potty fail

i'd been saying that i'd start potty-training after christmas then ben started getting out of the bath at bathtime to go on the potty. he was pretty keen and i'd always give him a treat (like a few chocolate chips or smarties). i figured this was a good way of getting him to like going on the potty and was a pre-cursor to real training. i thought that perhaps i should start potty-training while he's showing an active interest but the task seemed insurmountable when having to constantly hold a baby for all her naps. so i put it off. then the bathtime peeing stopped when he started getting to eat halloween treats. it seemed all that peeing was directly linked to the extrinsic rewards. for the month of november, i've been lamenting that perhaps i missed my "window"...are there potty-training windows?

after hanging out with a friend who's kid is 4 months or so younger than ben (you know who you are...haha), i thought, "why am i waiting? if he's old enough to tell me that he wants his diaper changed, he's old enough to tell me that he needs to go to the bathroom." so we went to walmart, bought fun underwear and potty seat for the toilet.

i figured that we'd start the next day and i'd be all ready with a chart and such but when we got home at 5pm, ben seemed excited to sit on the new seat and try on his new underwear. i figured we might as well get started. he told me that he had to go to the potty 4 times in the next 6 minutes, each time getting a few drops out, and then saying, "treeeeat!". i'd give him one smartie with the plan in mind to definitely change this system the next morning.

then he was standing on a chair in the kitchen and to his bewilderment, found himself standing in a puddle. "wet, mommy!" i explained that he'd peed and that next time he feels like he has pee coming, tell mommy and we'll run to the bathroom. he helped me clean up, we changed his underwear, and he asked for a treat. umm...no. 10 minutes later, pee all over the floor again and tim calling at me from the kitchen while i'm rocking a screaming baby, "i don't think he gets it..." i put a diaper on him.

ben and i sit down to dinner (tim's now rocking our screamer) and ben's whining for me to take the lid off his milk. i take the lid. 30 seconds later, milk is knocked over and everywhere. oh. my. goodness. i managed to not scream and instead cleaned up the third puddle in the last 15 minutes then put a lid on his new cup of milk.

sure, two accidents and some spilled milk shouldn't be that big a deal but everything is more frustrating to me when avery's crying at the same time. am i totally selfish to want to just enjoy my christmas season without pee on the floor and having to ask ben a million times a day, "do you have to pee?" i suppose so but hopefully this delay in potty training will not scar him for life and we can get it started after christmas. if you could just tell me that i'm not scarring him instead of the other advice you're thinking of, that would be great. ;)