To potty or not to potty

Well , it's official. Ethan is officially DE-potty trained. Well that isn't completely true, because he would have had to be have been potty trained for him to do this.. .

Okay, let's begin on Wednesday.

We had planned weeks ago that Ethan was ready to use the potty. He knew what it meant as most of his friends at school and church were or were in the process of starting potty training. He got ridiculously excited when we passed the underwear at Target.

He knew that after Christmas we were going to give all of our diapers to Tyler and start getting in underwear.

So, after searching out  A LOT of advice, I decided to just go ahead and put him in underwear and ask him to tell me when he needed to go. I let him have a ridiculous amount of juice boxes and bribed him with toys and candy. I am not above bribery!! 

The first morning was tough, but I knew it would be. He didn't want to sit on the potty, but when he did eventually settle down and sit he asked me to sing the alphabet (WEIRDO). After "z" he would pee and I would do a ridiculous peepee dance and bring on the candy! 

The second morning, I realized he had stayed dry all night. "HE HAS IT!" I thought to myself, but oh was I wrong. This is the kid that yells "I WANT TO GO HOME the second he walks into a party, the kid that closes his ears and playdates, the kid that loves musicals over cartoons, the kid that dips all his food in ranch, the kid that says "bologna" instead of "cheese" when a camera comes out.... nothing was going to be NORMAL! 

So, he was dry... I was excited... but when I asked to change him  into diapers he FREAKED OUT! He didnt want to go potty, he didn't want diapers. He held it ALL DAY, refused to drink, and would cry when I put him on the potty (even with the ABCs). 

At one point he climbed up onto the changing table and said "I AM NOT A BIG BOY! I am a baby and I need a diaper." Bryan and I figured he just wasn't ready, that he likely didn't know when he was peeing and we would start this again during spring break. 

But Friday we realized we have a total weirdo. Ethan wanted only diapers, but REFUSED to pee in his diaper. He had learned that peeing in the underwear was wrong,  but he was terrified of the potty. THAT'S RIGHT LADIES AND GENTS- our son is afraid of diapers and the potty. I was for sure his bladder would explode. He would start crying, pace back and forth and ask me to hold him. I knew he had to go, but you cant make someone pee. I told him it was okay to pee in his diapers or the potty, but that his tummy didn't feel good because he was holding it. 

This continued through Sunday.. thats right... crying, wailing, bribery, frustration, tears, holding it and total fear of both going in the potty or peeing his diaper. He figured out how to hold it (which is awesome), figured out how to listen to this body (which is great) but out totally weird kid couldn't figure how to let it out. 

So- we "DE-POTTY TRAINED" little Ethan. I told him if he ever wanted to go on the potty to just ask, but that it was okay for now to go in his diaper. For whatever reason he finally "got it" it this afternoon... he looked at me and said 

"Yea mommy- I am still only 2." 

good point kiddo... good point