Don’t worry – this won’t be a long post filled with toilet stories.  But it’s such a milestone, I just have to mention it on the blog!

We’ve been contemplating trying potty training with Alex for a while now, but with the disruption of Sophie’s arrival and the never-ending cold winter, we’ve been putting it off.  But after another outrageously expensive nappy shopping bill and with four full days with no visitors/activities planned, we had the incentives we needed to give it a go.

So with potties, many pairs of pants and reward stickers purchased and ready, we got down to business on Good Friday.  After a few small accidents in the morning, we had complete success all afternoon which was a great start!  He won’t thank me for this when he’s older, but here he is on the first morning:

Stuck in the house for two days, we’re all going a little stir crazy.  We’ve:

• Stuck stickers all over the potty (see above – thanks Bryony for the idea!)
• Fed the birds in the garden
• Watched a LOT of television
• Made some puzzles
• Played with the sofa cushions (you’d be amazed how much fun this is for Alex)
• Baked star biscuits
• Got to grips with our new “tuff spot” -I’d not come across one of these until reading the incredibly inspirational “Edspire” blog, but this looked like such a fun indoor activity that Matt and I popped to B&Q on Thursday and picked one up.  Alex LOVED his “building site” which we filed with oats and pasta for his diggers.  I’m trying to remain calm about the huge amount of mess on my kitchen floor.  Here he is loving getting stuck in:

and

We have to get out soon or I think we’ll all stop talking to each other – so we need to plan a local trip and see how we get on…  Wish us luck!

The potty training itself is going OK.  Over the two days, he’s mostly succeeded with only a few small accidents.  But it’s been really tough.  Alex has been quite emotional and hard work – not sure whether its being cooped up or losing the comfort of his nappies.  And on top of that, his poor bottom has been really irritated by the pants – I guess his skin is very sensitive, so he’s been quite uncomfortable.  He’s found it all quite upsetting and doesn’t like sitting on the potty itself.  But he’s doing well enough that we’ll give it another couple of days to see if he relaxes a bit.  Fingers crossed.  Not sure I fancy starting it all again!