Potty Training, Day Three

We're just going to skip day two. Only one success, and it was barely that. Three accidents and one was the Hoover Dam. Today was (is) my first day going it alone with both kids and PT, but it hasn't been too bad. Eli gets very upset and angry when it's time to go sit if he doesn't have to go. Which is every time the buzzer goes off. I'll have him sit for one or two minutes (about as long as I can contain him while keeping Mad Dog alive at the same time) and then we'll resume our activity. About three minutes later he says, "Have to go potty!" and runs to the bathroom. First I thought I wasn't making him sit long enough, but now I think he just doesn't like to be told when he should be going.

The first success we had today blew my mind. It's still blowing my mind. At 9:45 I told Eli I had to take Maddie upstairs for her nap. We had just spent a few minutes on the throne with no results, so I figured I was safe for five minutes or so. I told him to call if he had to go, but otherwise I'd be back in a few minutes. I rushed M upstairs to her crib, sang her a quick song and walked out. When I came downstairs, Eli was nowhere to be found. This worried me as he had access to our front staircase and he is not allowed up there. So I called out to him and from over my shoulder I hear, "I'm in da potty, Mommy!!" So I go in there and find the step stool pushed up to the toilet seat, Eli sitting on it (correctly) with his big boy pants down. And the best part is, he had actually gone!! He didn't make too much of a mess, but there was evidence to suggest it wasn't just a run through. So we called a few people and celebrated with some crackers and water. I told him again and again how proud I was and he told me, "Elmo's proud me too!!" (Elmo sits in the bathroom with us, on the smaller potty.)

That's how it's gone most of the day: no success when I 'force' him to sit, but several (maybe five?) successes when he calls the shots. (And only one small accident that caused him to run to the toilet and have a success.) And of those successes, only one happened when I was standing right next to him. So what I've learned is that Eli does not like to be told when to go and he does not like an audience. This could make things a little difficult.... The only thing making it more difficult for me is the need to be close to the house/potty at all times. This means no walks, no play-dates, no park, no errands. I am going Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs!! I do not like to hang around the house all day, even if it is nice outside and we can be in the yard. We were outside some, but that's when we had our one accident, so we've been indoors the rest of the day. Those that know me know the kids watch hardly any TV, but we have watched almost the entire movie "Grease" today. (It's Eli's new found love...be still my heart!)