The Nightmare that is Potty Training

So I finally did it, I started that bizarre, horrible adventure that is teaching a child to poop and pee in the toilet. I did not want to go there. I've been dreading this part of my life ever since my children were born. Evan's training (like everything else with him) did not go well so I was in no rush with Justin. In fact, I didn't even know how I wanted to approach it this time. So when I was checking in books one night at the library, one came into my hands that was "Toilet Training in Less Than One Day". Who knows? It could work, right? What did I have to lose? It wasn't a long book, but I took a few months to read it twice and take notes and all that so I could be "prepared." That's just my style, people. Anyways, after setting a date to "train" like 3 times, I finally bit the bullet and had my mom watch my one year old for me on Thursday so I could try this whole method out. I had 5 hours to accomplish my goal. At first, it seemed to go ok. We used a doll that he gave water to and then he helped her pee in the potty. Then the doll had an "accident" so he could see what happens when accidents occur. Then it was Justin's turn to pee in the potty and he sat on it very willingly, but nothing came out after 10 or so minutes and the training kind of went downhill from that. The worst was when he had an accident and had to "practice" going potty quickly from different points of the house. He just dissolved into tears and wouldn't stop crying no matter how upbeat I was and said cheerily "Mommy loves Justin. Mommy does not like wet pants. Justin wet his pants. Justin needs to practice." In effect, he only did that training thing once, which means, when he has accidents now, which he does all of the time, he is learning nothing from them. Sigh. Also, he'll do something amazing, like go all night with underwear on, wake up dry and then go potty, but then have like a poop accident right in front of me. Sometimes I think he gets it and sometimes I don't think he gets it at all. So, instead of being trained all in one day (which, in the book means the child recognizes on his own he has to go potty, stops what he's doing, approaches toilet, pulls his own pants down, sits down, pees, flushes, pulls pants back up and goes back to what he's doing without any help from me) I think we are having a typical potty training experience after all. Well, it was worth a try right? Maybe if we would have had more time, or I would have worked through his tantrum and tears and made him practice after an accident...Hopefully, gulp, the next child will go better?