Adventures in Potty Training

We've started the great potty training adventure this week, and it's been quite a ride.  I've been dreading this challenge for quite some time, putting it aside until I felt that I had time & energy to tackle it.  But finally, life has slowed down enough for me to feel I can handle it.  I am no longer the mentally and emotionally drained person I was for the first few months after Andrew's surgery, so I felt up for the challenge.

I'm writing this post to tell you what we've done this week to teach potty training, not to tell you how to do it.  Every kid is different, and from what I've heard, everything I've learned with potty training Isabelle might go out the window when it comes time to potty train Andrew. 

The Plan

First, I picked a time where life is relatively slow.  During the summer, we have some weekly commitments, but many of those can be skipped if necessary.  We have no more out of town trips planned for a while either.  The fall is just too crazy, and winter even more so.  Even though Isabelle did not exhibit some of the classic signs of potty training readiness, I decided to plow ahead.

I purchased Dora stickers a couple of weeks ago to use as motivation.  Isabelle found them last week and wanted them desperately, but I told her that those were special potty stickers.  If she wanted to sit on the potty, she could get a sticker now, but otherwise, they were off limits until the big day. 

Isabelle is a nut for M&Ms, which she calls "emmy lellows," from a year ago, when I was trying to use M&Ms to teach colors (which didn't work, by the way).  Since I know she loves them, they make great rewards for when she potties.  She gets a sticker for sitting on the potty, an M&M for actually pottying, and another M&M for staying dry.

I know what you're thinking.  The lady who refuses to let her kid drink apple juice is bribing her toddler with M&Ms?  Yep.  Anything in the name of potty training.  And actually, I feel that not giving my toddler juice gives me the freedom to permit her to have a sugary snack from time to time. 

Starting Out

I pulled out a big stack of panties and a stack of cotton shorts, which I put in the bathroom.  I knew accidents were coming!  On Monday morning, I changed Isabelle's diaper and put her special Minnie Mouse panties on, which she picked out at the store a few weeks ago.  I gave her the usual milk and breakfast, and then let her snack and drink water all morning long while watching various potty videos. 

We made it a fun day.  Lots of videos & snacks.  The salty snacks made her drink a lot, which gave us plenty of opportunities to practice using the potty.  And usually, she might watch one video all day, so watching videos all morning was a rare treat.

Isabelle has a sweet, sunny disposition, but she has every bit of her mama's stubbornness.  Couple that with the typical independent streak that pervades toddlerhood, and you can about imagine the challenge I faced.  If we were going to potty train, I knew it had to be initiated by her.  This is why we watched fun potty videos, specifically, Bear in the Big Blue House, which I checked out from the library and I Gotta Go!, which I borrowed from my neighbor.

Every half hour, I asked Isabelle if she wanted to potty and gave her a sticker for sitting on the potty.  She had accidents all morning long and we went through about four or five pairs of panties and shorts, but fortunately the cotton shorts kept her from getting the rug or furniture wet.  And she's a busy girl who doesn't like to sit down to watch videos.  She stands up and plays or sings & dances to the videos. 

Finally, during one of the videos, she actually asked to potty and dragged the potty chair out of the bathroom and into the living room.  She sat and produced nothing. Two minutes later, she sat again, but nothing happened.  Finally, she sat down a third time and I coached her a little bit.  She got the biggest grin when she finally did it!  She continued going to the bathroom for the rest of the day.

Setbacks & Successes

Isabelle has done extremely well all week.  We made it through a shopping trip to Walmart without an accident, and we even participated in a playdate on Wednesday, accident free.  We went to Jumpin' Apes, which has indoor bounce houses, so I was pretty concerned that all of the physical activity would make her forget to hold it if she needed to go, but she did great.

And she even used their public restroom, something I really didn't think would happen because she was terrified to sit on our toilet at home, opting for her small potty chair instead.  I used this folding potty seat to put over their large toilet, and Isabelle was happy to go on it.

Wednesday we experienced a big setback.  She woke up from her afternoon nap in the grouchiest of moods.  She absolutely refused to potty. 

I was torn.  Do I make her sit on the potty and risk giving her a negative association with it?  Or should I just call it a day and stick the girl in diapers, at the risk of giving her the idea that it's OK to wet your pants again?  I opted for the latter option.

Last week, I mentioned to my pediatrician that I planned on potty training Izzy this week, and he said she's at the right age for it.  His primary advice was to keep it fun and have no negatives associated with it at all.  My mother also agreed with keeping it fun and not having punishments for setbacks, so with their expertise guiding me, I let Isabelle stay in diapers for the rest of the day.

On Thursday, she was more than happy to potty again, but now she prefers the real toilet over her potty chair.  Overall, I would say she has done extremely well with it.  She can't hold it for long periods of time, and if I don't take her every hour or every hour and a half, she'll have accidents.  Still, considering that a week ago, she had no idea how to make herself go to the bathroom and she hated sitting on the potty, I'd say we've had success.

Any potty training stories or tips?  I'm wondering how long I'll have to take her this frequently, but at this point, I'm happy to do it.

If you want some great potty training ideas, check out Potty Train in a Weekend!  It's a great resource.