I'm a Big Boy Now!

This little boy is something else. For about two weeks, he kept telling Joe and I that he wanted to wear underwear like Joey. And, we kept telling him that we wanted him to wear diapers. But, finally we decided that if he was ready, we should be. And, we thought it would last two days, he'd have 19 accidents, and we'd go back to diapers.

Well, we were wrong. Very wrong. He had two accidents - one on the very first day of underwear, and one on the second day of underwear. And, since then, we've had ZERO accidents. Not in the car on a 3 hour trip to Decorah, not during nap time, not in restaurants, nothing!

I'd like to brag and tell you that Joe and I did this- that we should be given all the credit. But, in fact, we deserve none of it. We don't watch the clock or give him reminders- he does it all on his own.

It just goes to show how different kids are.
Joey: Forced to potty train.
Maddox: Asked to potty train.
Joey: Hated to poop on the potty.
Maddox: Preferred to poop on the potty.
Joey: Tried the reward system, the sticker chart, the no diaper at all system, the make-him-sit- on-the-potty-every-15-minutes-system, the make-the-water-turn-red-or-blue system, the pee-on-a-cheerio-system, the you-can-flush-as-many-times-as-you-want system, the potty chair, the singing potty chair, the stand up or the sit-down method, the 'watch daddy' method....need I go on? You name it- we tried it.
Maddox: Said "yeah! you did it!" after he would go.
Joey: Out of diapers at 2 years, 10 months and 1 week.
Maddox: Out of diapers at 2 years, 1 month, 3 weeks.
Joey: Needed pull-ups at naptime.
Maddox: Wakes up dry at naptime.
Joey: Never woke up to go potty at nighttime.
Maddox: Goes potty 10 times before he actually falls asleep.

Maddox, thank you for saving us tons of money in diapers and wipes. I promise to put that full amount that Joey caused us to spend into your college savings.

Potty training is stressful. Parents put pressure on the kid and on themselves. And, you get so much feedback from people such as "He's not potty trained yet???" or "Wow. How long did it take him to potty train?" or "I had all my kids potty trained at 15 months!" (yeah, right). But, I still go back to my pediatrician's words: "Well, I haven't seen a 16-year-old walking around high school in diapers - he'll get it." Yep, they will. Some take longer than others, but they all get it in the end.

And, when they hand my boys their diploma, neither will be asked by the principal, "Now, at what age were you potty-trained?"

But, SHOULD that ever happen, I'm putting my money on the fact that Maddox will be at the top of his class!

No more baby bed. No more pacifier. No more diapers. No more baby. It's killing me....but I'm so proud of him- what a big boy!