Last week had it’s share of ups and downs of potty progress. Over the weekend my sweet child did pretty well, though still no poopoo in the potty. Of course, he wore pull-ups all weekend. Hopefully this week will be better.

Monday

“Houston, we have a problem,” and it’s called pull-ups! We started off the day, and the week, as if we were back at square one! It was as if he had forgotten how to use the potty, and he showed very little interest in relearning anything. I started using pull-ups more as an attempt to lessen the amount of laundry I end up doing on a daily basis. I’m now thinking that maybe it wasn’t such a good idea. Since they don’t make his pants wet, he treats them like diapers. Which of course means, no need to stop what he’s doing to go potty. I think I’ll go back to using them for bedtime only.

Tuesday

Today was not so good, either. Though he was wearing underwear, he was still thinking like he was wearing the pull-ups. Needless to say, in addition to his clothes, socks, and shoes, a couple of spots on the carpet, were in definite need of cleaning. It’s times like these that make me long for the days of my grandparents, when they covered everything, including the carpet, with plastic. I also remember that when we were kids, the training pants were more like plastic-covered underwear. So kids still got the feel of underwear, but without soiling the rest of the clothes they were wearing. Our grandparents were pretty smart, huh?

Wednesday

We are back on track. Yea! It’s so cool to see him just as excited as Mommy when he does peepee in the potty. High fives all around! He did have a poopoo accident, though. I say that not to take away from the multiple victory dances of the day, but rather to point out that this one accident was more like a three-for-one (and the odor confirmed as much)! Poor baby. I thought we were in for a pretty dirty day, but that was the only accident of its kind. So, overall, I’d say we had a pretty good day.

Thursday – Thanksgiving Day

Awww, the wonderful food, spending time with friends and family, an accident-free day! Who could ask for anything more, right? So I thought. We were all having a great day, and it seemed like the potty training was going very well. Then all of a sudden, around 4:30 p.m., I noticed my sweet boy walking slowly and carefully. I went up to him to see if he in fact had already used the potty, only to be greeted by a quite familiar (and unmistakable) odor. I scoop him up, grab the diaper bag, and make a b-line for the bathroom. As I am starting to remove what should be soiled clothing, I discover a very disappointing and surprising sight — (*gasp*) a pull-up (dun dun dun)! Apparently, someone, who shall remain nameless (my husband), decided that it would be a much nicer day if we didn’t have to worry about accidents or soiled clothing. What a completely thoughtful, sweet, well-intended (completely void of any self-interest) gesture, right? Gotta love that!

Friday

Okay, so I think the setback wasn’t as bad as I had envisioned. A few accidents today, but nothing like Monday! While I was cooking breakfast he told me that he had to go poopoo, so we ran to the bathroom. I placed him on the potty and praised him for being such a big boy. Then I remembered that I was still cooking breakfast. I was so happily surprised that he actually told me he had to go, I completely forgot to take the pan off the burner. Needless to say, the pancakes were fine. On my way back to the bathroom, I was met about halfway by my bottomless child, who insisted that he really didn’t have to go. After much begging and pleading, he reluctantly went back to sit again for a few minutes. A minute later he comes out to inform me that nothing has or is coming out because he “weally weally” doesn’t have to go. Well, if he “weally weally” doesn’t have to go…. After breakfast we attempted to sit again. After ten minutes, it was clear that no business was happening. So, I put clean underwear on him and let him go play. Can you guess what he did twenty minutes later?