I asked around for advice and saw lots of people mention some type of three day boot camp training. There are a few different methods on this and all involved buying a book. The books were inexpensive, but I still tried my best to just ask other mothers what the general plan was, and then we decided to wing it.
We started on Presidents Day, just a couple hours before bed. We stripped Pierscen down to the buff and kept the potty right next to us. It was actually pretty funny at first. When we stripped him down, he acted rather shy and embarrased. He didn't want to move and was completely untrusting of the fact that we told him he could go play. Trust me, I was nervous too. No one wants a naked little boy running wildly through the house. But that's the first part of the three day camp. You let them go totally naked so they recognize the feeling of needing to go - and knowing there is nothing there to stop it.
*Pause for just a moment please. Just as an FYI, the little training toilets are NOT great for boys who want to sit and pee. Yes, they have a cup to try and keep things in the bowl, but it doesn't really work. I am positive other parents have had success with it but I thought it was worthless. That being said...
On a whim, we decided to show Pierscen that he could stand and pee into the training toilet. Dangerous? Sure, but it worked! He was so excited about it that within the first half hour, he had at least trickled in the toilet 8 times! We would just have time to wash it out and put a sticker on the chart and he would go again.
He was so proud of himself! We cheered like crazy, did a lot of dancing, and celebrated like it was the final touch down in a tied game each time he made it to the potty (even if it was every 30 seconds.) At this point, we didn't offer any incentives other than a sticker, and he really didn't need it.
Just before bed, we let him try on some big boy underwear just so that he could feel the difference. Unfortunately, that's when we had our first accident. It really does make a difference to have them run bare bottom.
We did two more full days of bare bum. On the second day, I showed Pierscen that he could use the training toilet as a step stool and pee in the regular toilet. Now that's all he does!
Going number 2 in the toilet was a bit harder. He pooped on the floor the first day. Gross. I didn't get mad at him. Just made sure he knew that it was supposed to go in the toilet and that I was kind of sad about it. After that, there were a couple of times that he said he needed to go and we would go to the toilet half a dozen times without results. Of course, then he would finally go in his underwear when we both got doing something different. He felt horrible about it. He would come to me crying an saying "Oh no! Oh no!" I was sad that he felt so bad, but also kind of happy too because that meant he was getting it!
Well, on about day three we made it to the toilet. Thus the "BIG" star. I told him that he would get a sucker if he went poop in the toilet. I also started offering a sucker when he reached the end of a row. I'm not sure why I did it, since it's not like he needed the motivation, but oh well. He really loves suckers. Hahaha. I started off having him poop in the training toilet, but now he just uses that as a step stool and then turns around and sits on the big toilet. I kind of love it because he's not afraid of the big toilet at all. In fact, flushing is probably one of his favorite things in the world. I am curious to see how much water we have used in the last two weeks.
When Ryan came home that day, we told him that Pierscen had gone poop in the toilet and they proceeded to have a party. :)
The other big thin that helped motive P to make it to the toilet was that we told him he couldn't wear his Thomas underwear if he pooped in them. He really loved Thomas right now and is SO proud to wear his Thomas undies. :)
No, he is not picking his bum in that picture. He was just trying to show the camera his Thomas underwear.
Really all it took was about three days. He has done so well! I still put him in diapers for nap and bedtime. I have become a bit more brave with going out and about with him now. The first day we went to church after this, I put him in a diaper and then just took him to the potty multiple times. He stayed dry, so that's a good thing, though I got "yelled" at by Nicia for putting him back in diaper. Haha. Now when we are out running errands, if he needs to go, he will let him know. Then he will usually want to try 4 or 5 more times just for the fun of it. It's frustrating, but I also don't want to risk it in case he really does need to go. It is getting better though.
Those two sticker charts are a week worth of "training." We finished the last row, and then I made him another one. However, he doesn't really care about the stickers as much now - unless it's a "BIG" sticker for pooping. Going potty is just what we do. :) That is a relief to me because I wasn't sure how we would transition away from the rewards once he got it. I am sure we will still have some accidents now and again, but he has done so well. I am so grateful that he has caught on so quickly and that he had the motivation to begin with. This made for a great first experience! I'm so proud of this little guy!
