Success is Counted Sweetest . . .

. . . By those who ne'er succeed. We seemed to be able to relate to these words of Emily Dickinson as we worked to potty train Aden. After nearly a year (off and on) of trying everything in the proverbial book of potty training methods, nothing seemed to bring success more than once or twice. We even tried new things - dancing for success with his favorite CD playing in the bathroom, the "Potty Train" (making train sound effects while sitting on the potty), and moving into big boy pants. Our last attempt, moving into big boy pants, was a once and for all effort. We read about the technique online and decided to give it a try. After all, it had reportedly been used for a hundred years with guaranteed success. The method is simple: throw away all diapers and move into big boy pants. The child becomes so uncomfortable sitting in a mess that they are motivated to use the potty. The parents have to deal with a few messes until the child gets the hang of it, but this really shouldn't last long. As with all potty training methods, parents are strongly urged to stay positive no matter what. Tell the child with each accident, "That's okay. I'm sure you'll remember next time."

Mommy was pretty excited about the new effort, although we had to make a few changes and adaptations along the way. First, we were too cheap to throw away the diapers. We kept the cloth ones in a closet in case Wiley grows into them (we're hoping he is trained before he needs the bigger size), and he is already wearing Aden's few leftover disposable diapers (even though they are a size too big). We also began to realize that the experts have not met Aden. He has an amazing tolerance for discomfort, and can sit in wet or dirty pants for hours if you let him. When we told him "It's okay. I'm sure you'll remember to use your potty next time," he heard, "It's okay if you don't use your potty. Mommy will just keep cleaning up the messes with no complaints." While we had much support from our station family (even gifts of a new potty book and a potty DVD from Olivia), it was not enough.

After 72 hours, when we had seen no progress at all - every time he sat on the potty involved much effort - we began to enforce some discipline. Aden would have to start cleaning up his own messes, and he would have to start using his potty if he wanted certain privileges, like visiting friends. Cleanup didn't seem too bad the first time when he was wet. He wiped it up quickly and proudly - two times - that first morning. Then Uncle Bill walked by outside and Aden asked if he could play. Mommy said it was okay, if Aden would stay outside. Then she added, "Why don't you come sit on your potty first?" To her surprise, Aden immediately complied and had success. He called Daddy at the office, and then called Uncle Bill and was able to go play - inside. He was so thrilled with his own success and the reward that he agreed to sit on the potty again after lunch. Again, he had success, and this time we even called Grandma Karen and Grandpa Dan. The rest of that day he kept his big boy pants dry. There were some pretty big rewards in sight - playing with Cilla in the afternoon, and the promise of Aunt Kathy's birthday party the next night. Aden only had one accident the next day and was able to go to the birthday party at Uncle Bill and Aunt Marsha's. We even took the potty chair with us in case he needed to use it while we were there. After he'd finished eating, he came back to the table and told Mommy he needed to use the potty . . . and he requested that Aunt Marsha go with him! When he had success, everyone cheered for him and he said, "Let's do it again!" Mommy was excited, but also hoped the new trend would not die with the party.

We are proud to announce that Aden has only had two accidents since he started his "dry run." And he is now letting us know when he needs to sit on the potty - even when there are no major rewards in sight. Ahh, sweet success!