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Ready-Set-Potty Train!

Today marks day one of our three day journey of potty training. I wasn't planning on starting this daunting task until after Benjamin's second birthday, but a few weeks ago he actually told me that he needed to go and then proceeded to actually go on the toilet. Ever since then, he does his business on the toilet about once a day. After doing a little research, I found a three day potty training program that advocates putting your child in underwear and monitoring him 24-7 over a 72 hour period. Whenever he begins to go I rush him to the toilet and encourage him to finish there. We are to stay home as much as possible during this time to minimize accidents and devote ourselves fully to the task at hand. Supposedly, after three days of this, he will be potty trained. Of course there will still be accidents and I will have to continue to encourage and remind him to go to the bathroom for quite awhile, but the hard part will be done.

So today Benjamin and I picked out two packages of Elmo underwear and two packages of Thomas the Train underwear. We borrowed a child size portable toilet and also got some waterproof mattress pads, since he will also be wearing underwear during naptime and bedtime. Oh, and I stashed some M&M's in the bathroom as a reward for each time he uses the toilet. He gets one and I get two. :)

We begin as soon as he wakes up from his nap this afternoon. At that time we will "throw away" his diapers (purely symbolic-I will secretly retrieve them later to give to other parents who have little ones) and then I will help him put on his new big boy underwear. Then what? Well, we simply wait for nature's call. :)
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