Here Goes Nothing

We have officially started potty training at the Standley household.  My intentions were to wait until Sam's third birthday, but he has given us all the hints that now is the time.  He announces when he needs to pee and in the last few days screams and cries as soon as he wets his diaper.  He insists that we change him immediately.  So yesterday we headed to Target to pick out some "big boy" underwear...we left with some cute camos, Madagascar and Spider man briefs.  I gave Sam the big potty training pep talk and let him know that since he could tell me when he needed pee and he no longer liked wearing a diaper that the diapers were going bye-bye.  This made me more than a little sad.  How is it already time to potty train my baby?  It seems like just yesterday I was trying to figure out how to point his newborn you know what so that it didn't spray pee out the side and soak his little gown.  I changed many soaked gowns and onesies before I figured out the art of positioning.  

I must admit that I'm a little hesitant about this end to diaper wearing.  Don't get me wrong I know less diapers that have to be bought at Target means more fun money for Target, but I keep thinking and worrying about this whole potty situation.   Like...what do you do when you're on the belt line and your kid announces he has to go right then...and what do you do when they need to do the big stuff (if you know what I mean) and the bathroom is nasty...and what on earth do you do to entertain your 16 month old while you are helping your "big boy" use the public restroom?  I have a scary visual that keeps popping in my head...me, Sam and Jack at a restroom...Sam needs to go BAD and as I am trying to line the seat with toilet tissue to avoid the shear nastiness, I look up to find Jack climbing into a urinal...head first.  So let's just say as tired as I am of changing stinky diapers, I am NOT looking forward to all potty training has to offer.

Okay, enough of my rambling about my issues.  This morning Sam proudly put on a pair of camo undies and potty training officially began.  I told Sam how we would reward him for doing a great job.  Stickers for every trip to the potty and when he does the "big stuff" in the potty, we would head to Build-A-Bear for him to create his own special bear.  We created a sticker chart that has a few more stickers than bathroom trips...Sam got a little sticker happy when I wasn't looking.  We had a few breakdowns when his ding dong would begin to come out of the little hole in front.  He would go nuts (no pun intended).  I didn't even know they had a hole in front so imagine my panic when Sam yelled at the lunch table "Mommy, Mommy my ding dong is falling out."  Seriously, does a three year old need the pee hole?  We are just trying to pee in the potty without spraying the walls and the shower curtain...the pee hole is a little out of our league.  He peed five times today with no accidents.  He even did a small, and I mean small, # 2 in the potty.  We called everyone we knew bragging about this minuscule little turd (way too tiny for a trip to the mall)... MeMa, GMa, Daddy, Cade, Cannon, Ally & Nana.  After dinner we knew a "big one" needed to happen and we sat for a while in the bathroom awaiting its arrival. Nothing.  He was totally freaked out by the idea of "pushing his do do out."  I think it worried him so bad that he actually had his first accident of the day...he peed on the floor and he was so ashamed and disappointed.  A little love and reassurance and he was begging for a dry pair of undies to "try again."  We decided to call it a day and put on his night time diaper and pjs.  Within two minutes he had done his "big business" in his diaper.  As I cleaned him, I reminded him that I was cleaning his trip to Build-A Bear off his heine.  He didn't seem to care.  Tomorrow is a new day and a new pair of undies...

Sam's sticker chart...with four stickers too many.

Proud...

So big...