Potties, Pull-ups & M&M's

So, we have officially entered into the wonderful world of Potty Training. Trace came home from school one day about two weeks ago with a paper that said, "I used the potty today!" I was in shock. For some reason, I never thought it would begin this soon; but I was thrilled at the idea that this could happen. I think it would be one less stress on my brain to get him out of diapers before new baby comes. So, we praised him over and over for it, of course. I'm pretty sure I gave into every snack request he had for that evening, including his all-time favorite snack, M&M's! Soon after he caught on that this was something that really makes Mommy & Daddy happy. So to encourage him, I promised more M&M's if he used the potty again. Sure enough, he had another note the next day that he used the potty again. As promised, he got more M&M's. The next day not only did he use the potty, but he stayed dry all day! Everyday, he came home ready and waiting for his M&M's. *Sidenote, please don't think that we're relying on daycare to potty train our kid. Believe me, we've tried (without pushing) at home to encourage him to use the potty. We set up his own potty in his bathroom several months ago. We practice sitting on it every night before bath time while we read a book about potty training. We taught him how to "tuck everything in", to keep things pointed in the downward direction, and to wipe; but at home, he never seemed to want to "go", no matter how long we sat there. So I guess that's where my shock came in that he was willing to go at school. However, we soon discovered why... at school they have a REAL potty. The only difference is it's made for little ones, so it's a bit shorter. At home we began to try the big potty and we just held him as he went. Sure enough, it worked! We then decided to get one of those seat cushion covers so he wouldn't fall in. That seems to be going well. It's been about 2 weeks now and most days he comes home dry. He stays dry at home as long as we remember to ask him if he needs to go, but that's gonna take some discipline on our part for sure. His teacher seems to think he'll be wearing undies in no time, but I still have my doubts. For one, we've yet to have him poop in the potty, and I'm not willing to put him in underwear until we cross that bridge. Until then, we'll stick with the pull-ups, cause they seem to be working out just fine. We'll keep you posted on potty progress. In the meantime, if you see Trace, ask him about using the potty and be sure to tell him what a BIG BOY he is for doing so! :)