Leap of Faith

SO I picked a bad time to do it, but we're making a step towards real potty training. Bad time because its a busy week in which we won't be home half of each day at least - but hey, when do I have a week that isn't like that lately?! I'm just so sick and tired of changing big diapers. The little ones aren't bugging me yet - and its not because they don't smell because miss megan can not only challenge any regular old healthy adult mle with the gas, she can stink up a room in a heartbeat. At least with her I know she has no choice so we do the baby diaper thing. Logan, on the other hand, knows damn well what to do with a potty -- he just doens't feel like doing it. We've been talking a lot lately about what we'll do when he uses it. He found this Coal Loader that goes with the Thomas and friends stuff that he wanted. I told him almost daily that when he uses the potty all the time and we don't need diapers during the day anymore he can have that darn coal loader. it got to the point when he'd look through his train catalog (don't ask) he'd point to that loader and say (I do not make this up!) "Someday when I decide use potty all the time, I get that coal loader. Someday, but not today."

Well today I decided we were stepping up the inspiration/bribe (pick whichever you think fits best.) Today after lunch we strapped Megan into her car seat/carrier. We piled in the van. We went to Toys R Us and we spent more money than I had planned on spending getting what we're calling "Potty Prizes." I let Logan pick them out and placed a dollar limit on the big ticket item. He fell asleep in the van on our short ride home (really, the store is less than 5 miles from the house.) I closed us in the garage, shut the motor, and hussled the baby and the bag upstairs while Logan remained zonked out in his car seat. I then displayed the prizes - arranged so each was viewable but not reachable high up on the top of the new medicine cabinet.

Logan woke up as we got upstairs - normally I can get him out of the car and into bed. bummer! That's ok though, we went in and looked at the prize shelf. We talked about what he had to do to get each prize (listed below) and then we did the big brave step of removing the diaper and putting on the underwear. He tried a few times just sitting half naked on the potty and hanging out together in the bathroom waiting. Nothing. Megan even sat with us and "clapped" for her big brother. He even told her how to use the potty (a la Dr. Phil's approach). Nothing.

No, we did not go in the potty today - but he did ask for his prizes and so I repeated myself with this outline -

If you use the potty today even just once you can get the Wiggles slides for your ViewMaster.

If you use the potty everytime you have to go while we're at home for a day you can get one of the Matchbox trucks. There are 10 trucks, you can get one each day for 10 days if you use the potty everytime you have to go that day. (For those with Hot Wheels/Matchbox fans at home, Toys R Us had the five packs on sale buy one-get one free.)

If you go 10 straight days (and therefore get 10 cars) using the potty all the time you have to, on Day 11 - if you use the potty all the time, you get Spencer (one of the newer trains from Thomas and Friends.)

When you are using the potty all the time during the day and we can stop buying diapers for you, you get the coal loader.

He knows this. In fact he told a lady in Toys R Us that he was getting a Coal Loader if he peed on the potty. He ran to Daddy as soon as he walked in the door tonight and dragged him down to the bathroom to show off the prize shelf. He knows. Damn it, he knows WHAT to do. He knows what happens when he does it. He just doesn't want to.

I do have this fear of mothering the only 16 year old in diapers. Yeah, I know. It'll happen...when he's ready. He'll do it when he's ready -but hey, at least I have something up on that shelf now and its not just an empty ledge.