whatMsg?

Well, my oldest daughter, at 3 years and 2 weeks is finally potty trained.  After 3 months of pull-ups, frustration, tears, Reese’s Pieces, stickers and messes we got there and it wasn’t at all what I expected.  Here’s our journey.  At 2 years of age, she was using the potty fairly consistently- for a month.  I think it was just a novelty, and it wore off.  We kept asking K if she needed to use the potty and frequently put her on it, but nothing.  Then at 2 and a half, we tried the potty/underwear-no-diapers weekend.  All we got for our efforts of putting her on the potty every hour was a mess ever 55 minutes or so and almost nothing in the potty.  We gave up.  The in July, 3 months shy of K’s third birthday, we got out the pull-ups, Reese’s Pieces (2 for every pee pee, 3 for a poopie) and sticker board (a sticker for every successful potty time).  She started going successfully a couple times a day, even in public restrooms when necessary but never poopie and never all day long.  The following 3 months were probably my most frustrating ever as a parent.  I had a smart little girl who just wouldn’t use the potty all the time mostly because it was inconvenient I think.  Finally, a week after her birthday, at 11 am on a Tuesday I reached my breaking point.  How did she not get it already! Out came the underwear and gone were the diapers.  That week she had just 4 pee pee accidents, pretty much one a day for the first 4 days.  Two indoors and two outdoors.  K got to watch me clean up the mess and stand in her wet pants until the mess was cleaned up- and she hated the wet pants and underwear.  She was allowed to take them off- but didn’t even want to touch the wetness and just stood there crying.  Like I said, this only happened 4 times.  The poopie was a whole other matter, every day, in the underwear.  Ewwwwww. The worst stuff- and she didn’t like it either.  Good thing for Halloween candy in the house waiting for trick-or-treaters.  I bribed poopie in the potty using those great little mini square candy bars they have now  (Reese’s is still for pee pee) and money in her piggy bank.  Yes, how low could I sink, but what can I say, it is Thursday and my daughter’s last accident of any kind was on Sunday.  She is wearing underwear all day, even to pre-schoool and while she wears pull-ups at night. They have been dry every night.  She is doing it and no one is more proud that K!

What I have learned:

• Treats work
• IQ and potty training are mutually exclusive
• Messes are inevitable
• The child has to be ready
• Just make a clean break- no going back to diapers no matter how bad it gets- trust me, I was tempted!
• Looking down into a porta-potty toilet in inevitable as you are holding your child on the toilet paper plastered seat and it is truly awful.