Potty Training: Day 1

Kayden has been showing interest in the potty a lot lately. We let him come into the bathroom when we are using it and he has his own potty seat that he has been sitting on. We have been putting him on the potty, generally right before his bath time, so that he could get use to the idea. He has peed several times on the potty and we have been very enthusiastic about it... but then he has also missed a lot when we have let him run around naked. I decided that we would try potty training over the summer before Mykah came. I initially thought I wouldn't start trying until after Mykah came, maybe around Winter Break because I had always heard boys were harder than boys and to not start until around their 2nd bithday. Talking to a friend though, she encouraged me to try rather than later. If it didn't work, it didn't work and try again later. So Sunday night we decided to go out and buy some big boy underwear. I've never been a fan of pull ups, so I knew from the start that I did not want him to wear pull ups. We would just go straight from diapers to big boy underwear. I do plan on letting him use pull ups for naps and night time because he still wakes soaking wet in the mornings. Monday morning, we were going to start potty training. He woke up Monday around 8 and we went and sat on the potty, with no luck. We put on his big boy underwear and made an effort to make a big deal about the big boy underwear and that we do not pee pee or poop in the big boy underwear, you tell mommy if you need to go potty. I gave him a large cup of milk for breakfast so that he would have to go. I set the timer for 15 minutes, and every 15 minutes we went to the potty. Of course, before the first timer was up he had already peed on the floor and in his underwear. We rushed to the potty and in simple language talked about how we pee pee on the potty. Set the timer again for 15 minutes and gave him more milk and some juice (which he NEVER gets... but I've read on several blogs to let them have a lot of sugary and salty stuff to help encourage them to go). We were still going every 15 minutes and he still hadn't peed in the potty... but he didn't have another accident either. The problem came about 9:30. We had only been trying for an hour and thirty minutes, but we had a COMPLETE meltdown. He DID NOT want to sit on the potty, he was fussy, cranky, hitting, and screaming at me about everything. He had been showing some signs throughout the week of teething (which usually means an ear infection is not far behind). I decided to give up for the day because I was getting frustrated with him screaming and he was frustrated because he was obviously not feeling good. He would just sit on the couch with me and wanted me to hold him everywhere which is very unlike him. We put the diapers back on and called the pediatrician for an appointment.... And lo and behold, we had an ear infection in the right ear. Of course, the day I wanted to start potty training. I had told the pediatrician that we had started this morning but he was so fussy that I gave up and she said to give him a couple of days to start feeling better and then try again. She said that if he has been showing interest, knows what the potty is, and has even gone a couple times on the potty, then he is ready and she thought that he would definitely be trained this summer. Once we got home, I gave Kayden a nap and started to read more about potty training. I was really worried that 20 months was just way to young for a boy.... but then I came across this statistic: (I have already left the post that I read it on, so unfortunately I can't give it credit.. and i'm too lazy to find it again but I totally believe it to be true....) "In the 1950's 92% of toddlers were toilet trained by 18 months...." wow. There is nothing that has changed about toddlers throughout these days. So surely.... he will get this! I will probably attempt it again in the morning if he seems like he is feeling better. If not... I will definitely be starting again next Monday with no turning back! We are going to master this potty training thing... and with some things I have read, I'm gaining more confidence and realizing that this may take a while. It's ok if they pee and poop on the floor. Just clean it up, and keep on going. He.Will.Get.It. and why is everything one big long paragraph now?!?!?! Frustrating.