A few days ago, we purchased a potty chair for Sydney. We figured that the time was drawing near, as he is demonstrating more and more interest in watching US go to the bathroom and he often tells us when he's going to the bathroom.
One day, I was TRYING to go to the bathroom, but Sydney kept sneaking behind me and trying to push my butt off of the toilet so that he could SEE INSIDE. I kept announcing (loudly) "Sydney, I think Daddy needs your help in the living room." but Mike pretended not to hear me. (I think I said it SEVEN TIMES - louder and louder each time; Of course, he heard me the first time, but was having fun making me sweat it out on the toilet. He thought he was being funny. Me? Not so much.)
Whenever Mike goes, Sydney likes to race into the bathroom so that he can watch. (Only ONCE did Mike yell that he needed an assist because Sydney had reached in to touch the pretty yellow stream.)
When we took the seat out of the box, I set it on the kitchen floor and asked Sydney "Do you know what this is?" Immediately, he grabbed his crotch. (I take that as a YES.)
I helped him sit on it (fully clothed) and we practiced the mount and dismount. He would sit on it for a few seconds and then HOP UP to check inside the bowl, as if something MAGICAL had happened. He would wave into the bowl and then, we'd do it all over again. Sadly, however, he eventually learned that it comes apart and he wouldn't stop taking it apart and playing with it's pieces. (He likes to wear buckets and bowls on his head, pretending they are hats so, naturally, I am a little uncomfortable with the possibility of the "new hat".) We locked the new potty chair in the bathroom by the kitchen.
This morning, I offered to let Sydney wear BIG BOY PANTS as we cooked in the kitchen. I figured that the kitchen floor is a MUCH BETTER place to practice potty-training instead of on the wood floors or area rugs in the dining/living rooms. He was SUPER EXCITED to wear big boy pants. (He picked Grover.) Almost immediately when we went into the kitchen, he decided that he needed to go potty so, we stripped off his pants and Grover undies and I helped him on the potty chair.
He sat VERY BRIEFLY and then indicated that he was ALL DONE so, I let him off. A few seconds later, he indicated he had to go to the bathroom so, I set him back on it. Again, same thing... ALL DONE. You could tell he was proud, but nervous. Within a few seconds of him getting off, he announced UH-OH and was standing next to the toilet in a small yellow puddle.
Hey, at least he peed IN THE BATHROOM, right?
I assured him "Good job! What a BIG BOY you are! You went potty in the bathroom!" but he seemed concerned about the mess on the floor. I took off his socks and wiped his feet (and the floor) with a combination of paper towel and Clorox wipes, telling him "That's OK." A few minutes later, we called Daddy (at work) to celebrate the news!
After his first attempt of going potty on the potty chair, he INSISTED upon leaving his pants AND big boy pants off, but within the half hour, he had accidently peed on his chair (that he stands on in the kitchen to help cook) and I decided to re-diaper him... to take the pressure off of him. (You can tell he feels VERY BADLY about making a mess because he SO DESPERATELY WANTS TO BE A BIG BOY.)
At one point, he took a cooking spatula and a measuring spoon over to the bowl of his potty chair and attempted to STIR inside that bowl. (Eeeew!) I discouraged that behavior and put those utensils in the sink to be washed; then, we locked the potty chair in the bathroom and I told him to knock on the bathroom door if he has to go potty (since he doesn't really TALK).
I'm guessing that we aren't REALLY ready for tackling this yet so, I wont push it too much, but we wont discourage him either. Anytime he goes potty, poops (or even just farts), he signs POOP and makes sure that we know he's making a mess (or some activity) in his diaper. We're making sure to ask him if he wants to go on the potty chair; sometimes, he says YES, but sometimes, he says NO.
Our pediatrician informed us that MOST BOYS potty-train closer to age 3. As nice as it would be to have only ONE CHILD in diapers, we'll see where this potty training adventure takes us...
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