This past weekend, we did Potty Boot Camp! We pretty much followed the Potty Train in 3 Days outline. We haven't read the book, just the basic ideas laid out on
BabyCenter. We'll be tweaking it a bit, because we're not interested in sending her out in the world with no diaper on just yet!
We decided that she was probably ready and capable of doing it. We just needed to decide that we were ready! So, we finally committed to really doing it! Poor Kenny got to do potty training on his birthday! He says it's okay, and that her being potty trained would be an excellent birthday gift!
So, this is how it went down:
Friday, before the big kick-off, we went to the library and stocked up on books - just about maxed out our borrowing power!
After Mira went to bed on Friday, we cleared our living room of extraneous furniture, rolled up the rug, and blocked all access to carpet. We set up Pottyland with a potty chair, wipes, a trash can, and toilet paper. We had a pile of old towels, a dedicated sponge, and Clorox hard surface cleaner all ready to go.
We gave ourselves pep talks..."there's going to be lots of messes"....."don't expect too much - we're just testing the waters"......"she's still pretty young".....etc, etc.
We made sure we had tons of entertainment ready - we would be home-bound for the next 48 hours!
We didn't really use treats of any kind. A couple of times we gave her a few pennies to "feed" to her piggy bank when she was successful. But, as it turned out, the thing that worked best to motivate her was our (including Jeter & Shatzie and all her toys) cheering, singing, and dancing!
Saturday morning, when Mira woke up, we took her soaked overnight diaper off, and let her run wild and naked from the waist down! She was a fan!! We had quite a few accidents Saturday - she was peeing about every 5-10 minutes! A little drop here, a little dribble there! She quickly started telling us, but often too late. She took advantage of the nap time diaper to do #2. But, by the end of the day, we definitely felt like she was making progress. We had started praising her for not only pee peeing in the potty, but also when she didn't make a mess. That seemed to really make an impression on her. Every time she peed in the potty, we did the Pee Pee Parade to the toilet. She would pour in the pee then flush it down - "Bye Bye Pee Pee!!" Then, I would make all her toy animals cheer and sing her praises. She adored this!
Apparently, Mira did some thinking overnight, and it all "clicked"!
Sunday, she was going only every couple of hours or so and telling us
before she started to pee. She learned to hold it and empty her bladder each time!! Woo Hoo!! She only had 1/2 an accident on Day 2; she said, "Pee!" and started almost immediately. I said, "Okay, stop! Hang on!" She stopped mid-flow, and I whisked her to the potty where she finished up! Not too bad!
All three of us were bursting with pride by the end of the day, but, at the same time, Kenny and I were curious and a bit anxious about how things would go when we had to go back to the real world (i.e. pants) come Monday morning.
Well, this morning, Mira and I went to the gym. I had the car loaded up with Mobile Pottyland: potty chair, toilet paper, Lysol wipes, paper towels, plastic grocery bags, and an extra outfit. I put Mira on the potty right before leaving the house - no pee. After a two minute drive to the gym, I put her on the potty in the back of the Escape - no pee. Getting worried. Put on a pull-up and bloomers under her dress.
I sort of figured she would not only pee in her pull-up, but also take the opportunity to go #2, since she hadn't gone at all on Sunday and was definitely showing signs of being on the verge.
After being in the gym for 1 1/2 hrs, we hurried back to Mobile Pottyland! Mira's pull-up was empty AND dry!!!! I was practically doing somersaults in the parking lot! Then, she sat on her potty and had some water and snack. She didn't pee right away. She started asking for milk, which I didn't bring. So, I told her, "If you go pee pee in the potty, we can get home and get some milk!" I could see the gears turning in her head for a few seconds then.....Psssssssssss!!!!! Ha!! She's
so smart, and
such a milkaholic!!!! While peeing, she yelled across the parking lot for my friend Julie to come see - "Look Juwie!!! You see that??!!!" So adorable! We called Daddy to tell him what an amazing job she had done!
She continued throughout the day telling me every time she needed to go. She even finally went #2 on the potty! We had a big celebration and had to call Daddy about that one, too!
She had one accident today. Well, really I feel like I should take full responsibility for that one. Total bone-head move. It had been quite a while since she had gone when I let her sit on a blanket on the sofa and watch Wonder Pets. She became so engrossed in the show that she didn't even realized it when she peed. Didn't notice the accident until we picked her up from the sofa after the show. That was totally my fault! Oh, well - lesson learned! Don't expect a toddler to be concerned with sitting on the potty when they're watching Linny, Tuck, and Ming-Ming, too!!!
Further updates to come....
Welcome to Pottyland!!!!
Sorry, Management Only Past This Point!
Library book on the potty. Watch the video below regarding the hair-do.
As it turns out, I, personally, think it was a pretty great weekend. I really enjoyed spending so much quality time together as a family. We were all together and fully focused on each other - not chores or the computer or anything else! I really missed Kenny when he had to go to work today!
