I call this Day One because we have finally run out of diapers, and I told Leah that I wasn't going to buy any more. She is very excited to be wearing "Princess Pants", and I guess I thought they would be the miracle potty-makers... not so much.As you read, keep in mind that I am not really interested in potty training. But Leah hasn't pooped in her diaper since this day, so she's on the potty whether I like it or not. We've been half-heartedly getting her on the potty a few times every day for a month or so, and usually she will produce a little something. But now that we're out of diapers and the weather's warming up, I'm officially committing to GETTING IT DONE. Bear with me. And pray for me.
Day One
7:10- Leah wakes up, as she does most mornings, saying "I have to go to the potty!" Jason springs to action, gets her on the toilet, and we have a small ceremony to introduce her to the world of Pull-ups. No more diapers here!
Attempts on potty: 1 Pee in the potty count: 0
8:00- After breakfast, we head to the potty. Leah mildly resists, insisting that she does not need to potty, she needs to play.
Attempts on potty: 2. Pee in the potty count: 0
9:00- As we're getting dressed and ready for the day, I remind Leah that if she needs to pee, she needs to sit on the potty. No peeing in the princess pants!
Attempts on potty: 3. Pee in the potty count: 0
10:00- Getting ready to leave for the grocery store, I insist that Leah try sitting on the potty one more time. Better at home than in the store. Leah throws a small fit and insists that she does not need to potty.
Attempts on potty: 4. Pee in the potty count: 0
11:00- In the grocery store, I ask Leah if she needs to potty. Intrigued by a public toilet, as she usually is, she says yes and we head to the bathroom. Yuck.
Attempts on potty: 5. Pee in the potty count: 0 Princess pull-up is pretty much soaked by now.
12:00- Back home for lunch. One more try on the potty before naptime.
Attempts on potty: 6. Pee in the potty count: 0
3:00- Up from nap. Perfect time to potty. Leah throws a fit, and I get desperate. Surely there must be something in there? Most days I can get something out! Slight hysteria sets in (me), bribes with M&Ms ensue.
Attempts on potty: 7. Pee in the potty count: 0. Second pull up fairly soaked, but she doesn't seem to mind.
4:00- Friends over to play. As a social potty-go-er, Leah insists that she "NEEDS TO SIT ON THE POTTY". After 20 minutes, Jason gets home and I take the friends outside to play. Without an audience, Leah hops up and joins us outside.
Attempts on potty: 8. Pee in the potty count: 0
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5:30- Jason gives Leah dinner while I spend a few glorious hours alone spending birthday money. He gives her privacy on the potty, per her request. When he checks in on her, finds her sitting on top of her potty, lid closed, reading a book.
Attempts on potty: 9. Pee in the potty count: 0
6:30- We're all hanging out in the bathroom while Leah takes a bath. She hops up, announces, "I need to go to the potty!" and actually sits on the potty and PEES! (Mind you, this was halfway through her bath! Surely she had let a little pee out in the water by now?)
Attempts on potty: 10. Pee in the potty count: 1. Yay! We do the celebration dance, and Leah gets a sticker and a tiny chocolate donut.
7:30- As I'm typing up this post, I hear, "Mommeeeee! I have to go to the potty!" This is her nightly attempt at delaying bedtime. I sit her on the potty, and tell her to call me when she's done. After 10 minutes of silence, I find her scrubbing her toilet with a washcloth. "I'm cleaning," she informs me. Back to bed.
Please tell me tomorrow will be a better day?!?!
5 comments:
Depending on how aware Leah is of when she needs to go, you might try scrapping the pull-ups altogether and going straight to the undies (although perhaps not when going out at first). You will certainly have to clean up a few messes (I think that's pretty much inevitable no matter what you do, though). In my experience, though, the pull-ups are not helpful and may even hinder the process. They're just too much like diapers and the kids know it. They might be enthralled with them at first, but then it's just business as usual. But generally kids don't like the sensation of being wet (or worse) on their clothes and if they're really ready to move to the potty it won't take too many accidents before they decide that they'd rather stay dry. The pull-ups actually turned into a major obstacle with Clara. I'll spare you the gory details.
I also think that rewards are helpful and for us the sugary variety were way more motivating than the sticker variety. :) My mom made huge progress with Clara when she came to visit and started giving out little candies for potty rewards.
In the end, every kid is different so all I can really say is be patient, don't get mad, and don't be afraid to go back to diapers if things get stressful. Stress is the enemy of potty training! Good luck!
I have no advice. All I can do is empathize. I hate potty training hence the reason I have not attempted it in a few months. I'm sorry the first day did not go so well but I do love to hear someone else who is going through the same thing - it makes me feel better :)
Good luck and I'm eager to hear what works and how things are going!
There's a book at the Provo Library by the American Academy of Pediatrics on potty training. I'd recommend it. That book recommends that you don't use pull-ups. I agree with Amy - they don't really help. Although they're great for night time and when you have to go to town during potty training. Just hide them at home because Sadie would go and take her panties off and put the pull-ups on.
We used M&Ms with Sadie - also didn't work. If she wanted the candy she would go, but she didn't care enough to always go to the bathroom. We had a lot of accidents. I invested in a carpet cleaner - best purchase I ever made.
And being wet has never been a deterrent for her. Potty traing was just a power struggle - her way of asserting that she was in control. Very stubborn girl. And she was constantly reverting back to bad habits - like pooing in her panties. We finally nipped that one by making her rinse out her own dirty panties. She HATED that.
Hopefully you won't have as many problems as we did (still do).
Tomorrow will be another day! Hang in there. Wouldn't it be great if you could REALLY potty train your child in a day... or a week. I would recommend making a sticker chart. For every time she does go in the potty have her put a sticker on and she can work herself up to a really BIG reward after going so many times... whatever that may be. It could be as simple as a bag of M&M's. But on top of that I would give her a small reward for going each time in the potty, such as one M&M. But she can have much more if she stays dry consistently. (I hope that makes sense.) Things will get better soon! :)
I don't miss potty training!!!
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