Well, it's been two weeks of potty training. Ashtyn has been pretty easy and it's still been exhausting. I don't know how moms do it with kids who aren't easy. They are super moms.
I will start by saying I didn't really want to potty train this early. Diapers don't bother me at all (except how much they cost!) and the idea of potty training was very daunting. Somehow, diapers seemed easier to me than the constant threat of accidents. I was totally content to let Ashtyn turn three and them some before we moved away from diapers. She really wanted to, though, and we actually waited quite awhile after she wanted to before beginning.
Before we started, I took Ashtyn to the store and she picked out some princess and Minnie Mouse "undies" (she told Grandpa they were "undies, not panties", though we call them both). She also picked out a Minnie Mouse toy and I had a bunch of "healthier" candy in a jar.
That morning, I got her and took her diaper off. We just went bare bottom at first, as I have heard this is easier. We went downstairs and she kept sitting on her potty, then wanted a treat and her toy. I kept telling her she would get them when she went in her potty. She had a hard time waiting, it was over an hour and a half of staying dry. She either didn't want to let it out because she wasn't in a diaper or she had already let it out in her diaper that morning.
I kept having her drink a bunch of water (I was bribing her with gum, because I've read that it helps if they're drinking a ton of water). She was watching a show, so she was mostly hanging out on her potty. She'd get up and play, but then get back on when she asked for the candy and I reminded her how she got some.
Then she went, in her potty! Yay! She was excited to get her toy and her candy. Then she had two small accidents and that's when she realized she had to in her potty before getting another treat. So she sat on her potty and didn't want to come off. When I asked her if she wanted to get and play until she needed to go potty again, she'd say, "I'm going potty. I'm going to get a treat." And then just sat there. And she went several more times, getting a treat each time.
That's how it went until her nap. She's still currently in a crib, so we do diapers while she sleeps. After her nap, she told me (first thing when I got her) "I need to go potty and get a treat." She really loved getting those treats!
We came down, took her diaper off, and she camped out on her potty from then until almost bedtime. I think she was really nervous that if she got off, she would have an accident. While I was feeding Parker, Ben set up Smash and that lured Ashtyn off her potty chair. After I put Parker down, Ashtyn was sitting on a stool. She realized she needed to go and told us that. We helped her get down and get to her potty and she made it! Another yay!
The next day, Ashtyn didn't just camp out on her chair. She was feeling more confident in her ability to make it to the potty and seemed less interested in the treats (I think she was sugared out). She had one little accident in the morning, I think because she forgot, but no more accidents the rest of the day. She was able to get to her potty by herself without my prompting every time. Whenever she had to go, she'd say, "Oh no! Oh no! The stinky diaper is going to come out!" and then run over to her potty really fast.
The rest of the week was similar. She was really good at going in her potty. We started on a Thursday and that next Monday, we had a SuperSmash birthday party. I wasn't sure if she would stay dry, but I didn't want to put her in a diaper for the whole time, so we tried it out. She did really well, no accidents there.
Now week two is actually harder. The novelty of using the potty is wearing off and she doesn't seem to mind having accidents at all. If I can remind and coerce her into sitting on the potty often enough, we don't have a problem, but it's a constant thing for me. She never wants to sit and try anymore, I have to talk her into it, and she rarely proactively runs to her potty when she needs to go. She still will sometimes, but most of the time she waits until it's too late. I keep telling myself it's normal and that she will move on from this stage. I hope she does quickly.
So, overall, I would say not too bad. I still think it would be easier to just have her in her diapers, but now she's a "big girl." The best part for her is that she wears panties like her cousin now! I'm sure they'll have many a times comparing and talking about it.
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