Adventures of Potty Training: Entry 1

Okay everyone, I am biting the bullet and taking the plunge today! That's right folks, I am officially potty training Ian today! YIKES! We have been kind of trying with him off and on, we've talked to him about the potty, got him books that tell stories about the potty, and given him a treat whenever he has gone...but we've never been able to put him in underwear and had him tell us that he needs to go. Subsequently, I have just kept him in diapers, and tried to get him interested in going on the potty. Well, we've been doing that for ALONG time now, and still no luck with him telling us when he needs to go.

So, today after we finished breakfast while I was getting him dressed, I asked him he wanted to wear his dinosaur underwear today. He said yes and was really excited! (We just recently bought him the dinosaur underwear and he hasn't worn this kind yet. He has Spiderman, Thomas the train, and army undies all as well!) So I told Ian that if he wanted to wear his dinosaur underwear he couldn't get it wet or poopy. That he needed to keep it clean by going pee and poop on the potty. If he didn't we would have to take the dinosaur underwear off. Then I told him we would set the timer every 20 minutes and try to go on the potty, since he won't tell me when he has to go!

So, that's what we've been doing since about 8:30am! Is going potty every 20 minutes! So far NO ACCIDENTS! HOORAY! He hasn't needed to go every time, there have probably been about 3 times he hasn't gone pee, but every other time he has sat down and immediately gone pee! NO sitting and waiting forever! Also, I made him a chart that says, "Ian's Potty Chart" across the top and every time he has gone pee he has gotten a dinosaur sticker to go on it! He has done a great job and has been really excited about it so far! I was just wondering though how long am I going to have to do the whole every 20 minutes deal with him!?! And how do I get him to TELL ME when he has to go instead of me TAKING HIM to the potty? Any moms out there have any advice about how they've done it? I'm really up for suggestions. I'm ready for him to be potty trained and done with diapers! I am still a little worried about if he has an accident! I don't want pee/poo messes all over our house to clean up! That's why I haven't been persistent before now! But really, I think that he is ready to be trained. He's a smart kid, and a really good kid! How do I help him learn to use the potty on his own?

PS. I plan on blogging our potty training adventures from here on out. I'll do an update tonight after Ian goes to bed. And then at least one post every night about how it's coming along. Sorry if this is boring to you all. But who knows, maybe it can help someone else out there, or maybe I'll be able to get some good tips on potty training!