Hoorraayy! for underpants!

We starting potty training on Tuesday September 7th.  We all wanted to quit by September 9th...It was awful, so much whining and crying and whining and peeing and pooping.  Riley was refusing to pee or poop on the potty. First,  I tried crackers as a reward, but he just wanted a cracker for sitting on the pot not peeing.  And if he did pee he threw a fit it he didn't get several crackers.  So I needed to rethink the treat idea.  Second, I tried Reese's pb cups, a treat he doesn't normally get on a regular basis...but the same thing, he would throw a fit if he couldn't get more.  It was becoming very frustrating, he fought me on the whole process!

Then Thursday night I laid in bed thinking "it shouldn't be this hard"....I then had a the simplest and most brilliant idea.  My little boy must do things on his terms, you can't make him do new things without resistance.  So I had to come up with something that would really grab his attention.


1. STICKERS!  I know what you're thinking...stickers over Reese's pb cups!  I got the idea from a chore chart I saw in a magazine, I thought if Riley could chart and see his progress, maybe he wouldn't resist.  It helps mom and dad too, to see how many times he has gone, shows how much progress he has actually made.  So I got stickers in all his favorites:  Cars, Toy Story, Mickey, Puppies, Kitties, and Fish.  The first couple times he sat down and we looked threw all the stickers and picked out the favorites and I explained this new process to him.  He whizzed instantly and proudly put up his sticker and we cheered " YAYAYA RILEY!"   Now we count all the stickers each time and he loves to see how many are up there!

2. DADDY UNDIES!  last time we tried potty training we used training pants (which don't work)  This time I vowed to not use any diapers (only when sleeping)  not even when leaving the house.  I got undies with his favorite charactors on them and he hated them!  I don't know why...so while I was buying the stickers I found boxer briefs for little boys, well Ryan wears boxer briefs and Riley is very well aware of daddy's wardrobe.  I brought home the new undies and said "Riley, would you like to wear Daddy's undies today?"  Riley responded "Daddy!?"  I said "yes or no?"  He said "SES!"  That was that!  He loves them, they are comfortable and easier to pull down.

To wrap this up, Riley is doing great with potty training, he even went on a big potty in Scheel's with no complaints!  He wakes up with dry diapers in the morning and at nap and has not had any pee accidents in 3 days.  Don't get too excited though...we still won't poop on the potty, so the poor kid gets really constipated, today he ran into the kitchen and little round turds fell from his pants...he tries to poop on the potty, but he acts like it is too uncomfortable...I have a feeling very soon though!