Potty Training Weekend

Well, we did it. We started potty training Juliana, and, it wasn't a complete disaster! :) I always sometimes get myself all worked up, over thinking the outcome of a situation before it occurs, so I tried to not think about it much until the day before.

I read a ton of different posts on Pinterest, BabyCenter.com, Parenting.com and many other places and had a mental checklist of things we were going to do.

-talk it up - we did this all week leading up to Potty Training weekend. She knew it was coming. I like to mentally prepare for things and I am not sure if she is the same but I wasn't going to chance it w/such a life changing event!

- Create a reward system - I bribe my children. I admit it. Usually it's w/a small treat such as chocolate milk, a "mom or dad" food (such as my favorite chips or Mark's Oreos), or a half hour of Mickey Mouse or Sesame Street. For Potty Training we used a Success Chart I found at the Target $1 section before Easter that has Sun-Saturday in columns w/stickers you can put on the days. This was a generic book that I deemed "Potty Training Success!" Every time she pees in the potty she gets to put a sticker on the day. Every time she poops she gets a sticker and a "special treat"! Her special treat was an apple sauce, squeezable fruit thingy. She  LOVES them but we don't get them all the time.
She also got an 'X' on that day if she went in her pants and not on the potty.

-switch to pull ups/underwear - When she woke up Saturday morning, she peed on the potty first try and I put a pull up on her. We have had these pull ups in the closet for months now b/c my husband had this INSANE idea that we should potty train Juli right on her 2nd birthday...I was 39 weeks pregnant!!! Yeah, that didn't happen! At that point I didn't care if she stayed in diapers til she was 5, there was no way I was potty training anything or anyone! So, she has been asking to wear them since then but I didn't want to put them on her and not actively be potty training. Confusion much? I think so! Also, we didn't switch to real underwear yet b/c, well, I don't have the patience or the time to clean up pee puddles. Oh, but when she does get her big girl underwear, she requested Mickey Mouse...

-Ask every 10 mins and put her on the potty every 30. Now, I can't say I was great at this b/c I was by myself for half the day and I had Miriam to tend to also.

-keep the liquids, fruit, veggies, yogurt, etc coming. If they aren't eating/drinking, they aren't going to need to go! 

So, how'd it all go?
Saturday - She got 6 stickers and 3 'X's...I was getting discouraged b/c I KNEW she had to poop but she wouldn't do it and finally ended up going in her pull-up.
Sunday - She got 7 stickers and 2 'X's and she POOPED ON THE POTTY...at my Sister in Laws house of all places. She also didn't wet her pullup at Church, in the car while driving all around today and told us she had to poop and then ACTUALLY did it!

It was alot easier today b/c Mark was around all day and could tend to her if I was feeding Miriam, cooking dinner, etc... But, I think she gets it. She likes to tell us that she is dry and loves when we are proud of her for doing a good job. We have a long road ahead of us and honestly, diapers would be easier at this point and we could easily turn back, but having only tossed 5 pull-ups and not changed one poopy diaper in 2 days (from Juls, not Miriam), is kinda nice. Plus, she's gotta do it sometime...

Hope you enjoyed hearing all about our crazy busy weekend. Oh, and Happy Spring!! :) It's finally WARM!!

Colleen