Mission Accomplished

Last Friday, Todd and I took off work to potty train Micah. The daycare had recommended we try the Lora Jensen 3-day method, and we figured we'd give it a try. Not that I wasn't highly skeptical, but what did we have to lose? (Except our sanity.)

So, we started on Friday, and oh was that first day a test of our resolve. If it hadn't been for Todd's patience, I'd have slapped a diaper back on the kid and let him wear them until middle school if he wanted. It wasn't that he was having accidents; it was that he was so worried about having one, we were going to the bathroom literally every five minutes. That doesn't sound so bad, but trust me, half a day of trudging dutifully to the toilet, perching on the edge of a tub while singing ridiculous potty-themed songs of your own making, then immediately being told "ah dun!" without a drop in the toilet, rinse, repeat, over and over and over and over and over and....okay, look, it will drive you batty.

(At one point, all I could think of was that scene from Pulp Fiction. "Say, 'I need to go potty' again, I DARE YOU, I DOUBLE DARE YOU, MOTHERFU....I mean, okay, sweetie, let's go.")

Anywho, Friday was incredibly difficult, but Saturday less so, and Sunday...well, I was on my deathbed with some daycare-bred pestilence, but in between bouts of vomiting I gathered that Todd was getting along well enough. Now here we are a week later, and aside from one or two accidents here and there, it seems like the kid is mostly potty-trained.

This also includes naps and nights, which is kind of a relief. Basically, Micah wakes up around 10 PM and 5 AM, and we simply take him to the potty, then put him back to bed. Today, he woke up halfway through his nap, went to the bathroom, then slept another hour. So far, he's had one accident where I needed to change his sheets. I'm sure there will be more, but it could be a LOT worse.

Micah's current issues are 1) public restrooms, which, okay, I actually really sympathize with him over, and 2) a strange inhibition about pooping at home. He'll drop a deuce at daycare, no problem, but he's pretty much dead set against taking a dump in our presence ever again. I'd be fine with that, if he didn't obviously really need to go.

But the overall verdict is the hippy-dippy 3-day method actually works. Now, we get a good four-month reprieve from diaper purchasing and changing. I can sign up to that.