Potty Training 1.2..3...

Warning, this post has the words Pee and Poo in it frequently. So if for any reason those words offend, STOP reading right now.

Noah should have been potty trained forever ago, according to me and Kersten. After all he is 3 1/2 in a bit over a week, he has started preschool and we have a new diaper bum to change in 3 months. We have talked about it, encouraged, celebrated, bribed, begged and anything else you can imagine to get him to think the potty was cool. His teacher at preschool even commented about how violent he gets when you ask him if he wants to go. Only Aunt Ginny could get hime to go on the potty on a regular basis. We asked her to move in for awhile to help out. Luckily for her, but not for us, she is right now in Europe on a month long vacation. Ginny even bought him Star Wars Galactic Heroes to earn as he goes potty. For example: he would earn Count Dooku if he made a poo on the toilet (We laughed Dooku if he made a dook)and Anakin if he made a pee. And we chose this by what ones were more desirable to him. And that stinker would stare longingly at toys in our bathroom and sigh that it was to hard. He did go about 4 months ago for 2 days to earn his Spiderman and Dr Octopus guys and after that decided he was done and never would sit on the toilet after this.

Well, we have had a breakthrough and hopefully now there is an end in sight. He saw this Rescue Helicopter at Costco and Dad talked to him about earning it for going to the Potty for 4 days. He promised he would. We made a chart when we got home and hung it on the bathroom door to put a sticker on at the end of the day. The first day went really well, we also had an egg timer in the bathroom that we set for him to go every 1/2 to hour. And when that bell went off he ran to the potty. And for more bribes, even if he did not go we would give him 3, M&M's just for trying. I mean what else can we do here people. So day number 2 arrives and Noah throws a huge fit, first thing in the morning as I escort him to the potty. He even told me to take the helicopter back and it was too hard. So Kersten figured out a compromise, he could have the helicopter pilot. He named him Hank the helicopter man. So for the next three days, in the haze of M&M's, timer bells, wet pants, two 45 minute events trying to go poo to only have a tiny lump come out and Hank the helicopter man escorting Noah to the toilet. Noah earned his helicopter yesterday. Oh it was a proud moment. This is a picture of him on the potty first thing in the morning with his helicopter. He is very aware that if he stops trying to go potty all the time, the helicopter will go in Mommy's closet untiil he is going again. Oh my, this is such a headache and he is not even close to being completely potty trained. We are trying and will continue this event. There probably could have been a better time to go hard core about this, but as I read everything it would say, "do not potty train during first trimester of pregnancy, or when big changes are going on" etc and blah blah blah and it would just frustrate me further. I totally agree with what Carrie wrote about how the mom need to be ready and commited to this also. I am clear now until the 16th of Oct to be on moderate bed rest so I figure better now than later.