I’m planning for this to be my third and last potty training post for you because thankfully we’re just about done with this INCREDIBLY JOYFUL stage of parenthood (sarcasm… lots of sarcasm). I just wanted to pop in with a quick update because many of you have asked how things have been going since my second update last week, and I’d love to answer some of your questions through this day-by-day breakdown!
In case you missed my last two updates, you can find days one and two here and days three through six here. Day one is especially comedic. 😉
On day seven I started putting panties on Hadley to wear around the house (with no pants). This didn’t go so well; She had at least two or three accidents on this day which was really annoying at first because she hadn’t really had any accidents around the house in several days.
On day eight (Wednesday) I decided to stick with what the book said to do all along which is just stick to pants sans panties. She did an awesome job of telling me when she had to go #2 (which always requires a very dramatic yell and dance and about five false alarms before she actually goes). She had one tinkle accident at a friend’s house because she didn’t tell me she had to go and wasn’t as comfortable going at somebody else’s house. Overall, Wednesday was okay.
On day nine we ventured back to her preschool to start the new semester. I brought two extra changes of clothes and told her teachers that as long as they took her every 30 minutes and/or when she asked to go that she should be fine.
When I picked her up three hours later I found her with no socks or shoes (or hair bow for that matter) and a different outfit out on; The report was that she did great until around 11 a.m. when she decided to tinkle on herself twice in 10 minutes (hence why she wasn’t wearing socks or shoes – it got all over those too). Her teachers had no idea why she had those accidents because she had done great the first couple of hours going #1 and #2 with them. To be honest, I was a tad baffled and a little frustrated with the process. Jamie said it best when he said that it seemed like we were taking two steps forward and one step back. She’d done so well the first week, so I wasn’t sure why her progress was slowing.
Hadley must have sensed my bit of anxiousness to get this potty training thing over with because as of today (Monday morning) she hasn’t had an accident in three full days. All weekend long she wore pants (still no panties) and did great going on her potty chair as well as public potties (such as the bowling alley and church) while we were out and about. At home she’s done great with telling me when she has to go about 75% of the time, but the other 25% of the time I just watch the clock and take her myself. Out in public she never tells me; I always take her.
Yesterday the absolute funniest moment from this whole potty training experience happened. She kept telling me she had to go #2, but then she ran down the hallway and disappeared. I could hear her fiddling with something, and then all of a sudden she came running back into the living room with about 10 feet of toilet paper. I was dying! It was seriously so hilarious.
What about nap time and bedtime?
I’ve been putting either a diaper or a pull-up on her right before nap time and bedtime. I’ve been taking her to use the potty right before I lay her down, and then I explain to her to not wet her diaper. As soon as I hear her wake up in the morning and after her nap, I immediately go into her room to take off her diaper/pull-up and walk her to her potty. Actually, now she’s in such a good routine of this that she asks to go to the potty as soon as she sees me!
For months I’ve been letting her play in her bed before going in there to get her, but now I’ve been getting her out of bed quickly because I don’t want her to unintentionally go in her diaper. She wakes up about 75% of the time dry, so once we can get to 100% for about a week we’ll start transitioning to zero diapers or pull-ups. I’m not in a huge rush for this. When it happens, it happens!
I’ve read that even if a parent is totally committed and consistent, potty training can still take up to a month before a child is 100% trained. I’m trying hard to remember that when it seems like this stage just won’t end. 🙂
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo