3 Day Potty Training: 3 Weeks Later

Well our 3 day potty training marathon began just over three weeks ago and I thought I would post an update.

I think that once again I have blacked out a good portion of the event form my mind.  I have diagnosed myself as suffering from 3 Day Potty Training Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (3DPTPTSD).  I am so, so thankful that I never have to endure this again.

Now, on to the goodness and rainbows!

Admittedly, I was really, REALLY skeptical about the success of this method on Little Man.  Thankfully we had already been through this with Buddy and thankfully it was a resounding success.  If we didn't have that experience to reflect upon I think we may just have thrown in the towel and claim "it didn't work".  So glad we persevered!

It really did take more than the three days with Little Man.  I think he was gaining good awareness of the sensation of needing to pee and exhibit control by day two or three.  We could see that.  Poo, on the other hand?  Not so much.  Time and time again he pooped in his underwear.  Now, he did know he was going as he would usually launch into stealth mode and try to slink away/hide but he really didn't give a crap (no pun intended) that he did it in his underwear. 

After six days of following the 3 day potty training method I was pretty much hanging onto sanity by a thread.   Gouging my eyes out with a plastic spoon was sounding more appealing than cleaning more underwear or reminding Little Man to tell me if he needs to go pee. 

Day seven posed a new challenge:  DAYCARE.  Yikes.  Now, I had given advance education to his teachers and the Director that we would need their support and they agreed.  So we showed up with lots of underwear, clothes and the magic motivator:  Jelly Belly Jelly Beans.  Just before lunch I emailed to find out how Little Man was making out.  Not good.  He was dry and clean but he refused to even enter the bathroom with anyone.  The mere mention of the potty resulting in screaming and crying.

Huh.  This is new.

I told them to try tempting with the Beans.

No dice.

So I left a meeting to run down and take him to the bathroom.  Guess what?  He peed! 

Later in the day I came down again.  Guess what?  He peed! 

Then he pooped in his underwear.  Whatever. 

The next day was much better:  He was actually peeing for his teachers!  Without drama!  Still pooped in his underwear but hey....it was progress :)

Then, out of the blue, it "clicked".

Towards the end of last week he started coming home in the same clothes and underwear we sent him in.  Every day. His teachers are thrilled with his progress (I think he's the only toddler in his room that is fully trained).  He is now a pooping superstar!!!

We are so proud!

He is still waking up wet (but not soaking wet...more like he woke up having an accident in the morning wet) about half the time.  I suspect this will regulate itself in the next few weeks.

We put in A LOT of time and effort into this but now we are so happy to say we are diaper free.  Forever!

The 3 day Method is HARD.  Harder than Hard.  But if you stick it out it is well worth the effort.

Good luck for any of you embarking on this journey. 

Resolution

Have you ever been struck with a feeling of panic?

That you never know when life will be forever changed and you haven't had time to enjoy, learn or do even half the things on your Bucket List?

This is me this week.

Ever since yesterday morning I have been having these overwhelming waves of emotions:  guilt, panic, stress, saddness, regret.  And I'm not even PMS-ing!

I live my life in a pretty constant state of fast forward.  I'm a planner by nature and my instincts always tell me to get myself organized for what could happen next.  Tomorrow always trumps today.  This might be pre-planning gifts or events, mapping out endless to-do lists, careful planning of vacation days.....you name it.  Sounds good, right?  I must be organized and on top of everything, right?  Wrong.  I'm always worried about what is on the horizon.  I spend far too much of my life looking at what's to come.  I am failing to appreciate and enjoy what is already here:  Today.

What would happen if I died today?  Would I be happy knowing that I had spent my lunch taking care of buying birthday cards for the end of month birthday parties we are scheduled to attend?  Would work appreciate the thought I am putting into configuring data in the system?  Probably not. 

When I get home with the boys every night I rush into the kitchen in a panic to get dinner going, switch laundry over and think about what is on the agenda for tomorrow.  What I should be doing is taking a few minutes to sit and play with my boys.  Give them my undivided attention.   The day will come in the not so distant future where they will want to spend every waking moment with anyone other than mommy.  And the thought of this missed opportunity breaks my heart.

It may be January 4th but it is not too late for a New Year's Resolution.

I will make a concentrated effort to live in the moment.  To stop taking tomorrow for granted.  To be a better mom to my boys and a better wife to my Super Husband.

3 Day Potty Training: Welcome to Hell

Wow.

I had forgotten just how exhausting, horrifying, messy and, well, horrible potty training is.  Let me clarify.  We, unlike most normal parents, have taken the stance to not use training diapers or a phased-in approach to potty training.  Nope....we like to go whole-hog.  We like to commit 24-7 and every ounce of willpower we have to the effort because we love a challenge.  Well, not really.  We just really want to be done with it. 

For people who are crazy determined like us I highly recommend the 3 Day Potty Training method.  I will not lie.  It is hard.  Damn hard.  But it works.  You just need to be really patient, diciplined and extremely consistent.  And also be realistic.  Chances are your child will not come out after 3 days and be transformed into an accident-free wonder but the base understanding and recognition of needing to go will be.  It is the foundation.

Super Husband and I decided to try the 3 Day Potty Training method with Buddy a couple of days after he turned two.  I reacall it was extremely difficult and quite possibly I have completely supressed at least 2 days of the memory because honestly....it really is a very diffucult undertaking.  What I do know is that within a month of training, Buddy was 100% day and night trained with ZERO accidents....EVER (well excepting the one time his bedroom door was stuck shut and he couldn't get out in time but that doesn't count).  Buddy is a bathroom superstar.  Why wouldn't we do it again with Little Man?

So, two days after Christmas, Super Husband and I planned to start this process with Little Man.  I am so, so lucky to have Super Husband.  He is a fantastic father and without him we would never in a million years be successful with this method.  I believe that it takes a team to undertake this method correctly.  Super Husband took the potty training lead and I did everything else:  cooking, cleaning, laundry, looking after Buddy, shopping...moral support...you name it.  And just to clarify...I had the EASY JOB!

So the premise is that if you follow the guidelines outlined in the book that your child will recognize the signs/sensation associating with needing to use the washroom within 3 days.  I truly believe and in our case found this to be true.  BUT....and this is a BIG BUT (like mine right now but that's a whole other post...sigh) there is still a lot of learning that needs to happen after the 3 day period to be able to go out and be comfortable.  Today is day 7 for Little Man.  I can honestly say that yesterday....Day 6....was the first day that he consistently went pee on the potty and has now started going on demand (not that we demand for him to go but if we take him to try he will go like this morning, for example when I dropped him at daycare).

I am absolutely confident that within a few weeks Little Man will be well on his way to be a pro at this but it cannot be expected to happen overnight.  Also - I really believe that switching to diapers when it is convenient (or Pull-Ups) is detrimental to the process.  Yes, laundry is a lot of work and sheet washing SUCKS.  But it is short term pain for long term gain.

So....for the record:  I HATE the process of 3 Day Potty Training but I LOVE the results and will advocate it to anyone that asks.

And man.....spending our only week of vacation off together this year potty training was a big fat beyotch....but in a few months I will have suppressed this memory as well and cha-ching...no more diapers to budget for in our house!!!!  SCORE!

I'm so proud of Little Man (and Super Husband, too)!

A Real Update Update

Well it's been an interesting couple of days. 

We were supposed to have heard back from our landlord Tuesday on how his "discussion" with the Trolls went.  By 8pm we still hadn't heard from him and suddenly music started blaring from the basement.  We have NEVER complained about noise.  We have made a point to be extremely tolerant as we know our household is not always quiet with two little guys running around (mind you, we limit this potential noisiness to a couple hours a day between arriving home from work and bedtime at 8pm).  Anyway, the music started and then we could hear they had a group of people over.  It was clear that there was drinking involved.  As the evening progressed, it got louder and louder.  Thankfully the boys are sound sleepers.  I have NO idea how they stayed asleep.

After gritting my teeth for several hours, I went to bed with earplugs in at 11:30.  Super Husband stayed up.  At 1:30am they all piled into their bathroom (directly under our bed) and started smoking.  Aside from the smoke that wafted up we knew this because they had a LOUD discussion about smoking and how they "didn't fucking care" about the fire hazard or health issues.  The music finally subsided after 2am. 

Super Husband was beyond furious.  He announced the next morning that he was calling the landlord directly and to start searching for a new place to live.

So on my scheduled day off I searched for rentals and made an appointment to see a house at 6pm.

Super husband called me to report at lunch that he spoke with the landlord and that he had apparently spoken to them the day before.  Super Husband gave him the update on the party/actions from the night before and he indicated that he was going to tell them to leave.

Well it's about time.

Because we are not ones to go with out a backup plan, we kept the appointment to see the new place.

I really wish we hadn't.

The damn thing was AWESOME.  It would be perfect for us.  I will not torture myself to recount all the details but it really was a great house.  In fact, we loved it so much we were ready to tell our current landlord to refund our deposit and December's rent and we would be out by January 1st.

Would you believe that when Super Husband called landlord to give the update he was actually pulling into our driveway to evict the Trolls?

We were stuck in an impossible position.  We were FINALLY getting what we wanted after months of complaining and begging for help at the exact time we found the perfect solution.

So there we were.  Stuck between a rock and a hard place. 

In the two minutes we had to call the shots we told landlord to proceed with the eviction.  We felt that we owed him to stay and commit to seeing our lease through if he was finally kicking the Trolls to the curb.

So the Trolls have apparently agreed to vacate as soon as they find a place.  They have been instructed to look as soon as Christmas is over and be out ASAP.

The whole thing is bittersweet.  I'm THRILLED to have an end in sight (though I will believe it when I see them leave) but at the same time I am really sad about losing out on the new place.

Jeesh...am I EVER happy? (I can hear Super Husband saying this even if it is just inside his own head).  In reality...he's secretly bummed too.

Oh! I Almost Forgot!

How silly of me!  In all the commotion with the Trolls I forgot to mention....

The dryer belt broke again!

Fan-Fucking-Tastic, I say!

Do I sound sarcastic?  Good.  I meant to.

The Non-Update Update

Well so far I have nothing to report on the Troll situation.

Sunday we went out for the afternoon (to brave shopping the last weekend prior to Christmas) and came home to the place smelling once again like an ashtray.  In yet another fit of anger I promptly called the Landlord.  I demanded an update on the situation.  The update is no update.  He promised that he would be doing a face to face visit with Mr. Troll himself Tuesday.  That would be today.  He is supposed to get back to me afterwards.

So....what will this visit achieve?  That's the question we are asking ourselves.  I preume nothing.  My intuition tells me that I will get a follow up call at some point to say that the Trolls claim they are not smoking anything in the apartment and to give them another chance.  Essentially that's what has been happening every time we complain.

At this point, Super Husband and I will make a decision.  Do we stick it out or do we go back to the Landlord and ask him to allow us to "break" our lease out of compassion? 

The bottom line is something needs to change because the current situation is not working.  We are not willing to subject our children to this health risk and plus....it's making us crazy.  Being at home is a constant stressor.  I feel so much better when I leave and can literally feel my blood pressure skyrocket when I get back.

Fingers crossed that a freaking Christmas Miracle happens today!

Livin' the High Life

Okay.  I do feel like a bit of a complainer as of late.  But really, if I didn't have this crazy stupid stuff going on I would have nothing to talk about. 

I think it's fair to say Super Husband and I are very nearly at the end of our rope with our living situation.  Namely, the Trolls Downstairs.

The good news?  They've finally stopped banging on the ceiling.

The bad news?  They have not stopped smoking.  In fact, they've kicked it into high gear.  Now we not only get to deal with second-hand cigarette smoke but with weed as well! 

To make a long story short, Super Husband smelled weed last week.  He went and did a walk around of the house and saw nobody outside.  He left it at that.  A couple of evenings ago, he smelled it again.  Again there was nobody outside.  Then yesterday morning he went to drop off the latest gas bill to them.  When he opened the storm door that goes downstairs to the apartment he was hit with a wave of weed.  They've been smoking it in the house.

In an apparent episode of VERY bad timing, the landlord called me this morning to check in. 

Let's just say I wasn't in the mood to be nice.

By the time the conversation ended, I had given him an ultimatum:  get rid of the Trolls or we are leaving.  End of.

I've given him three days to figure out what he is going to do and call me back.

This is going to get interesting....