Potty Training Preliminaries

After we have settled into our new place, I want to start potty training Caden. I just read my friend Alex's helpful story about potty training her son and it gave me hope. I think Caden will be ready based on the following:

1. Last week he had a terrible rash, so I left him diaperless for a few hours each day. Naturally, he had a few accidents. I was surprised to see how much they upset him! Caden hates spills and messes (except toys) and helps clean them up, but his accidents bothered him even more. I think going diaperless, as Alex suggests, will be effective with him.

2. Caden also hates getting his diaper changed. To get him to be more cooperative, I took an idea from Elizabeth Pantley: the potty train, in which Caden gets a piggyback ride to the bedroom while I say "choo-choo." When I need to change his diaper, he stops running away or resisting once I ask him if he wants to get on my back. He loves it so much, he has started to tell me occasionally when he is dirty or even wet. That means he recognizes when he goes in his diaper.

3. After I clean him up, I dump the diaper contents in the toilet. That was originally for the smell, but now Caden is interested in flushing it down and washing his hands afterward, a great start for a boy!

I am a little nervous to begin, but I think as long as I am consistent and patient, we will succeed. If only I hadn't stopped the infant potty training!