Potty time!

I have successfully potty-trained 2 boys…well, at least 1! Gabe sometimes still doesn’t understand that you have to quit playing and pay attention to the stream of fluid running from certain appendages when at the toilet. Inevitably, he’ll continue to play with whatever toy is in his hand or continue his conversation with Nate, ignoring the fact that urine must go in the toilet…not the floor, wall, sink or trash can! In spite of my success as one of my many jobs as a mom (I’m no denying that I’ve had many failures, too), I was not prepared for a certain request of my recently turned 2 year old daughter (she’s proving to be drastically different than her brothers in every aspect of her development). She woke up last Thursday, and like we’ve done every morning since her birth, I began to change her diaper. When I got the dirty diaper off, she said, “Adwi not a baby. I way undaways.” So, with a ray of hope that she’d be really easy to potty train since she requested not to wear diapers anymore, we started our adventure. I explained that if she wore panties, she had to potty in the toilet, EVERY TIME!

Day 1: Several accidents and several successes…we were on our way. I set the timer on the microwave to remind myself to remind her that we should take a potty break every 20 minutes. She, and the boys, enjoyed the CONSTANT attention. I never took my eyes off of her for the entire day. I imagined that it would be like potty training a dog. The goal is to catch them in the act of having an accident and then rush them outside. With Adri, I was using the same technique…catch her having an accident and then rush her to the toilet. I called day 1 a success.

Day 2 through 4: Same routine, same results. It had been 4 days since Adri had worn a diaper, other than at nap or bedtime. We were about 75% in the potty and about 25% in the underwear, on the floor, or on someone’s lap! She had only had 1 poopy accident. For some reason, the poopy part was the easy part for her. We were making progress, but still had a bit further to go. In spite of our progress, I ended each day wondering if I should give up the fight and return to diapers. Matt reminded me that the persistence would pay off and we wouldn’t have to carry around a diaper bag anymore to change diapers on the floor of the van or disgusting gas stations…and by ‘we’ he meant ‘me.’ Charge on…

Day 5: Matt had a great idea…let’s graduate her to telling us when she has to potty instead of us reminding her. He suggested, “If we let her get that feeling of having a full bladder, maybe she’ll get the hang of it quicker.” For the most part, yesterday, she informed me when she had to potty and the entire days went by with only 2 accidents (1 was poopy)!

Now, I realize we have A LOT of progress to make, and despite the fact that I’ve had many people tell me that their girls were potty trained in 2 days, I don’t have a child like that! We’re still celebrating her successes and looking at her setbacks as ‘learning experiences,’ according to Big Brother Nate. Leave it to him to find the positive in the experience.

I think she may be confused why we're so excited about this!

That little bottom is so CUTE! Notice that she didn't let the stress of learning something new interfere with her double purse obsession. By the way, she fills them with socks....figure that one out!

On the docket for this week is 3 different ‘field trips.’ We’re off today to the splash pad…I’m hoping we don’t have a poopy accident there!