Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Give That Boy a Sticker!

Okay, you will either find this post a) really exciting (if you have kids) or b) kinda disturbing (if you don't have kids.) Now that you have been forewarned you can choose whether or not you want to continue.

So ever since Nikos turned two daycare has been working with him to get potty training started. I obviously wanted their efforts to be successful, so we ran out to Target and picked up a little potty similar to the one that they had, complete with a song that rings out if you...uh, complete your objective.

Apparently he has been sitting on the potty at daycare and occasionally actually using it, but when I suggest we try it at home he screams like I am attempting to cut off his foot. Seriously. Without anesthesia. Well, as I am sure you guessed from the fact that you are reading this post, last night we had a breakthrough!

Like any good mom, I made Taki take a picture of this action.

(Note my foot peeking out on the right there, I sitting on the side of the bathtub, not wanting to miss anything.)

This picture was taken prior to all of the action taking place including:

1. Both Nikos and I jumping a little bit when the potty music went off
2. Me realizing that "it" was pointing slightly up (apparently after the initial, music-inducing start), therefore shooting right over that little guardrail thing that is supposed to keep everything in the bowl.
3. Me holding "it" down so the kid didn't flood our bathroom and asking Taki (who was at the door with the camera) if this is what I am supposed to be doing. -- Any parents with boys out there? Did I not set him back far enough in the seat or something?
4. High fives all around - don't worry, I used my other hand.

After cleaning up we made a few proud calls to relatives which started with Nikos saying something like "Peepee Potty. Wuv you. Bye bye!" and ended with "Momma, pop bubbles" (since we were calling from my cell phone and he wanted to play the bubble wrap app on the phone.) Later we had a beer/beer/milk cheers at dinner and Nikos got to pick out a sticker.

Wahoo! Counting the months until I can reply back "No, actually only ONE in diapers thank you very much."

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Congrats Nikos!! Tommy also has the problem with the "splash guard" not actually guarding anything. I thought it was because he was too short or something. If he sits back and relaxes against the back of the potty seat it's obviously worse, so I think good posture / tilting slightly forward helps. But really, if I get that kid to sit on it at all and anything comes out, I frankly don't care if it goes on the floor. Put a towel underneath! Good luck.

Sarah said...

Boys are gross.

The Press Family said...

Awesome!!! Oh, and the two potty seats we have his peen poked up too, so the guard was useless. Zach prefers to stand like Daddy on a stool and go that way. (Daddy doesn't use the stool, lol). Yes, pee gets everywhere. We also use bribery (M & M's) when we have a screaming fit.
Keep up the good work, Nik!

Brenda B. said...

Way to go Nikos!!! I love the play by play in this blog though. My favorite part... the high fives with the non-pee hand.

wedogmomma said...

LOL
Thought I'd weigh in....
me being ALL experienced with two boys ;)
Ahem...

Those 'shields' seemed like certain death or dismemberment from our adult perspective so we just removed it and had them 'point it down'
Yes, the occasional intervention was required. Grin and bear it...this will pass quickly.

I chose to have the boys stand on the stool as well....and you can sprinkle a few cheerios in the bowl for target practice too.

But I agree. Just savor his 'urge' to even go...don't worry about the mess. You'll spend the rest of his life reminding him where to aim....boys are gross like that. ;)

PS- the standing thing also comes in handy in nasty public restrooms where you can have him stand on the seat rim and shoot straight down....without skin contact to the 'pot'- whew.
I'm all adviced out. Good luck with that and enjoy it....girls get NO options (as you well know)

Sara said...

I'll weigh in as a mom with a fairly neat boy... standing is key!! I did it almost from the get-go. Way less messy!

The Roberts Family said...

We are so proud Nikos!

The Roberts Family said...

Oh & as a boy's mom... we had him learn sitting (since out in public there are MANY toilets that will be too tall for him to pee in, and I'm sure you don't wanna lug around a stool) and we just taught him to point it down. Now he stands & thinks he's all that! :)

Bill and Cindy said...

We got your voicemail message, Niko! Two thumbs up!

Nick, Jocelyn and Kevin said...

SO funny and SO Jealous! Nick hasn't even THOUGHT about a potty. As with all boys, he'll try to have someone clean-up after him as long as he can!!