Some of you may remember how I posted back in December that there was a Christmas miracle upon us. Baby Girl was showing signs of an interest in being potty trained at about 23 months. No such miracle. But I have to say (and I hope it's not too early) that in the last 48 hours my miracle has arrived. About 3 weeks ago when there was nothing happening on our calendar I broke out the training pants and the butterscotch chips and let Baby Girl soil herself repeatedly. After a few days of this nonsense she asked to be put back in a diaper and I gladly consented remembering how much I hate potty training. Then we went to NYC and forgot about the whole messy business.
Can I just say that my biggest piece of advise when potty training is to forget about the whole thing and let the horse lead itself to water so to speak? You can bang your head against the wall in frustration if you want to but that kinda hurts. Two weeks ago I was looking for a new motivator because butterscotch chips had run their coarse. I printed out a chart and searched for stickers to put on it. When I presented the idea to Baby Girl she screamed at me and said she hated it! Clearly not wanting to be told when she would do this thingy. So I wisely backed off. Then a few days later I found some shiny star stickers. I knew better than to push still. When she saw them I could see the wheels turning in her head. Still I waited a day. Pretending not to care. It reminds me of long ago with another child, how I would get my breast-fed baby to be interested in a bottle. Try as I might to get him to take it from me he would boldly refuse! Lay it on the ground for him to play with and walk away and before I knew it he would have it in his mouth for himself. Kids are tricky little buggers!
So about three days ago when she woke up she seemed to have a scathingly brilliant idea. Her face lit up and she said "sticker chart!" Well we've been all over it for 3 days with no accidents. Day two when I went to put on a pull up for an outing (the pediatricians) she flatly refused and said she wanted to stay in her underwear. I feared the worst and prepared thusly. Not one accident! And the other miracle that day was that she awoke dry as the Sahara! Fluke- thought I. This morning- same deal! That is what I am on my knees thanking my lucky stars for today. God does love me! Then to make matters more miraculous is that when I left her in her diaper to take a morning walk with the dog I came back to put her on the toilet and she said she had already gone.... hmmm.... seriously!? Evidence proved she was not lying. She even solicited a 10 year old to re-diaper her before I got back. I'd say its a done deal. Maybe not, but it would appear so. Kids grow up so fast these days!
10 comments:
WOW, I LOVED that story or experience. We are on the verge of thinking of potty training Emery and it is good to know that people out there don't feel like they have to hit their heads against the wall over it. I loved hearing the whole thing in your words. I feel mixed about finding ways to get her to do it or just letting her tell me she is ready. How long do you wait for them to tell you?? I guess that is my main concern. She is not too old yet, so I will just keep planting little idea's in her head about it and wait it out. Maybe one day the seeds will sprout and blossom. :) Let's just hope it happens sooner than latter.
Thanks Dallas. Boy you can always tell when I blog about something someone else is going through too.
I say just keep planting those seeds and see if she is showing signs of readiness (I'm sure you've read the books), like putting stuff where it goes, telling you when she's poopy, etc.
Good LUCK!
Congrats! I've heard that girls are easier than boys.
Way to go, Kelly!
This sounds similar to my experience with number five a couple of years ago. I decided to try it over Christmas break, since we would be mostly home for almost two weeks. She did great, but the key was that I TRULY didn't care whether it worked or not. I just gave her the chance and helped her along. It's nice sometimes to get the feeling that I have learned a thing or two as a mother, after all.
I will say that even though I have learned some stuff I am far from perfect. Baby Girl insisted on using only one of our 3 toilets for a while there and when we'd be in the basement and she insisted on holding it until we went upstairs I lost my cool with her one day. I mean here she was sitting on the downstairs toilet holding it in due to stubbornness. Even as I lost my temper I knew that it was probably setting her back. But It was so maddening!
I've bookmarked this post, and plan on reading it in a couple years when I'm ready to de-diaper another one.
(Also, are there any paricular commandments I should obey to ensure my own miracle?)
I'd say obey the commandment of not coveting your neighbor's 2 year old's dry underpants would be a good start : )
Yay! That is great.
Hooray!! You remind me of a couple of days ago, I was sitting in the stall at the store and seriously started laughing out loud as I listened to this fun mom practically throwing a party in the bathroom for this little girl that MADE it!! I can soooo remember those days...the Nobel Prize winners don't have anything compare to the potty Prize winners. Of course I joined in the celebration when we all met at the sink. It was just fun.
Hey, so, I'm sorry I slacked off on blogging. But, I'm BACK!! I had a lot of fun catching up on all the great things going on in your life. You are just so dang cute and fun!!
Yay for Little Girl! I wonder if shiny star stickers would be a motivator for college students who are late for class.
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