So, we potty trained Harper over the weekend of June 22nd and 23rd. It was her birthday weekend so it kinda stunk that we didn't really go anywhere for her actual birthday. But we celebrated a few weeks before and then had Cody's birthday and Taylor's birthday, so we thought it would be too confusing to try to celebrate it again. Plus, the family was out of town so it was a quiet few days to try to focus on it (and for them not to see when she had an accident :).
We did the stay at home for "5 (LONG) days" method. She has been able to tell us that she needed to go for awhile and she is pretty regular, so we thought we'd give it a try. We only told a few people because I wanted to be able to ignore our attempt if we failed. Potty training is so hard and everyone's kid does it differently, so I just went with "don't tell yet" method too.
Laying on the ground in undies. Potty Training is exhausting for everyone.
Day 1 and 2 were pretty similar. She ran around in underwear, no clothes, and we would ask her every 10 minutes if she had to go, or put her on the potty every 30 minutes if she hadn't gone. She got very annoyed that we were asking. She also did NOT like the big potty. She had to hold on and it seemed uncomfortable. She had a couple accidents but thankfully they were all on tile (right near the potty!) or didn't leak onto anything. By the end of day 2, we had stayed in the house for 48 hours except to step outside and feed the dogs. It was LONG.
Not happy about something. That happens alot when you stay home for 5 days straight.
Day 3 was a breaking point for Harper and me. She would look at me and tell me she had to pee, and then proceed to pee right where she was. She knew what to do, she just didn't want to. She didn't want to sit on the big potty, she didn't want to be patient, she wanted to go somewhere, she was just unhappy. I was seriously frustrated. So at naptime, I found her mini potty and we tried that for the rest of the day. Since it still wasn't happening, I went for a run to let go of some anger, and decided we would just stop and try again in a few months. When I got back, Cody and Harper were on the little potty and she had done it! Success! We decided to try for one more day.
100's of stickers
Day 4 was our first real day of success. She had only 1 accident and went on her little potty a few times. She loves her little potty. It is pink with Disney princesses on it and the flush makes a sound. She actually likes to just sit on it and relax. She plays with her ipad toy or reads a book. Day 4 seemed like the beginning of life without diapers.
Playing with her ipad toy before we got the little potty.
Day 5 and 6 were great. She didn't have hardly any accidents and we had fun, easy days. We went for a walk with the dogs to get out of the house. One of the main reasons she potty trained well is that she doesn't drink much liquids (no milk, just water). So she only pees a few times a day. Makes life easier when she finally goes, you know you have a few hours to do something fun.
We gave her a fun cup to encourage her to drink more water. She did pretty good drinking from her first real cup, but after the 3rd big spill, I was tired of cleaning water up.
Day 7 was our first day to get out of the house. We ran an errand in the morning and one in the afternoon. She did a great job of telling me when she had to go so we could run to the store's restrooms and go real quick. Most people give their kids candy to reward them, but Harper can't have any of that. So she got rewarded with Bunnies. They are Annie's organic snacks that are soy free (cheesy ones like goldfish and honey ones like teddy grahams). Man, don't mention "bunnies" in our house if you don't have snack ready!
Showing her reward for going potty!
She is doing really great now. She is telling us when she has to go. She prefers to go #2 alone. She will tell me "Stop it! Self!" so I don't follow her into the bathroom. She can pull her clothes on and off and can even dump out her own potty into the toilet. We still have random accidents, but she is doing so good.
Her "lucky" cheek hanging out. SERIOUSLY CUTE!
A week was long and hard, but it worked well for us. We played tons of toys and watched some shows. We don't have to lug diapers around anymore, but now we have to always have a change of clothes. And if she doesn't want to do something, like take a bath, she will pretend she has to sit on the potty for a very long time. But we are proud of her. And we have definitely talked more about this issue than we ever thought was possible. :)
