Several people "swear by" the 3 Day Potty Training method. So I took a look at it and decided to give it a try. And since it states the ideal age to start is 22 months and that any kid can potty train by then, I didn't want to waste time.
I bought some cute underpants: Dora, princesses, and Minnie and really talked them up. I got some jelly beans and other little candies. The night before I took her potty back out, hid her changing pad and diaper pale, and threw away (hid- I'm too cheap to throw them away) her diapers. I didn't give her a sippy cup of milk before bed.
Day One: That morning we threw away the two diapers I left remaining in the diaper holder and talked a lot about going potty, keeping her underpants dry, what a big girl she is, and how proud I am of her. We raced to the bathroom every time she started/finished to urinate and many, many other times for false alarms. She would tell me as she was going or after she went if I didn't happen to catch her in the act despite being right with her the entire day. She had eight accidents but made it in the potty twice. I think it was luck though. Amazingly she woke up for a nap dry and she went in the potty afterwards. The other time was about 30 minutes after I put her to bed I peeked in to check on her and she saw me and wanted me to hold her and said she needed to go potty. And she did! So overall, this was not too bad of a day!
Humm, funny. I didn't take many pics. Not even of her cute little bottom in the underpants.
Day Two: I don't think I would be exaggerating if I said this was one of the most miserable days of my life. (Well maybe a little.) And since I now find it quite humorous and so I always have it, I'm just going to share EVERY detail of the day. Sorry to bore you. Chris wasn't interested in hearing every little detail either. But I might be one day! :o)
0045 Wet in her crib. I woke her, she said she had to go, nothing happened, cleaned her, and we read.
0550 Woke up DRY!
0740 Wet
0805 Wet in her room and hallway
Nap since she was super grumpy and didn't get much sleep. Woke up dry!
1100 Kitchen floor
1102 Successful trickle in the potty!!!
1110 Bathroom floor
1230 My bed (I was folding laundry)
1300 Dining room
1300 Successful trickle in the potty!!!
1320 Kitchen
1530 Upstairs couch
1530 Successful trickle in the potty!!!
1545 Pooped in pants (hard, formed stool)
1600 Dining room
1630 Downstairs couch
1640 Underpants wet
1648 Stairs landing
1715 Diarrhea which got on the floor in her room and my clothes
1730 Bathroom and hall
1753 Laundry room
1820 Her room
1825 Her room again
1945 Gym of church
And this of course doesn't include at least 100 unsuccessful attempts of using the potty. My day from 1530-1830 was pretty much entirely consumed by cleaning urine and feces. She would go again while I was still cleaning up the previous mess. I don't think I did very good at keeping a super happy and optimistic attitude and telling her how proud of her I am. I was getting a bit frustrated. To be honest, I've never felt like I really needed a break from her, until yesterday. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my alone time when she naps and goes to bed, but yesterday I really felt like I needed some personal time. Luckily visiting teaching and mutual in the evening really helped. :o)
I was thinking this author was absolutely crazy for starting a kid so young, and remembering how nice and easy diapers are. So what if the kid is 12 and still incontinent? ;-) Although expensive, diapers are pretty great and convenient. I miss looking at her adoringly while giving her milk and holding her before bed, cleaning, lotioning, and changing her on the changing pad on the dresser, and throwing away diapers rather than rinsing or cleaning underwear. (I have a new respect for cloth diaper users. Wow! I don't know if I could clean that much urine and feces on a daily basis even if I was super poor! Those are some dedicated women!
Day 3: I left for work at about 0810 which is about when she woke up, DRY!!! And guess what. She did amazing! She told Daddy that she had to go, twice, and DID! The entire day she only had three accidents! She urinated in the very easy to clean bathroom twice and had a BM once. The little stinker. It figures she would do this for her daddy and not me. The first time she ever slept through the night was the first night I went back to work. Sooo, I'm not sure what to think. I'm really hoping that all of my HARD work paid off and that tomorrow she'll do really well for me too. If not be potty trained all of the sudden! ;-) I'm SO THANKFUL that she did so well for Chris today. When I got back from work at 2020 he was DONE, just because she had been needy. It's such a blessing when things work out for the best and it made my miserable day yesterday a memory to just laugh about. (Hopefully I'm not talking too soon.)
Day 4: Trying to remember back two months ago, and look at the cheat sheet I made.
0830 Wet in room
0900 Poop in pants
1030 Kitchen
1300 Dining room
1535 Downstairs couch
1840 Outside
And NO successes. Not even a trickle. At least it wasn't nearly as many accidents as the previous days.
Day 5:
0200 Wet in bed
0910 Wet in hall
Most of the day she would tell me she had to go, we'd go in there and nothing would happen, and then a few minutes later she would have an accident. I'll be honest, I wasn't really in to it much anymore. I was starting to give up. I was trying to stay optimistic and positive and tell her what a good girl she was even though she was never making it into the potty, but I think I was getting frustrated too. And maybe she could sense it. We finally left the house because I was going absolutely crazy staying at home for so long. We went to Babies R Us to try to find something like a pad or something to put in her diaper so my house wouldn't continue to be soaked with urine. But we couldn't find anything except pads that were MUCH larger than menstrual pads. I took the potty with us and we even less a store in the middle of our shopping to go use it. Thankfully she didn't go in the store, or potty.
Day 6: Luckily, we had a fun day away from home! We went canoeing and had a blast!!! Boy did I need that! We made it with the potty training attempt to the evening and I was about to cry. I'm not sure if I've ever been so stressed in my entire life. Chris said he would've given up days ago. I felt like giving up on the 2nd day. Church was the next day, Girls Camp with Keira a few days later. I gave up. I couldn't take it anymore. The entire day she would tell me she had to go, so we would rush in there, and nothing would happen. Then, within a few minutes she would have an accident. I was soooo tired of it. I know she can control her bladder, she just doesn't know how to start the stream. Any advice?
I'm with the majority of mothers who do it when their child is ready. And I hope Keira isn't ready for a looong time. Although I think it will be a lot easier when SHE IS ready!
1 comment:
Boy, this makes me feel so much better that I just waited until my little ones were 3 before potty training! She won't be wearing a diaper forever!
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