This is a pretty long post, sorry. DS is 3. Over the last few months, there has been a potty in the bathroom for him to see/play with, we've read stories about boys and their potties and in the last couple of weeks he sat on it happily (but just to sit, no wees or anything). He's followed us to the loo for ages, and we've had talks about 'when you are a big boy, you can do your wees in the potty' etc.
I've got a couple of days off work this week, and decided to start training in earnest. On Thursday morning we had a talk - today you're going to wear big boy pants, and will be sitting on the potty. If you need to do a wee, then sit on the potty. If he does a wee in the potty, he gets a sticker on his chart. I've been putting him on it about every half hour. The first day, he had 5 accidents on the floor (he got a bit upset, but I didn't make a fuss, just cleaned it up and said next time we'll try to do it on the potty), but in the late afternoon he took himself to the potty and did a wee in it by himself (cue lots of lavish praise, choosing a sticker for his chart, phoning dh to tell him, etc.). Friday there were still lots of accidents, but a couple of times he did a wee in the potty (probably more fluke than anything, because each time I had to put him on the potty, he didn't take himself). He did ask yesterday afternoon to go back into nappies, and I said no, he was wearing his big boy pants. Then, being contrary, he got a bit upset at bedtime when I put him in pull-ups, not pants, to go to bed. Today, we've had 7 accidents in the last 3 hours. He just seems to be doing lots of very small wees (sorry for the detail, but just enough to wet his pants so he needs changing), but nothing on the potty. I asked him if he wanted to go back into nappies, and he said no, he wanted his big boy pants on.
I thought he was ready for potty training, and because I had 5 days at home with him before he's back at nursery, thought it would be a good time to try. We normally go out a couple of times a day, but I've cancelled everything for the next couple of days to keep us around the house. The question is, should I persevere now, or accept he's not yet ready, and try again in a couple of weeks? The idea of having to do this again in a couple of weeks does fill me with dread, partly because of the constant vigilance, continual mopping up, and the sheer amount of washing so far involved, but also because rather than going out and getting stressed about car journies, etc. we'll be staying around the house and cancelling play groups, etc.
Am I being unrealistic to think that by day 3, there would be more wees in the potty than on the floor? I'm not expecting him to be completely dry in between potty sessions, but I didn't expect this level on 'constant leakage!' I realise that it's not something that 'clicks' in a day or two, but should I be expecting a bit more success by this stage, or do we just continue?
Any words of advice/wisdom will be gratefully received