3 years, 8 months, 26 days

That is exactly how long it took for my son Samuel to start peeing on the potty. I suppose you could say today was a momentous day. But I am exhausted and I am sure my mom is too.

I worked today. Late this morning, my mom called and immediately put Sam on the phone. He told me he did something that would make me happy and that I loved him (yes, he told me that I loved him. I laughed. He is right of course). Eventually, he 'fessed up to having gone potty one time for Grandma. She said it was quite a battle. He stayed dry all night (which he often does) and she informed him that today was the day. She put him in underwear and kept putting him on the potty until he could not hold it anymore and finally went. She got him to go a second time this afternoon.

Tonight, I got him to go once. It took 3 hours. It was agonizing. We moved from the little potty to the big potty...forward facing, then backward facing (some kids feel more secure that way). We moved the potty to the kitchen so I could make dinner. We went back to the bathroom while Bill finished dinner. We ate at 7:00. Sam ate half of his dinner while sitting on the potty. He kept assuring me he did not have to go, so I would pull his pants up and 60 seconds later he would be doing the potty dance and pleading with me to put him back on the potty. Eventually, I needed a break and to get a few things accomplished so I called good old Mom and she sat with him for 45 minutes. Sam watched Backyardigans while sitting on the potty. Then...it was bedtime. I put Sam in his pajamas and put him in bed. Mom left. 5 minutes later, Sam comes running down the hall crying. He REALLY had to go and did not want to wet his diaper. I put him on the potty for the gazillionth time and he went. We were both so exhausted that there was no big celebration. Just a hug and I put him in bed where he promptly went to sleep.

I hope this goes more smoothly tomorrow. Sam clearly does not understand how little patience I possess. I keep picturing myself spending the entire day in the bathroom with him. I will definitely be assembling our meatloaf during nap time so that we actually eat during the dinner hour.

We will survive this. No one has ever died during potty training (parent or child)...have they??