Thoughts On Potty Training

Well, I haven't posted about potty training in a while because we are kind of at a stalemate.  Chase's only consistency is inconsistency, which is partly our fault too.  He does great and goes pee on the potty when I spend ALL day in the bathroom with him and watch him constantly when he's off the toilet and he does great at school.  But that's not reality, and it's not fun either.  I can't watch him every second of every day.

I have come to several realizations about the potty training process:
1.  It is NOT going to happen on MY terms or my timeline.  It will happen when CHASE is ready and "gets" it.
2.  I need to quit being so hard on myself and realize that Chase won't get it over night and it is going to take MUCH longer than I anticipated.  And there is NOTHING I can do to make him "get it" faster, than what I'm already doing.  I can tweek a few ways I approach the whole thing, but overall I think this process is the right one for him so I need to not get so frustrated with myself or him.  I'm not sure why I thought he would get it so quickly, but I am realizing this may take several weeks and I am OK with that (now).
3.  PATIENCE!  I say a prayer every morning when I wake up that God will give me the patience I need to endure this process.  I hope and pray it's not this hard for everyone, because I honestly think it may be one of the hardest things I have done in parenting so far!  And it's because I'm a control freak and I can't control how fast he learns this! :)

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

4.  It's OK to take a break from the potty training schedule to LIVE LIFE and have some fun too!  In the beginning of this process I beat myself up about trying to stay on schedule, watch Chase's every move (to prevent accidents) and keep him on the "potty schedule".  But that's not reality either, especially with another (younger) child.  We went to Jackson this weekend to see family (another reason I haven't posted) and I knew it would be impossible to keep him on a strict schedule, so I had to "let go" and just have a fun trip and not worry about potty training at every minute of the day.  BUT we did start right back up this morning and he picked RIGHT back up where he left off and actually did MUCH better about holding it longer when off the potty! GO CHASE!