(Again, this post is mostly for me to look back at when I start potty training Chandler...and maybe for encouragement to any parents who may be having difficulty in potty training. No pictures or anything fun.)
So, after 2 rounds of intense and frustrating attempts to potty train Brooklyn, I was totally defeated and she was nowhere closer to grasping the concept. I was really giving up and hoping that maybe when she was 10, she would notice that all of her friends were in panties and that diapers really weren't cool anymore. Everyone kept telling me that maybe she wasn't ready. She was almost 3!!! If not now, then when might she "be ready"?!? And everyone kept telling me that 1 day it would just click. Yeah, right. Everyone also said that she would nap at school. In the over 36 kids that Brooklyn's teachers had taught over the past couple of years SHE was the ONE that wouldn't cooperate at nap time and now, she was going to be the ONE child that would never be potty trained. I know. I was totally a Debbie-downer. After about a week of potty-training depression and steering clear of anything revolving around B and the potty, I decided to take a different approach.
Potty Training: Round 3
Since Brooklyn refused to even sit on the potty, I decided that part of our routine would be for her to have to at least sit on the potty anytime she wanted something. If she asked to eat, television, a toy that was out of her reach, a drink, to go outside, ANYTHING, (when I remembered) my response was, "sit on the potty, then you can ________." For about 3 weeks, we were averaging about 1 success a week. The math: sitting on the potty about 6 times a day x 7 days a week = 42 times on the potty and 1 success a week. Impressive, huh? (insert sarcasm)
Then, during our 4th week of this which was about a month ago (April 22nd...not that I'm keeping track), it clicked!! So for all of you who told me this would happen, I apologize for doubting you!! We were in my bathroom while I was getting ready and she ASKED to go potty. Surely, I thought, this was a fluke, but, when I took her, SHE WENT!! Then she asked to go twice more that day!! For about the next week, whenever we were at home, I kept her in panties with ZERO accidents. I started noticing that when I put her in pull-ups, though, they would be wet. So, I started keeping her in panties when we would go run errands (SCARY!!) and she would keep them dry. And the following week (about 2 weeks after the day it clicked), I started sending her to school in panties and she never had an accident. The next week I started putting her down for naps in panties.
To date, we have not had 1 accident in public (running errands, at school, church) or while she is sleeping in panties. With that being said, I DO still put her in pull-ups at night for bed and when travelling long distances. I could also probably entertain you for hours with my nightmare stories of trying to take her in public while holding Chandler. YUCK!! But for now, I will say that I think she is at last, at 34-months, potty-trained!! Although I really hate saying that out-loud because that pretty much guarantees us a MAJOR accident today. =)
