Potty Training: Three Down, Three To Go...

    Potty training has been non-stop at our house.  With the exception of July to December of last year, we have had three children in diapers at all times for the last 4 years.  First it was Sutton with Pearson and Peter, then Pearson and Peter with Cyrus and now Cyrus with Hadley and Sophia.  If anyone needs to own stock in Pampers, it should be us.  I am anticipating one more short break for about a year before taking it on with Hadley and Sophia.  I am by no means a pro, and each boy has proven to be a challenge, in their own way. 

    With Sutton, I didn't want to pressure him into potty training because we had just had Peter and Pearson and I had heard that rushing it when there is a new baby (or in our case, babies) could cause regression in the child that was potty training.  With that said, we still haphazardly began his toilet training. It began the day that his diaper became unfastened and slid out the pant-leg of his shorts during my first trip to the grocery with him and his brothers....alone.  In a panic I quickly grabbed the diaper and shoved it into my purse (thanking God that it was still dry and not full of a so called "surprise".  I quickly finished my shopping and headed on our way to his daycare, diaper-free.  I was ecstatic that we had made the three mile trip accident free.  After that, he actually got the hang of it rather quickly and within 3 months was even sleeping without a diaper at night. 

    Peter and Pearson proved to present different challenges, even just between the two of them.  With Pete, it was just a matter of being patient.  When he decided he was ready, he was serious.  It took him only a matter of three weeks to be virtually accident free.  Now Pearson, he was going potty on the toilet for almost two whole months before Pete even acknowledged that there was this strange thing in the bathroom called a toilet.  

    The issue with Pearson was the actual sitting to do his "business".  We tried books, songs, games, stickers, you name it, we tried it.   Then I remembered the scene from the movie "Look Who's Talking" where the little boy was afraid of the toilet because he thought it was a monster.  So....after weeks of Pearson going potty in the toilet and then having temper tantrums so he could have a diaper for his "other business" I decided enough was enough and told him that he had to go poo in the toilet to scare the toilet monster away.  I called it the "Scare The Poo Out of Him" tactic.  I was at the end of my rope.  I was changing I don't know how many diapers a day (at that point it included little Cyrus) and I knew Pearson was capable!  Low and behold, IT WORKED!  Sutton would even cheer for Pearson as he sat on the toilet, "Poop on the monster!  Poop on the monster!"

    Now we come to Cyrus.  Like with Sutton, we didn't want to rush him because Sophia and Hadley just joined us and we didn't want to make things harder on him than need be.  So we thought, we'll just let him determine when he's ready.  Winter ended, spring came and went and next thing we knew, it was summer and  one month shy of his third birthday.  Cyrus was going to have his first trip to grandmas, all by himself.  Again, I didn't want to pressure him...then my mom called us one evening while he was staying with her.  Cyrus had been doing all his "business" just like a "big kid" and had been diaper free.
    That was easy, I thought...just send him to Grandma's!  Ya, right!  It's been almost a month and a half since his return from Grandma and Grandpas, and we have our good days and our not-so-good days.  There are the days that I am hopeful and let him romp around in his camo unders only to have at the end of the day an entire load of just little boy unders.  We'll get there though.  Monster in the toilet or not, one day, and one day soon I am sure, I will do the little 'potty dance' in excitement of having all of my boys potty trained.  I have heard that girls are easier, all I can do is cross my fingers.  Now if I can only get them to clean the bathrooms....