July 30, 2005 - potty works, whee!-
Everett and I have been talking 'bout the potty for well over seven months now. I had this theory that he could be potty trained by two-and-a-half. Ummm, no.
We talked, we read, we sat him on the potty at all hours of the day, we begged, pleaded, bribed, and promised. I'd say we tried every method out there. Except: the naked method.
The other day I was supremely disgusted to discover that Everett had peed through his diaper. He's just too big to wear diapers anymore, I decided. Naked was the way to go.
For three mornings running, I tried leaving him naked after taking off his overnight diaper in the morning. Day one: he sat on the potty and told me his "pee is stuck in my pen1s." Yeah, that happens, don't it? Performance anxiety, I thought. Day two: he goes one minute sans diaper and asks for one. It's more convenient to be diaper-ful today, so I let him be.
And now we're at day three: in which he stays naked. His first effort, while I'm in the other room, is a partial success. Two (large-ish) piles of poop mark a trail toward the potty. I instruct him to sit on the potty for the rest, and sure enough: a golf-ball sized splot of poop. We clean up and praise him, giving him his giraffe stamp.
The rest of the day passes without accident, and entirely without bribery. He doesn't even ask for another giraffe stamp. Twice, he doesn't even mention that he's gone poop. I'm thinking about switching entirely to the matter-of-fact response to his potty success. I hesitate to count my chickens, but - eight hours, no diaper, no accidents. I couldn't be more pleased.
The naked potty training method rules. All hail the naked method. And all hail my three-year-and-two-week old who - in eight hours - is potty trained!
