Hey Amie E : Adventures in Potty-Training Land

For the past week or so we've been navigating the ups and downs of potty training. And if you know Rian, you know this has not been easy. After months of researching the many methods of PT'ing, I realized I was in uncharted waters with Rian. The bottom line of every method was that you had to find your child's "motivation". What is going to motivate them to want to PT. Well with Rian, we all quickly learned that she didn't have a motivation. In general, Rian can't be bought, threatened, or punished. So while putting a jar of m&m's out or a basket of small gifts works for many kids, Rian simply passed. In fact she passed on all treats offered as a reward for sitting on the potty. She offered her sassiest version of no thank you to my sweet friends and my mom who dared to try their hand at PT'ing her. And well threatening to take a toy way or punishing your child is clearly not an option (unless you want to be the next Mommy Dearest!), I was left feeling a little defeated before I even got started.

So I decided that I was going to start the same way I started with Rory, making the pull up diapers disappear. I had been warning Rian over the last month that one day she was going to open the bathroom cabinet and her pull ups would be gone. And then one Saturday, that's exactly what happened. Her response, "Oh no! The diapers disappeared. The Joker took them!!!" Yes that's right, the Joker did in fact take them! I mean he's already a villain, why villain-ize myself if I can avoid it. And she's obsessed with Batman right now so her reaction was totally fitting. She had no problem putting underwear on, but she was clearly putting zero effort into trying to use the potty. And I'm going to be completely honest the first 4-5 hours were rough. It consisted of changing wet clothes and cleaning up messes. I realized that I just needed her to sit on the potty. If I could get her to just sit I could get the breakthrough I was looking for. After lunch I took into the bathroom and I tried to get her to sit down. She protested that she was scared of the toilet, which I've heard before. But toward the end of her very convincing argument, I saw her crack an ever so slight smile. And that's when I realized I had been played by my three year old. For months she had been playing me and now it was all going to change! Well done Rian. well done!

So I firmly planted myself on the bathroom floor, expecting to endure a long, drawn out afternoon of battling Rian. I told her to sit down and go potty! She finally sat down, and within a minute or two, she was going in the potty!!! OH MY GOSH! I just about cried. I cheered and jumped up and hugged her. She looked stunned at my reaction, but it was the moment I had been waiting for all day. I quickly found a potty chart on pinterest and found a stash of Rory's stickers. Rain and Rory colored the chart and I proudly hang it on the bathroom wall with her first sticker.

This last week has been full of ups and downs, but she has made progress. We stayed home that entire weekend, but started making short outings on Monday. We've had a couple of accidents while we were out, but nothing a quick change of clothes couldn't remedy.

So if you are heading in to Potty Training Land, I have a some tips and tricks for you:

1. Get rid of any diapers/pull ups. As far as I'm concerned pull ups are just a toddler diaper and to your kid they work and feel the same as an infant diaper. So once you are committed to this process, get rid of them.

2. Buy extra cleaners. Make sure you have extra laundry detergent, floor cleaner, couch cleaner, paper towels, cleaning rags, shampoo and body wash. Trust me! (I had to make a run to the market for more laundry detergent.)

3. Let your child pick out their new underwear. Anything to get them excited about this process is a plus.

4. Buy a pack of puppy training pads. I forgot to get these and I ended up having to strip Rain's car seat to wash because she had an accident on the way home from running an errand. Opps! Lay them in the seat of the car seat and should they have an accident, the puppy pad will help with that.

5. Let your child run around in a t-shirt and undies when you're home. When they are first learning, its a lot for them to just get to the bathroom. Why add one more thing for them to pull down and possibly wet.

6. POTTY TRAINING SUCKS!!! Remember that there will be accidents, even after months of perfect potty training. Don't get too frustrated with them or with yourself. It happens. :0)

GOOD LUCK!!!