Land of Potty Conquered

You will not believe this, but JT is potty- trained (outside of nap, long road trips, and bedtime)! Here is the recap of the last three days!

Day 5
We started the day off like the first four days- where JT would wet himself and then tell me he had gone pee. Then about halfway through the day, JT stopped and said, "I pee!" So we ran to the toilet, where I thought I would find another little wet piece of underwear only to find that he had not gone yet. For the rest of the day he never messed! I was totally amazed.

Day 6
Today we decided to try the potty training out in the real world, a.k.a. the doctor's office for Elizabeth's doctor's appointment. We got to the doctor's office and JT tried to go, but couldn't. Then halfway through Elizabeth's appointment, JT said, "I pee!" so we ran to the bathroom and lo and behold he went. (It is kind of confusing that he says "I pee!" instead of "I have to pee." but at this point that is a VERY minor detail.) So we braved Target after the doctor's office and everything went just fine! Yeah, we are no longer confined to the house!!
Now he doesn't want to sit on the potty unless he has to go, which I guess means he gets it. However, it sure makes me nervous when we are about leave to go somewhere or when he hasn't gone in awhile. Sometimes I make him sit there anyways, but so far he has never gone unless he tells me himself.
As for needing any positive reinforcement, JT apparently doesn't need much more than a big clapping session. I asked him if he wanted to call Daddy to tell him that he had just pooped in the toilet and he said no. I asked if he wanted to call anyone to tell him his big news and he said no. I had to remind myself that to JT this is just one more thing he learning AND he doesn't really like to talk on the phone. Why would this experience be any different?

Day 7
Today was our planned-a-month-ago trip to the zoo (which is 90 miles away) so JT was in a diaper for most of the day. However once we got home he went back into his little underwear and no problem. I CANNOT BELIEVE I AM TYPING THIS ON DAY 7!!!

Thoughts: I really was dreading this and now I cannot believe how much brain power I lost preparing for this. I do think JT was at just the perfect place in his readiness because when we tried it six months ago he didn't get it at all and was stressed out by it. I am so glad that I went ahead and tried it now.

The best advice I can give outside of all the well-known advice is to remember that a two-year-old is learning new things everyday so learning to go potty is no different. It is definitely harder than learning to hit a baseball or stack blocks, but to a two-year-old I think it is just another thing to try. We are the ones that make a big deal about it. I do think that whatever they do in the rest of their life to resist authority, they will try when learning to go potty. However, if you use your same "tactics" with the potty, it will all work out. Of course I say all this knowing that when I try this with Elizabeth in a few years, she'll make a liar out of me. Mothering is quite humbling.