Next Time, No Pull-Ups

It's a big party at my house because as of Friday morning, our little man has used the potty consistently. No accidents since Thursday. I was amazed that this process only took 2 days. It was just Wednesday and Thursday. I was worried that he wasn't ready because he actually told me he didn't want to wear underpants and said he liked wearing Pull-ups so he could pee in them and didn't have to stop playing. While I see his logic, I wanted him to see *my* logic.

We did the Pull-up thing for a few months and since hindsight is 20/20, I would definitely not bother with the Pull-ups with the next baby. I took the advice of nancy, who told me to just go hard-core and put him in underpants - and it totally worked! I was reluctant because we're in the middle of selling our house and didn't want the house to smell like pee - but since the housing market is oh-so bad right now, what the heck does it matter then. It's not as if people are waiting in line to see our house.

I still put him in a Pull-Up at naptime and night-time despite the fact that he keeps waking up with dry Pull-ups the last few days. But I think we can trust him to try his best now. The Jackpotty has been a huge hit with him - and I hope it doesn't lead to a gambling problem in the future.

We were having friends over for dinner Saturday night, and had a packed day but managed to make time to take Ricky to ToysRus for some reward toys. He picked out a Nerf gun and a Superman car carrier truck. He also asked us to take him to the Renaissance Faire and to Six Flags. We promised him we would. How could we not?

This is a big relief also because his pre-school will not admit kids who are not potty trained. The papers I have specifically say "No Pull-Ups." We were afraid he wouldn't be able to attend.

So I am looking forward to 5 whole diaper-free months before baby number two arrives. I am so proud of Ricky but kind of sad that he is a big boy now.

Busting Out the Underpants

In March, Ricky was nearly potty trained. He went 2 days straight without wetting his pull-ups. He was ready for underpants. Then my father and stepmom arrived and stayed with us for 2 weeks. All the excitement sent all his progress down the tubes.

Ever since they left, I have been buying packages of Pull-ups every week. I breastfed Ricky for 14 months and loved to think of all the money I saved on formula - but now I realize I am spending it all on Pull-ups!!

He starts pre-school in September and they will not take any kids that are wearing Pull-ups. He has to be 100% potty trained. I know he must be stressed a bit because we are moving, but he really needs to move on.

Today I put Bob the Builder underpants on him and pointed out how soft and comfortable they feel and how they are so much better than Pull-ups. Then I made a chart for the week and took a package of 2,000 small smiley face stickers and sat him down and told him that every time he uses the potty, he gets a sticker. The more stickers he gets, the closer he is to getting new toys and a trip to the Renaissance Fair. He was revved up and sure enough, he used the potty and got his sticker.

I thought all was good until I put in the Tom & Jerry DVD and repeatedly asked him if he needed to go potty. He is fully aware of the pause feature and actually knows how to use it himself. But then he jumped on my lap and there was wetness all over. I tried not to be upset with him because he is only 3 - but I know he knows better than this.

I know deep down that the only way to train him is to go all hardcore and put him in underpants all the time. But to be honest, I am terrified to do this because I do not want our house to smell like pee when we are trying to sell it. I remember when we were house-hunting in 2000, we went to an open house and the basement smelled like pee and there in front of the tv was a toddler. We couldn't wait to get out of there.

What to do?

The JACKPOTTY Potty Training Chair

My mother enjoys slot machines and on her most recent visit last month, she came home with a toy slot machine for Ricky. She gave it to him without asking me about it - and to be honest Mark and I were not very happy about it. We didn't want Ricky to view slot machines as fun. My mom was tickled that Ricky loved it and we relented - maybe it was just harmless fun.....

So after going to Ricky's preschool open house and reading the form that says that children who cannot go to the bathroom independently without the use of pull-ups will NOT be admitted, I took Ricky to Wal-Mart to buy a potty toilet.

Granted, we already have the small Bob the Builder toilet seat that fits inside the adult toilet seat. The problem with this is that they cannot just go to the bathroom and sit if they want to - you need to help them and make sure they don't fall off the throne. So I opted to use both.

At the store, they had about 9 different potty chairs to choose from. I was expecting Ricky to pick Dora, but which toilet do you suppose he picked despite my protests, bribes, and begging?