Potty Training

I'm on annual leave this week and had planned to potty train and, as it happened, Oscar got a temperature last Friday and wasn't allowed back to nursery until today (7 day self-isolating, COV-19 pandemic - I'm not gonna write about it because I'm pretty damn sure I'm not gonna forget about it).

We didn't get started until Monday and we set up a sticker chart, kept the potty in view and planned to put him in pants, try to get him to drink lots and sit him on the potty every 30 minutes.  Here's our diary:

Monday

I took his pull-up off around half 8 and he wasn't in the best of moods.  I explained the sticker chart but he wasn't interested in sitting on the potty for more than a few seconds.  Eventually around 10 am he sat down for almost 45 minutes playing on my phone - he didn't want to get up.  Sadly no joy.  We put him in a pull-up for naptime which was still dry when he got up at 2!  He then went back into pants and FINALLY did a wee, albeit mostly on the floor around 3 pm.  We grabbed him and popped him on the potty to finish it and the same happened again around 6 pm.  Then randomly about 6:15 pm he said "Oscar sit on my potty", pulled his pants down and I asked if he needed a wee.  He said "no, poo poo" and did a poo!  He was so proud of himself and he got a couple of stickers.  It did highlight to us that he probably doesn't drink nearly enough though and even allowing a little squash didn't really help much.  However, he had been eating and drinking virtually nothing over the weekend so maybe he was just re-hydrating and using the fluids.

Tuesday

He was a little more motivated but unfortunately the wees went on the floor again (half in the potty as we moved him as soon as we saw) during the morning.  Again in the evening we got a poo on the potty and then a wee shortly after.  He got some more stickers and a book as a reward for reaching five!

Wednesday

This was a real breakthrough of a day - we had two wees in the potty in the morning, then an accident on the floor whilst playing with water.  We got a couple more pees in the potty in the afternoon, another accident and then a poo in the potty in the evening.  Because he'd got another five stickers we gave him a little pairs game (I'd stocked up on 10 for £10 books from The Works and two £2 games).

Thursday

We absolutely cracked it today.  Ant got up with him while I had a bit of a lie in and there were two potty wees.  After that he went to work and I'm not joking, it got crazy.  Oscar obviously was proud of himself and loved the praise (he stopped asking for or caring about stickers) so was squeezing out a tiny wee every few minutes.  By lunchtime I must have emptied the potty 15 times.  I'd just put my lunch in a bowl when he came in saying he'd been sick (reflux) on the carpet, I cleaned up and sat down then he weed, I cleaned up again and then he did a poo... it was ridiculous BUT all praiseworthy.  In the afternoon, after his nap, we left him in his pull-up while we got him a snack and stuff.  He came waddling into the kitchen with pants and pull-up around his ankles to tell us he had done a wee ON THE POTTY.  Again the evening there was another poo.  It was our first day with no accidents and he got another book as a reward.

Friday

This was a little bit of a setback but not really.  He was back at nursery this morning and did all his wees in his pants.  However, he did go up to the staff and say "Oscar done wee wee in pants" and ask for more trousers.  We knew it would be harder for him at nursery as the potty isn't so close, it's all different and there are a lot more distractions.  However this afternoon he took off his trousers and pull up after his nap to go in the potty and went a few more times.  He did have a small accident on the sofa but that was in the midst of being really upset so not unexpected.  He then did his evening poop in the potty just before the bath.

I'm so, so proud of him.  I can't believe how well he's taken to it.  We've stopped with the reward chart as he isn't asking for it - I honestly thought he was so motivated by the stickers that we might have to give them to him forever but apparently not! We will see how the next few weeks go!