Potty Training

Back in February, we finally said that's it. We are going to tackle this monster. We didn't want to put off potty training any longer. I don't know if we were putting it off or just waiting for ALL the signs to say Aubrey was ready. He was perfectly happy running around with poop in his diaper all afternoon... until it left him with horrible diaper rash. So, we went to the store, bought some cool underwear, and had him pick out his treats.

Seth and I read up on a few different methods of potty training to put together our own method we thought fit Aubrey best. The bear in the picture (remember Aubrey's favorite catch from Mardi Gras) was Aubrey's trainee. He taught the bear how to stay "clean and dry". The bear and Aubrey got treats for staying clean and dry and using the potty. This was a great motivator for Aubs. He only had a handful of accidents the first day (probably because we were so scared to let him to far from the potty chair). But, by that evening, he was saying he had to go potty and would run to the potty and pee! 

We used this chart as another motivator for using the potty. He loved getting to pick out a sticker and placing it on the chart. 

The end of day 1. Pretty successful...day two and three were a little more messy but we knew he had the concept down. On day two, he actually went #2 on the potty but went a long period (about a month or two) of going anywhere but the potty. Going number two was a learning curve. After struggling with getting him to go in the potty and not in his pullup or undies, he finally has the hang of it all (within the last month) after we found that keeping ice cream sandwiches in the freezer was a good motivator (new toys, not so much)!

 And then came learning to pee standing up...which he earned early in the process so outings would be easier when he had to use a public restroom!

 We also learned new songs, read books and watched movies that talked about using the potty. I think they were all helpful in motivating him to go in the potty like a big boy.

Note to self: iPad is not a good motivator as it leads to prolonged periods on the toilet and unnecessary trips to the bathroom...along with meltdowns when taken away so child does not spend his day sitting on the potty!

Aubrey still uses pullups for nap time and night time but has been doing really well staying "clean and dry" the past month! Way to go Aubs!