Adventures of potty training our boy

Tyson will be three in just a few days.  Eeek.  That's an entirely different post!

We had tried potty training with him last November.  Needless to say, it did not go well.  We tried a bootcamp method and he just wasn't getting it.  I don't know if he just wasn't ready, it wasn't the right method for him or what.  It ended after 2 days with a lot of tears from both of us.  We went back to diapers for a few months and then about 2 weeks ago, I decided it was time to really hit the potty training hard again.

He had successfully gone on the potty several times, but there just wasn't any consistency.  We had literally tried everything I could think of or read about -- the aforementioned bootcamp, sticker charts, potty books, straight to undies, using Pull Ups, potty songs, abundant praise, peer pressure, using a potty ring, using a potty chair -- none of it worked. 

The night before our potty training endeavor started, I took him to Target, just the two of us.  We talked the whole way there about how he was going to be a big boy and that diapers were for babies.  I told him that he could walk the store instead of riding in the cart because that's what big boys get to do.  I let him stroll tear through the toy aisles and pick out whatever "big" toy he wanted.  He settled on a pretty cool, fairly large fire truck.  I also bought several small Hot Wheels cars, some Circo wooden trains, M&Ms and gummi bears to use as rewards.  Oh, and a few packages of daytime and nighttime Pull Ups.

The next morning, I put away the changing pad on top of his dresser and he protested.  I had no idea that little changing pad meant anything to him!  We went straight to undies that morning.  Our nanny, Brooke, was here with me so we were able to tag team getting him to the potty and taking care of Quinn too.  I caught one pee on the potty and we were thrilled for him!  We celebrated that first pee like you wouldn't believe!  I had to leave for a dentist appointment, but Brooke knew what to do.  Of course, he promptly peed on the living room floor as soon as he had an opportunity.  But, I'm happy to say that was his only accident the first day!

The kid LOVES lemonade, so I made a huge pitcher and let him drink as much as he wanted.  By lunchtime, he was not only peeing consistently in the potty, but he was racing to get there all by himself!  We put him in a Pull Up for his nap and then went straight back to undies as soon as he woke up.  He was rewarded and praised and hyped up on adrenaline and sugar!  The first day went so much better than I could have expected! Even with all of the success, he never once pooped on the potty the first day.

Over the next few weeks, he hasn't been as consistent. He still makes it to the potty about 90% of the time, but pooping still needs work. A lot of work. I guess for an almost-three year old, he's doing pretty well. We haven't wavered with the undies. He wears them as soon as he gets up until he goes to bed, minus the Pull Up for naps. I think for us, we'll focus on getting him consistently day trained and then move to nap trained and eventually night trained. We're so proud of him for how far he's come! I have to keep telling myself that when I'm cleaning poo out of underwear. Blech!

As for the big fire truck he picked out? It's been sitting on top of our tv armoire since we bought it. He still hasn't officially "earned" it yet. He'll get it when he goes 2 full days without any accidents. He still asks about it all the time, so hopefully it won't be too long before it's officially his.