Potty training - Day 1.

It is 8:21pm on the eve of the 1st day of Jackson's 3-day potty training event, and it feels like it is about 3:30am to me. It has been one of the longest days in recent memory!!

Jackson is 2 1/2 (almost to the day) at this point, and most of his friends have conquered potty training - at least to some extent. This is why we decided to go ahead and let him take the plunge into the grown-up potty lifestyle - something that took me the better part of 28 years to master =)

Since Jackson and I have the same plumbing, and I was looking for a reason to take some time off work anyway, Keisha and I decided that I would lead the charge. We are following a 3-day potty training manual that is basically common sense. Here are key points to the process:

1. Throw away all of the diapers that he has left over. I had Jackson help me do this too, so maybe it would sink in with him a little more. This is also for the parents' benefit - it's a way of saying that this is a one-shot deal and it is going to work.
   
2. Put him in just a t-shirt and a pair of underwear.
3. Stay right by his side - literally - ALL DAY LONG! This is so that when he starts to go, I can snatch him up right away and run him to the bathroom.
4. Heap praise upon him for being a "Big Boy".
   
5. CONSTANTLY remind him that when he needs to go potty that he should tell me ahead of time (which hasn't worked yet, by the way...).

That is basically it - not rocket science. We are also doing the obligatory 'reward' thing if/when he ever actually goes in the toilet. We have amassed an arsenal of toys, trinkets, trains, and candy that we can dip into whenever he starts to get the process down. He didn't get any of those things today, but I have a feeling that we may start to crack the code tomorrow...

Jackson did as well as could be expected today. He had 7 'accidents', all of the #1 persuasion, which means the stage is set tomorrow for an epic, messy blowout that promises to be a party! He seemed to understand that he was going to the bathroom, but I don't think that it is quite sinking in yet where he should be handling his business. The main issue today: no nap. Jackson's attitude toward the world, like his mama, rises and sets on how much sleep he gets. Every time I tried to lay him down for a nap today, he would shoot up out of bed and tell me he had to go to the potty - which he never did. Since we are 'in training' though, I felt that I couldn't ignore him when he said it just in case there actually was some truth to it. The evidence of his 12-hour stretch of no sleep came when I was getting him out of the bath tub tonight. Keisha made mention of a particular Thomas the Train character (Hiro) that we have promised him he can have when he finally goes to the bathroom in the potty, and this sent him absolutely ballistic. It was truly a sight to behold. He launched into an hour an a half of what can only be described as the most intense tempter tantrum ever witnessed this side of the Mississippi. It was so bad that Keisha and I had to handle it in shifts!! I started with him - then when I felt my frustration level rising I tagged Keisha in - then she returned the favor about 30 minutes later!

I'm headed to bed now myself because I have a feeling it is going to be a long night. We did not put an overnight diaper on him, so I will most likely be changing some sheets tonight. We figured that if we were going to kick this diaper thing, we are going to do it all in one shot to get it over with. More updates to come!