So in the beginning of August we started to potty train Adriana. Truth be told, she had been asking to pee in the potty for a while but with all the summer trips we had, I chose to wait. I have been told by many a warrior moms that big changes and trips are often a potty training regression. So I decided to save myself the misery of all that. Adriana is such a smart kid and learns things so quickly, it will be a piece of cake. Right? Riiiiiight. So I started off one weekend with the "3 day potty training" guide. In 3 days, all my worries would be over.
Day 1 she wakes up, we take off her diaper and tell her she is going to wear underwear from now on. What a big girl she is. Great. She is so excited. We talked and played it up all week and it was finally here. Let me start by saying that I didn't expect day 1 to go off without a hitch. I have pretty unreasonable expectations but am not that delusional. But since for a couple months Adriana was in the habit of telling me when she started to go pee or poop in her diaper, I figured we had a shot. Well yea. Accident after accident after accident. I had made my Potty Time chart in the bathroom as a reward system and so I just wanted to get a pee in the potty so she could see how exciting it was. She could put a sticker on the chart and be rewarded for her good behavior. It took pretty much all day for that to happen. But I must say, after cleaning up messes on the floor, messy underwear and just general all around gross stuff, that first pee in the potty was the most exciting thing that ever happened in the Etch house.
Day 2 actually went well. Something clicked in the evening of the first day and she got it. We had 1 accident on day 2. She was awesome. So excited to potty especially after the treats rolled in. By day 3, I was ready to leave the house with her. But I waited. We needed one more successful day.
Day 4 I was about as stir crazy as you can be after spending 3 days at the house without leaving. Have I mentioned I am not good at sitting home for long periods of time? For Rob, it is great. He prefers it. I seriously almost lost my mind. So on Day 4, we had some errands to run so we set out with about 5 change of clothes, treats and bribes galore. Again, Adriana shined. She told us before we left a place that she had to go. We ran errands for hours and she did awesome! So by the end of the day, I declared her potty trained. (Did I mention we still do pull ups at night? My confidence in nighttime is still shaky)
Things went great for 2 weeks. She did so well. We even had multiple babysitters and she told them when she had to go. Rock star.
About 3 weeks in, she started school. I thought, no problem, she will do great. Well, she did do great at school but started regressing at home. aaaaahhhhhh. For a person with as little patience as I have, there are days I have to really try and stretch them out to deal with certain toddler issues. This was probably my biggest challenge thus far. The regression got worse and worse and worse. No more clean underwear. Accidents all around. I wondered if I did it to her. I mean, I put her in a pull up for school and when we went to visit family. It had to be my fault. Worst mother ever. I was told it was rite of passage once your child is potty trained. I failed miserably. But luckily, things starting getting back on track. I am not sure what made it happen. Possibly it was when I gave up and decided that she would wear diapers to college and let go of my expectations, things got better. (I may also have a tendency for drama.....)
I won't say things are perfect but we are back to forward moving progress. I no longer want to put her back in diapers. And can I say the occasional accident is so much better than diapers anyday. I do not miss them. The cost, the mess, the smell. Nothing.
So just another reason my little girl is growing up and doing it like a champ. She is getting so big and while I love to watch her grow and change, I kind of wish she would slow down. We are now in a big girl bed. She is in underwear. She talks like a teenager and acts like one at times too. The baby part of my baby is officially over. Luckily, she will always be my baby. Although when I call her that she tells me, "mommy, I am not a baby. I am a big kid. You need to stop calling me that." Did I mention teenage attitude tendencies?
