You Gotta Know When to Hold It ...

Potty Training Diary.
This is really TMI for most people.  Basically, we did a potty training week, it was hard, but I'm hopeful that we are headed in the right direction.  I'm always trying to find info online about parenting situations that other people have encountered, so I hope that maybe someone will find this someday and know that they are not alone in what's happening in their house!

Day 1:
Started late in the day because we needed to go to soccer in the morning.
Pee: On the porch.
Pee: In the backyard.
Pee: In the toilet!  First time ever!!!!!!!!
Pee: In the toilet!
Pee: In the bathtub.
The successful evening pees were more dribbles and drips, but it was something!  Zane got to have a nasty, sugary grape soda to encourage drinking and lots of peeing, which he absolutely looooooooved.

Day 2:
Pee: In the toilet.
Dry nap diaper.
Pee: In the potty.
That was it for the whole day!  Clearly, Zane needs to drink more.  But still, no accidents other than some pre-pee dribbles in underwear.  Zane also had "better" pee, in that he didn't spend a lot of time dribbling, he actually managed to get up a good stream.

Day 3:
We had an unexpected outing come up, so I plied Zane with a big milk drink in the morning hoping to get him to pee before we had to go.  He did (after a lot of work and waiting), and it all worked out with no accidents, but it was stressful!  I ordered a travel potty and some car seat pads for the future.
Pee: In the toilet.
Dry nap diaper.
Pee: In the toilet, with hardly any waiting!
Pee: On the floor, just after an unsuccessful potty time.

Day 4:
Lots of stress and tears about getting on the toilet today.  Stuffed toy Kitty told me she is tired of hearing about pee and diapers.  Zane told me to stop using a timer when he's on the toilet (for minimum "try" time).  Zane and I are generally unhappy.
Pee: In the toilet.
Pee: On the living room carpet.  My fault for going pee first when we came home from the store!
Pee: half in the toilet, half on the floor.  Quite a struggle to get him to sit when he really wanted to be helping Daddy clean out the garage and capture spiders.
Wet nap diaper.
Pee in the toilet after much despair.
We are tired of toilet training.  We want to throttle each other.

Day 5:
OK, new attitude for both of us, and a sunny new day!
Pee: In the toilet, without much wait.
Pee: In the toilet, without much wait.
Pee in the backyard.
Dry nap diaper.
Pee in the backyard after several potty tries and an obvious need to pee.  It's hard to relax!
Pee in the potty while watching us get dinner ready.

Day 6:
A good morning, with a timely pee in the potty, then off to daycare wearing underwear!  I sent him with two changes of clothes.  When I picked him up he was in different pants and a diaper.  He had said that he would hold it until he got home, and well, that didn't work out.  Phylesia at daycare said it was OK to keep trying, so he'll go with undies again tomorrow.  Zane will also bring his own red potty in case that helps.
One good pee at home in the toilet after a nice bike ride.  After bedtime he said he needed to pee, but I think that was just a delaying tactic.

Day 7:
Same deal at daycare: wet himself and came home with a diaper and new pants on.  Oh well.  At home he did great with a potty pee that came out very fast ; he said, "Mama, I relaxed and the pee came out!"  I think he may be getting it.  Then we had a poop and more pee.  Plus, after bed, for the first time he announced he had to pee, and then did in the toilet.  A very successful evening!  He is happy to have figured his muscles out a bit.  He said, "I think when I pee my muscles open up like this (hands move apart), and when I poop they close like this (hands together)."  Pretty good guess!

So, now we seem to have gotten through initial success, a mid-week slump, and now we are on the slow journey to success.  Zane is figuring out how to hold the pee, how to know when he really has to go, and how to tell us, and how to relax to get it out quickly.  I was surprised to find that he would start to have dry nap diapers, too.  Hopefully over the next months he can learn to recognize when he needs to go, and do it.  School starts in 5 weeks, and then we go on an airplane trip in 2 months, so hopefully we'll be pretty good to go then!