Potty Training Addy :-)

So I know many people will want to know how my experience was with potty training Addy. I decided to make a blog post of it so I don't have to repeat myself over and over again.

Before I say anything else I would like to thank my sister! She is the one who told me about this method of potty training. Thank you so much Mandie!

I started training her Monday morning. Mind you, before that I had not done ANY other training with pull-ups or training pants. I decided to use a method called "Potty trained in 3 days." Now some might not agree with how it is done and others might not have the patience or psychological craziness it takes to see it through. And in some cases it might not work with certain children. But, I think it is the way to go, after seeing the results. Here is my experience day by day....

Day 1:
Well, I woke up and got ready for the day. I was nervous as all get out trying to make sure I remembered how I was supposed to do this whole thing and what I was supposed to do in certain situations. I felt like I was preparing for a big test in college (haven't felt like that since college).

Addy got up and ate breakfast. After breakfast it was time to change her clothes for the day. I put her in a t-shirt but instead of a diaper she put on big girl underwear! We collected all the diapers and "threw" them away. I just put them in a bag and hide them in the closet (can't waste good diapers :-). Then I explained to her that if she needed to go pee or poop she needed to tell me. I told her she wants to keep her underwear dry.

The first two hours went by.....no accidents but no pee or poop in the potty either. Then the first accident. So I scooped her up and ran her to the potty chair, explaining to her that she needed to keep her panties dry. I cleaned her up and the floor (thank goodness we have mostly hard floors). Susanna got up. As I was changing her diaper in our bedroom Addy had her second accident. I did the same things as the first. Trying not to get frustrated (which I was ;-), I cleaned up the floor and "prepared" myself for another accident. The next one came as she was sitting on a chair in the kitchen. So, up to this point she had had three accidents.

We put Susanna down for a nap. As we were upstairs Addy went poop in the potty. It was a small pebble, but definitely a good step in the right direction. Before nap I told her she needed to go potty. She resisted me so I walked away. Low and behold she marched right in there herself, pulled off her underwear, sat down and unloaded Niagara Falls. I praised her and she got a treat. I laid her down for her nap, still with her underwear. It said that training for both day and night at the same time is very important so they don't get confused. After I laid her down, I sat down and rested my brain. By this point I had a horrible headache and I was so tense from being stressed out about the whole thing.

She woke up from her nap....DRY! Yay!!! I was so excited. Although I "suggested" that she go potty, she wouldn't. She didn't go potty again (since 12:30) till 5 or 6pm that night. Niagara Falls unleashed again...but on my kitchen floor :-(. She actually has amazing bladder control. So that was a little set back but not too bad. That night she went poop once and potty twice before going to bed. Each time she went into the bathroom she would sit down and say...."mommy out" or "daddy out" and point to the door. It was pretty cute. I am going to add here that the basis of the whole training is for them to figure out their body signs of when they have to go. They need to be ones to tell you that they have to go. So, that was the end of a VERY long day.

Day 2:
I had had a monitor in her bedroom all night so I could hear if she was moving around or crying out for us. When she woke up that morning she was wet. I half expected it knowing how hard night time training is. She put on fresh underwear and started the day. She hadn't gone all morning since she woke up until she was sitting at the table around 10-10:30am playing with play dough. Then it unleashed again. I was a little frustrated because with every accident she would not sit down on the potty when I took her into the bathroom. I kept telling her she needed to tell mommy if she had to go.

A little while later it must have just "clicked." Ever since then she has been going to the potty all by herself. If she can't get out of her chair she says "poo, poo." She runs into the bathroom all by herself, pulls down her underwear, sits down and goes. I don't have to mention anymore that she needs to tell me. Although sometimes I do if it has been quite a while since she last went.

She is becoming Miss Independent. She wants to pull her underwear down herself, be in the bathroom by herself when she is doing her thing, wipe herself, wash her hands herself, flush the toilet herself, put her underwear back on herself, and anything else she can think of. She walks around all day saying "big girl, big girl."

I am so proud of her! Instead of it taking three days....it really only took one and a half!

Day 3:
During the night Jake and I got up with Addy. We don't think she got up because she had to go pee...although she did go a little.

This morning she woke up DRY!!!!!! Yay! And went to the potty a half an hour after waking up.

I know this is not the end of training. I'm sure there will be lots and lots of accidents to come. Some might be in the grocery store, some at night or others during church.

Now the struggle sometimes is getting her out of the bathroom....I guess it is better than not being potty trained ;-).

To end.... I think this training process has really helped Addy and I to become closer as mother and daughter. I was forced to really give her my total attention the last couple of days. We played with play dough, read books, played games, played with her dolls and kitchen set and much more. I just LOVE my little (BIG! :-) girl!