Official OFFICIAL Potty Training - Part 1

(Warning: This post is a little dated (I've had it saved for forever)...and also something that many of you probably don't care to read about! And that's totally understandable! Haha!!)

Anyways, so I know I've mentioned a couple times that we were beginning potty training with M. Most recently in this post I stated what my plan was going forward.

And, then...I didn't do that.

So. Finally...after more persuasion from Josh...and after my daughter yelled at me across the store, "Mama...I poo poo in my diaper!" I decided to just go for it and see what happens. I decided to document this just because. LOL! I'm sure I'll read this someday to M and she'll roll her eyes at me. :)

So...beginning Friday the 14th when she woke up she went right into her undies. And, away we went. I kinda had a plan in mind...and kinda just figured it out as we went. So...here's our first few days. I'll try and be brief.

Day One - Friday (December 14th)

As soon as she's up her undies went on. Of course we talked about undies and where her pee pee needed to go and that she didn't want to get her new pretty undies all icky.

First accident during breakfast...while in her high chair. Gross! It didn't seem to phase her. I'm worried. I then set our oven timer for 20 minutes and made her sit on her little potty (it was in the living room) every 20-25 minutes. She had a couple successes and another accident before nap. Diaper at nap. And, back to undies afterwards until bedtime. Every 20-30 minutes she'd sit on her potty and was usually successful! Yay! No more accidents after nap.

Accidents for the day - 2

Day Two - Saturday

Same strategy as day 1. Except I set the timer for 25 minute increments. Sometimes she'd resist sitting on her potty. Annoying! She'd try to run away. This was frustrating for sure. I thought about moving it to the bathroom...but wanted it to be easy to access...so we started the 10 second rule. We only counted to 10 and if she didn't go, she didn't go. I kinda figured out that she could hold it for about 30-45 minutes. Successful morning/afternoon with no accidents.

Diaper at nap (she went #2 in her diaper) and back into undies until bed time. She ended up having one accident while we were all out in the shop. It was partially my fault. Her potty wasn't easily accessible...she had Nala as a distraction, and I was distracted as well doing something else when she had her accident. After that, she did great for the rest of the night.

Accidents for the day - 1

Day Three - Sunday

Quick trip to Durant for donuts right away in the morning. Our first trip away from home. I was SO nervous. But, we started the day telling her she had to potty if she wanted to leave the house...and donuts were a good reward so she went and then we left. It was about a 25 minute trip. Once home, I set the timer for 30 minute increments. She resisted a lot...but still had successes most times.

Accidents for the day - 0 (I think...or maybe 1?)

Day Four - Monday

Undies on! We went to Durant and went to the grocery store and to Subway after breakfast. I made her go potty before we left. This was probably a 45 minute trip. After she ate lunch though, we had a situation. I was waiting for her to have to go poo...I knew it was coming since she hadn't done anything the day before. I put her on her potty about 30 minutes after lunch - #2 success!! Her undies are off and I just leave them off since it's almost nap time and she'll get a diaper in a few minutes. I was so happy for her and immediately went to clean her potty. While I was cleaning it...I heard, "Mama, Mama, poo!!!" I was still cleaning her potty and no choice but to hold her on the regular toilet. Ok! Success...again. Yay! We celebrate. I clean up a small bit of #2 that didn't make it to the toilet. I still leave her undies off. Then after she is clean, her little potty is clean, the floor is clean, and I'm clean, we finish our tea party. I think to myself...she has to be done with #2. NOPE. Another tiny bit comes out before she can make it back to her little potty...but the majority makes it into the potty. Ugh. I'm so frustrated. Cleaning up poo is NEVER fun. But, I keep my cool as best I can for M's sake. After all this...I'm mentally exhausted. She goes down for her nap, and after nap, she does great for the rest of the evening.

Accidents for the day -  1

Day Five - Tuesday

We are really only using the big toilet. She likes this. I like this. We're all happy. I'm no longer using the timer...just my own intuition...and generally making her try at least every hour. After her nap we run an errand with Josh and eat dinner at Culver's. She goes potty at Culver's and I'm so happy for her.
Accidents for the day - 0

Day Six - Wednesday

We ventured out at 9am and didn't return home until a little after 1:30pm. SUCCESS! No accidents. We went potty three times while we were out. We got home and I just wanted to run to our shop quick. I knew we should have went to the potty first, but I pushed her and it had been over an hour and a half since she last went...so she had an accident. But, then...on her own...she ran to her little potty and successfully went #2. Yay! I'm so happy for her.
Accidents for the day - 1

Day Seven - Thursday
I basically control when she has to sit on the potty. She still hasn't really alerted me that she has to go. And then...right before bed as we were brushing teeth in the bathroom and she FINALLY told me, "Mama, Mama, potty!" I'm super happy for her. :)
Accidents for the day - 0

This has been such a huge learning experience for the both of us! I never did sticker charts or any type of tangible reward (candy) for M while at home. She's not really into that though. I would have totally done something like that if I thought it would help her. *I did bring a few M&Ms in baggies for when we were out and about...just in case she needed some extra encouragement to go while we were out in public.*

My thoughts after the first week.
-Start early! We introduced the potty to M a LONG time ago...she's been having naked time at night for quite some time and has successfully used her potty a LOT. (She has had a couple accidents. I always laid a big waterproof pad and blanket down on her floor in her room.) She was already comfortable with her potty and knew what the potty was for. I think this is what has helped us most. I think we got her the potty around 18 months or so. We also started reading a couple potty books around then.

-Don't get angry. Remind yourself a LOT to NOT to get frustrated when accidents happen. It's really challenging though!)

-Set a timer in the beginning. Time flies. Their bladders are tiny. It's hard to give them 100% of your attention. But you have to do it. While at first I was so sad about being 'stuck at home' all day for a few days...eventually, I enjoyed all the 1:1 time M and I spent. I also found that we played more together with all her toys and cuddled a lot more too. So. It's not all bad! :)

Overall, I'm so, so, SO proud of Madison. And, it's great just using 2 diapers a day, too!!! Wohoo!