Potty Training {3 Day Method}

For over a month Sawyer has been telling us he needs to use the bathroom.  We took him when he asked to go (mostly #2) but we didn't make a big deal about it because we were busy traveling and not in our normal routine.  Now that we have been home a few weeks and this is the last weekend before football starts in full swing I decided it was time to focus and get down to business with potty training Sawyer.

My friend told me about a 3 day potty training method and I liked the sound of it.  It's all about positive reinforcement and consistency.  One thing I love about it is you throw away all diapers even at nap and night time.  The thing I was most scared of was the major commitment and having to be cooped up inside for 3 days. But I knew he was ready so we took the plunge.

(Warning this is pretty detailed and not really important, but I need to remember it for future children, feel free to skip to the bottom :)

Day 1
7:30 remove last diaper, put on underwear
7:35 Sawyer tells me he has to go potty and he does!
8:45 Sawyer has his first accident, but he tells me during it and we rush to the bathroom, put on 2nd pair of underwear
8:50 Sawyer had 2nd accident, he once again tells me, rush to the bathroom, put on 3rd pair of underwear
9:45 3rd accident
10:05 4th accident
10:30 successful potty in the toilet, he let me know and we ran to the toilet!
11:05 successful potty in the toilet
12:05 pm successful potty in the toilet
12:30 pm successful potty in the toilet
12:50 pm successful potty in toilet
1:00 pm nap
3:30 wake-up
3:45 pm successful potty in the toilet
6:40 pm successful potty in the toilet
7:10 pm successful #2 in the potty
7:20 pm 5th accident, peed on daddy's pillow
tried several times before bed but no go
9:00 pm bed time
10:00 pm woke him up to see if he had to go, he didn't

Successful night with no accidents!!!

Day 2
6:45 am we woke him up to ensure he did not pee right when he woke up, went successfully in the potty
9:30 am 1st accident, while in timeout
9:30 am - 1 pm 5 successful trips to the potty with 2 #2's.  Also he once ran to us when we were in different rooms to tell us he had to go
1:00 - 4:15 pm nap, made it through nap with no accidents
4:20 pm 2nd accident while hiding from daddy
5:00 pm went out to dinner, this is a big no-no according to the rules, but we all needed to get out, made it through dinner
6:00 pm went to Walgreens to rent movie and he had to go to the bathroom, successful trip
went to the bathroom several times before bed
8:30 pm bed time
9:00-10:00 pm went to the bathroom 3 times
Successful night with no accidents! but it was an early wake up call

Day 3
5:30 am Sawyer is up for the day, goes potty
8:30 am 1st accident
8:45 am successful potty and poop in the toilet
9:00 am successful potty in the toilet
11:00 am went to church
used the potty numerous times throughout the afternoon, no accidents, woke up from nap dry,
9:00 pm bedtime, got out of bed several times to potty

I know there can and will be some regression and I'm still incredibly nervous to take him out anywhere (though he has shown he can be trusted in public as he has had no accidents outside the house) but I think I can say with certainty he is fully potty trained.  The method worked!  In all actuality he "got it" within 4 hours. Pretty crazy, huh?  Incredible what a lot of positive reinforcement, snacks, and 100% commitment can do...well it probably also helps that Sawyer was interested in the process.

I did take a picture of Sawyer in his undies, but I don't really think it's appropriate to put online.  Just trust me when I say he has the cutest little tush (or bum as he calls it).

(I wrote this post as potty training was happening a week ago and I'm happy to report he is still doing very well.  He has a few accidents every now and then during the day but he has continued to stay dry during all sleep times.)