Potty Talk

When I start a post about potty training, you might think I’m talking about my efforts with Logan, but I’m not. What can I say, my sons are late bloomers in the potty department. They’ve cost me a small fortune in diapers in their short little lives, but I guess I don’t mind.

Cameron was 3 1/2 before we even started the whole process. He showed no interest, and I wasn’t going to push him into something he wasn’t ready for…At least not yet.

It wasn’t until the school I was going to send him to cancelled his class leaving me scrambling for somewhere to send him, that having a 3 year old in diapers became an issue. Most preschools (in my area) require their 3 year olds to be potty trained to be enrolled. CRAP!

Let the training begin!

I have to say, for a kid who was forced into it, he did amazingly well. Before long he was completely trained, during the day. Night time was a totally different story. His night time Pull Ups seemed to be almost like a security blanket for him, even the mention of not using them would send in into a frenzy. Fast forward to four months before his 5th birthday, that’s right I said 5th. He still refuses to give up the Pull Ups, which really is fine with me since they’re still wet every morning.

I know how sound of a sleeper Cameron is, so I’m pretty sure I have a little bed wetter on my hands. There is no way this kid is waking up to go to the bathroom at night. Getting him out of his Pull Ups is really not even a thought in my mind. Sure, I’d love to save all the money I spend on them for something else, but I’m prepared to wait until he’s ready.

I noticed some of his underwear was getting a little funky looking, so on my next trip to Target I picked him up a few new pairs. I saw little boxer briefs and had to have them. I thought Cameron would get a kick out of having undies like Daddy (sorry for sharing your choice of underwear honey). I wasn’t prepared for just how much he would love them. He insisted on putting them on right away and texting Daddy a picture since he was out of town.

A couple hours hours later, and totally unsolicited, he proclaimed that he was “quitting the Pull Ups!” I nearly fell off my chair. While I was super excited that he made the decision on his own, I was dreading the amount of laundry I was sure to be doing each morning.

Every morning Cameron would come into my room to say good morning smelling like a barnyard. Nothing like waking up to the smell of stale urine, then having to get up and strip a wet bed. Some days it was like someone dumped a bucket in the bed, or ran a fire hose in his room. Oh, and he has bunk beds, so I nearly knocked myself out a few times when I banged my head on the bottom of the top bunk. I have to give a quick shout out to my Walmart UrineProof mattress pad, that thing didn’t let one drop through to the mattress!

I never let Cameron see my frustration, he had enough of his own to deal with. Honestly though, I was getting to be at my wit’s end. I couldn’t take anymore wet sheets, so I asked my mother for advice. She told me to wake him up before I went to bed to get him to go. I thought she was nuts, wake him up? Why, so he can be up all night when he doesn’t fall back to sleep?

It worked! Who knew? The first night I woke him up, no wet bed in the morning…Mommy rejoices! So it’s the same thing every night, I wake him up before I go to sleep, but I’ve had a dry bed every morning since.

There haven’t been any problems with him going back to sleep because I don’t think he ever really wakes up. I have to actually pick him up and place him on his feet on the floor or he refuses to get out of bed, can’t say that I blame him though. I also have to hold his hand walking to the bathroom or he WILL walk into a wall. Finally, I have to pull his pants down for him and make sure he’s at least facing the toilet. I don’t really like to have my feet peed on by a zombie child.

We’ve been doing this for about a month now, and I’m beginning to wonder what would happen if I didn’t get him up at night. Will he get up on his own? Will he start wetting the bed again? Will he just get up even earlier in the morning because he has to go? Or will all be right with the world? I would love to know the answers, but I’m not ready for any of the possible negative outcomes. It’s been so nice not changing sheets every morning.

Do you have a late bloomer like me? How about a hilarious potty training story? I want to hear your stories, please feel free to share here or email me.