pee trained and has been since day 3.   He has great control, can hold it for hours, and despite insisting on using only the Elmo potty at home (which is now ONLY in the bathroom) he will use a regular toilet when out of the house.  He always tells me "I feel it" when he needs to go, and sometimes enjoys aiming for the cheerio (or the goldfish) when he stands.  He even wakes up with dry diapers.

As for the pooping.  I have tried to get him to go on the potty but he won't.  He does, however, always ask for diapers, promises it is just to poop in, and then lets me change him and put his underwear right back on.   It took Chase about 3 months before he put he pooped in the proper receptacle, so perhaps it will be the same for Turner.    When he decides he wants a case, I suppose he will use the toilet.  I still have almost a full case of diapers left so until they start to run out, I guess I can wait too.

It is a bittersweet moment as another milestone is achieved.  A bittersweet moment as my baby boy grows up before me.

Big Boy Bed

Around the time Turner turned 2 he started asking for a bed.  Like his brothers.   On many nights he would beg his way out of his crib and would sleep, happily, in the guest room bed.  

I was in no hurry to get him out of his crib, nor out of his diapers, but I thought a little motivation would be a good thing.  So, I told him that when he started using the potty he could have a bed.   This shut him up for a while since he had no interest in the potty, at all.  Except  maybe to stand at one, which I think had more to do with his interest in his penis than in the potty itself.

On August 1st Todd began working from home again.  Which means our guest room became his office and the bed....was moved to Turner's room.  No big ceremony.  No potty peeing.  No hyped up excitement.   He just went to bed in a crib on July 31st.  And on August 1st he went to bed in a queen-sized bed.  He wasn't upset about it but didn't seem overly excited, either, about giving up his crib.   He did great on the first night, and every night since.

My original plan was to paint his room and give him the bed as a surprise when he was trained.   So, now, we tell him when he is trained he can have his room painted.   This is actually exciting to him.

Here is what his big boy bed looks like:

6 weeks later he sleeps well, he naps well, and he has learned that a bed that big for a boy his size is perfect for jumping on!!!

Potty Training....Again!

I am in no real hurry for Turner to potty train.   This is probably a continued attempt at holding on to his babyhood with a death grip, but I convince myself it is because it is easier.  And, it is.

About six months ago Turner showed an interest in underwear.  And, in standing at the potty.  He showed absolutely no interest at in in actually peeing it.  Since then, there has been nothing.   Until the other day.

We went out for our traditional birthday dinner show to celebrate Todd's last year in his 30's.  I took Chase to the bathroom and, as usual, Turner insisted on coming.  Once there, he told me to change his diaper.   I had sent Todd to the car to get me a diaper and the one he gave me was resting on top of the toilet paper cannister because at that moment Turner decided he wanted to sit on the potty.  I knew it would be a useless cause but....I layered the seat with too thin toilet paper and set his toosh down.  He sat there for a few seconds,  then said "Mommy, this just isn't working out!"

His phrasing had me laughing so hard that, as you'd figure, the only diaper we had fell into the toilet.

Uh-Oh!

Turner wanted me to fish it out, which I did as to not clog the toilet, but then threw it away, of course.

Turner is a good boy, he follows instructions and doesn't want to cause too much trouble.   Most of the time.  I got down to his level, I  looked in his eyes and said, "Turner, you're going to have to go without a diaper until we get home.  Try not to pee in your jeans.  If you have to go pee-pee, just tell mommy, and I will take you to the bathroom!"

These instructions seemed so simple and easy and then it dawned on me I was talking to an untrained 2 year old.

"Ok, Mommy!"  Was all he said.

We returned to the table where he told his brothers and his daddy, with a laugh, how mommy dropped his diaper in the toilet.   We were at the restaurant another 30 minutes and had 3 return trips to the potty.  We had exactly ZERO pees in the potty and the same number in his pants.  That was a win for me.

When we returned to the car I found another diaper.  I put it on Turner and we headed home.  He peed in his diaper and announced it, then he apologized for not peeing in the potty.  Curiously, I looked at him and thought, perhaps we are on to something.

When we got home he went directly to the potty, sat, and peed.  He was so excited he showed all of us, gave us each hugs, and chewed happily on his m&m's.   A part of me thought we were done.  He was trained.

It is 5 days later.  Turner is using the potty with an increased consistency and seems to have good control of his bladder.  Sometimes he wants to pee in his diaper, sometimes in the potty, and it seems he is working up to a level of comfort for himself that will make him give up the diapers all together.  He still gets excited each and every time and does not want to wear underwear at all.  He seems to be scared, or uninterested, or both, to have an accident of any kind.  Turner is the type of kid that when he decides to wear the underwear he will be ready.  No caution to the wind in that boy.

Although I am not really in any rush, it would kind of be nice to NOT have to buy another case of diapers when I run out of these last 44.

Keep you posted.

Toilet!

Look who insisted on standing at the potty.  He insisted his brothers come look.  He insisted I take the picture.  He even held his penis pointed, appropriately, in the toilet.  But, that was all.  He walked away. He did not even try to pee.

Two days later he took his diaper off in his crib.  When I asked him why he said he did not want to wear it, he wanted underpants.  I obliged.  But, only after he sat on the potty.  He did, but he did not pee.  He did ask for a sticker for trying, though.  He wore underwear, refused a diaper, and refused even more to actually use the toilet.  While in the underwear I asked, "Turner, where do you make your sis!"  "In the potty!" He shouted.  I smiled.   "Do you make sis in your underwear, Turner?"  "No!  In the shower!!!"  Not sure where he got that, but I will take it over the underwear.

Two pairs of underwear later he gave in and let Ryder put a diaper on him!

Underwear!!

Just when you think they could be ready there is nothing like a poop on the couch and a pee on the floor to keep Pampers in business.