Success!

I’m back!  Whew, it’s only been a week since I last posted something on my blog, but it feels like it’s been forever.  I’m so happy to be blogging again.   If you read my post from last week, then you know that I was getting ready to do something that I had been dreading for the past two years.  Want to know what that something is?

Well, it is.....

Potty Training!!!!  I told you that you’d laugh when you found out what I was talking about.  So it’s okay – you can go ahead and laugh now. :-)

Ever since the day my son was born, I had been dreading potty training.  I've always heard that little boys are very difficult to potty train, so I got it in my mind that my son would be difficult to potty train.  When my son turned two in March, I knew I would have to potty train him eventually, but I was still really not looking forward to it.  

About a month ago, a friend told me about the 3 Day Potty Training method that she had heard about from some of her other mom friends.  I spent some time reading through all of the personal testimonies on the website, and I began to feel more hopeful about the potty training process.  This method seemed fairly easy, was positive and encouraging, and hey, if I could get William potty trained in just three days then that would be fantastic.  Before I knew it, I was excited about the idea of potty training my son.  

So, I took off Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of last week so that I could stay at home and potty train my son.  Amazingly, what I once dreaded ended up being a wonderful and memorable experience. 


Wednesday – Day 1 of Potty Training
This day started out great.  I was filled with hope and enthusiasm about potty training William, and he was excited about wearing his new “big boy underpants.”  It wasn’t long though before my happy and hopeful attitude shifted into one of “why did I get myself into this?” William just kept having accident after accident.  After about the 6th or 7th accident, I was seriously ready to quit.   

When I went to bed that night, I was on the verge of tears.  I felt like I got it wrong, maybe William wasn’t ready to be potty trained.  But, I knew I couldn't give up.  That Shania Twain song kept playing in my head, “You got what it takes, you can win.  Today is your day to begin.  Don’t give up here, don’t you quit.  The moment is now, this is it.”  I prayed that the second day would be better. 

Thursday – Day 2 of Potty Training
I got up around 6:30 in the morning to check on William.  I was curious to see if he had made it through the night without having an accidents in his "big boy underpants."  To my surprise, he was still sound asleep and the bed was completely dry, meaning that he did not have any accidents during the night.  Yes!  I felt hopeful again – maybe this was going to work. 

Once William woke up, we had the best day together.  We watched TV, played with bubbles, read books, and just enjoyed each other’s company.  William only had one accident all day, which I thought was amazing.  I was so thankful that I didn’t give up and quit the day before or I would have missed out on this wonderful day. 

Friday – Day 3 of Potty Training
Once again, I started out the day early.  I went to check in on William, and to my delight, his bed was completely dry.  He made it another night without any accidents.  Hallelujah!  I started to feel super confident that this method was working and I thought for sure that this third day of potty training would be a piece of cake.

I was wrong.  Before nap time, William had three accidents in a row.  Oh no.  I couldn’t believe it!  What was I doing wrong?  I was following the method exactly as I was supposed to, so I couldn’t understand why he had three accidents on the third day.  I was in tears again.  Part of me wondered if I should just put him back in pull-ups, but I remembered the testimonies on the website of moms who said that their child didn’t get it until the very end of the third day.  So, decided I would keep a positive attitude and I prayed that William would get it by the end of the day.
 
Well, right before William was about to go to bed, he ran up to me and said, “I gotta potty!”  Oh, those words were like music to my ears!  I nearly cried for joy as I ran with him into the bathroom.  He had finally gotten it.  That night, I went to bed with a big smile on my face and thanked God for making this potty training process a SUCCESS!   

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As of today, William has not had any accidents since Friday, so I believe that means he is officially potty trained!  Woo-hoo! 


Edit:  As I was thinking back on what I wrote in this post, I feel like I came across as saying that it was the 3 day potty training method, the encouraging Shania Twain song and my own personal perseverance that made this whole potty training experience a success.  Well, that is not the case.  It was God and God alone who made this potty training experience a success.  It was nothing that I did or William did; it was Him, and I give Him all of the credit.  For apart from Him, I can do nothing (John 15:5; New Living Translation).