Potty Time

A few weeks ago we decided it was finally time to potty train Orin. We were pretty sure he was ready, although when we talked about it he would say that he wanted to wear diapers. The first day he had a lot of accidents - Orin would run in and say "I have to pee-pee on the potty," but it was already too late. By day three he was making it most of the time. Now, three weeks later, he's got the pee down. He can hold it for a while - even if we're out and he says he has to go he can often hold it until we get home. The poop has been another story. After about two weeks of not even going once in the potty, we decided to get him a toy as incentive. He picked out a train and we put it on top of his dresser and told him that he could play with it as soon as he pooped on the potty. He tried and tried and after about two or three days he started getting frustrated. Damien even put him on the toilet and read him books for an hour trying to encourage him (I think he wanted to play with the train as much as Orin did.) But it didn't happen and he just stared saying "I can't do it." So we put the train in the closet and decided to give it a rest for a while and not mention the poop. Then, a day or two later, he comes running out of the bathroom saying, "I poo-pooed in the potty, I poo-pooed in the potty!" We were a little surprised, but when we went into the bathroom sure enough to our surprise, he had gone. We figured that once he went one time it would be smooth sailing. But two weeks later, he hadn't gone again. He only poops once or twice a day, so it's either once in his underwear around nap time, or right after we put his diaper on before bed. Damien and I decided that we weren't going to push it. Orin knows how to do it, and he just has to figure it out for himself. If we talked about it every day he would just get frustrated with himself. So about an hour ago Orin and I were sitting, playing with his train and suddenly he got a strange look on his face and said to me "I have to poo-poo on the potty." Imagine my surprise, but I was like, "Ok, let's go!" So he did it! It wasn't much so I figured he would have to go again soon. Sure enough, he just told Damien he had to go and went again. We're really proud of him. Last weekend we went to Pensacola and he did great in the car - only once did he have a little bit of a "leak" when it took us 20 minutes to find a gas station. I'm going to have to get over my "germ-phobia" as he touches EVERYTHING when he goes. We definitely need to teach him to pee standing. In order for him to spread his legs out when he's sitting, he has to take all articles of clothing off from his waist down. This can be a pain when we're in a public bathroom and we're taking pants, shoes and underwear off (and putting it back on). I guess one great thing about him potty training at 3 is that about a week after starting, he could go by himself. He just announces that he needs to go and takes his pants/underwear off and runs to the bathroom. All we have to do is help him put his underwear back on. Micaiah has been very supportive. He's more excited about it than Orin. If Orin announces he has to go, Micaiah will run right behind him yelling, "pee-pee potty, pee-pee potty." He loves to take his diaper off and sit on the small potty chair. But his favorite of all is that he often reaps the benefits when Orin gets a piece of candy after going.