So, as I hinted in this post, I've been terrified of potty training for a while. I have no idea why--of all the challenges of raising a growing child, I've been fine with almost all of them. I never dreaded diaper blowouts, baby slobber, or squished worms the way I did teaching Cambrie to use the potty.
My only theory, and it's a weak one, is that right about the time we first decided to try, I was brand-new-barely pregnant. Maybe my impatience level was just a little too high at that point? I also couldn't get over the convenience of diapers. No matter where we were, what time of day or night, what sort of situation we were in, there was no rush, no panic, no desperately hoping that my little kid could hold it because we had no extra undies or clothes. No problem. That's what those fabulous diapers were there for.
I think both Patrick and Cambrie would have been ready to make the switch months ago. She has a little potty which she used, with intermittent success, whenever she felt like it. That amounted, eventually, to once every few days. She got a single M&M for every potty use. Still, every time I thought about losing the diaper safety net (and the nice amount of mess-free control we had over her potty-life), I just about broke into hives.
The Plan
My foot-dragging had gone on long enough. Last week we bit the bullet. We declared a Panty Day.
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| Yes, those are panties. And yes, she's playing in a vacuum cord. Those things are apparently great fun. |
From Panty Day forward, all diapers would be banished except for naptime and nighttime. Cambrie was excited and picked out some girly little monkey panties at the store to prepare. We stocked up on M&Ms and little apple juice boxes to help keep the fluids moving. (But man, those M&Ms kept disappearing a lot faster than she was actually going potty...)
On Panty Day morning, we explained that for pee in the potty she'd get an M&M and a sticker. For poo in the potty, she'd get two M&Ms and a sticker. She's been running around in a t-shirt and panties (no pants or skirts) just to keep things simple, and aside from Church on Sunday, we didn't take her on any car trips.
The Results
She caught on pretty quickly. For the sake of all interested parties out there (I'm assuming anyone who doesn't really care about my daughter's bathroom habits tuned out long ago) and for posterity, here's a run-down of those first few days:
- Day 1: Four accidents, one "mishap" (on the potty, but with some aim issues), six successes
- Day 2: One accident, eight successes
- Day 3: No accidents, five successes
- Day 4: One accident, one "mishap", eight successes
Since Day 4, NO FULL ACCIDENTS!! (We're letting one little leak yesterday slide because she stopped it and held the rest in until she reached the potty) Here I've had a little potty genius this whole time, and my trepidation has just been holding her back! She even loves to go on the big potty, with no helper potty-seat involved (thank you to her four-year-old cousin Carleigh, for inspiring that feat).
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| We had leftover label-stickers from a garage sale we had back in Virginia. Guess what are now Special Potty Stickers?! |
Yesterday she blew us away--fourteen successful potty trips! And the vast majority of those were her telling us she wanted/needed to go. Woohoo! (We're just hoping the sheer number of trips doesn't mean she's caught on to how to get more M&Ms in a day... *grimace*.)
Moving Forward
Starting tomorrow, she gets a new potty chart. We're removing one incentive (probably M&Ms) and she has to start wearing skirts/pants again. We'll also have to brave the outside world sometime soon--we'll see how her little bladder holds up to a car ride.
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| See? Almost done with the chart! Ready to move on! |
**A Note For Tween- or Teenage Cambrie**
I guess there might be some small chance you wouldn't want something like this written for the world to see. Here's what I have to say regarding that: first of all, the world in general doesn't really know or care that this post exists. Second of all, if you aren't already embarrassed enough by other things your dad and I do/make you do as your parents, then we aren't doing our job right. Thirdly, if for some reason this post goes viral or I become a famous blogger right at the time when you're old enough to know the difference and care, let me know. I'll come back and change your name. ;-)
3 comments:
Way to go, Cambrie! Can she come over and teach Jay a few things about the potty? Jay doesn't care either way--undies or potty, he just does whatever is convenient at the time. I have taken a few months off and I'm gearing up for another go pretty soon here. I like reading success stories because they make me feel like this really IS possible...
Sounds like she's doing great! I have to admit that this is the one thing that I am most terrified of too. And I haven't wanted to lock myself in the house for a week yet, either. Some day I'll get up the patience and courage, I hope.
I've felt really lucky with Cambrie, but, to be fair, we haven't even addressed nap or night time training. I do keep hearing that girls are easier than boys, and Cambrie is very particular about things being done the "right way," so when she saw what the "right way" was, she was pretty motivated. I think it's a personality thing, so I'm just crossing my fingers that future kiddos are the same way, and not the complete opposite. :-)
But good luck, Shaina! Does Jay have any slightly older potty-trained kids he likes to hang out with? Watching her cousin has really helped Cambrie!
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