Potty Trained!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I'm calling it: Seth is officially potty-trained!

He had been ready for a few months, but had NO interest.  We tried taking away his pacifiers when he messed his diaper, but he didn't care about the five on his dresser as long as he still had one in bed.

So we tried positive reinforcement--a treat every time he went on the potty.  Bingo.  Between candy and dollar-store toys, he's a happy kid.

We started him off with a little plastic potty from Ikea that he could sit on easily.  Then I got tired of cleaning and sanitizing it all day, so we moved him to a little potty seat that fits on top of the big potty.  Then I got tired of cleaning and sanitizing that (how did people potty train before Clorox wipes?!), so we taught him how to hold himself up on the big potty.  Now he can run to the bathroom, pull down pants and undies, sit down on the potty and take care of business all without any help.  All I have to do is wipe, pull up the pants, and help wash his hands.  Oh, and then give him his treat, of course.  Not looking forward to weaning him off of the treats.

Here's what we've learned about potty training with Seth:

-Once Upon a Potty worked like a charm.  He loved going on the potty "like Joshua".

-Pull-ups are a joke for him.  He knows he can pee in them and not get wet, so he won't even bother going to the bathroom.  We put diapers on him for naps and bedtime because diapers are cheaper than Pull-ups.  Once he starts waking up dry, we'll put him in underwear.

-He's already amazingly good at letting me know when he needs to go, even if we're not at home.  He's also amazingly good at holding it when he doesn't want to go.  Must get that from his father because it sure didn't come from me...

-Little boy underwear is SO CUTE.  Cars, dinosaurs, trains...

Overall, it was much easier than I expected.  I heard from lots of experienced moms that we shouldn't push him--he'd train when he was ready, but trying to make him train earlier would just make us both frustrated.  It was a little annoying watching many of his friends start training before him, but I'm glad we waited until he was ready!  Now we're just praying he doesn't decide to revert back here in a month or so.  Hopefully as long as he gets an M&M every time he goes potty he'll keep going.  I'll keep giving him M&M's until he's in kindergarten if that's what it takes to keep him out of diapers!