Potty Power!

I think we may officially be down to just one kid in diapers! We've had a potty since Colin was about 2 but have put off pushing him to potty train due to Eli's impending birth, all his surgeries, and then traveling for Christmas. This Fall, Chris and I had talked about really buckling down after the New Year. We had debated about which approach to take and realized that unless Colin had some serious motivation to use the potty, we would just be spinning our wheels (we had already tried food rewards, setting a timer, reading books, etc.; all of which bombed). So, about a month ago we took Colin on a shopping trip to pick out his big boy underwear. He had fun checking out all the different characters and deciding which ones he wanted to wear. The next day, as soon as he woke up, we put him in underwear and told him no more diapers. We also enticed him by changing our TV rules. Now he had to use the potty to earn a show. We felt like he was physically ready because he had been staying dry at night and using the potty first thing every morning for several months. He had a couple big accidents the first two days but has been doing really well since then. Our next obstacle was getting him to use the big potty. He seemed very unsure of it and refused to use it at home or wherever else we went. Luckily he hasn't had any accidents while we've been out and about, but I just kept waiting for it to happen. So, this weekend we decided to push the use of the big potty. We told him that now he had to use the big potty to earn a show. He's been doing great and hasn't even asked to use his little potty anymore. Now our final hurdle is to get him to use a public bathroom. We're super proud of him and it's been so cool to watch his confidence grow through the whole experience.