The perk to the method that we are using is that there is a help desk where you can ask as many questions as you like and you always have access to the questions and answers in your thread. So, you can access them if you need them for future children, etc. We used this once. If anything, it was just the encouragement we needed to keep going. We needed to do something to get her to go more. I had not done a good job in figuring this out with Miss L. Husband, on the other hand, found a way on Day 3 and at the time we didn't really care what it entailed. Miss L loves certain chips and will do just about anything to get them. For each chip she had to take three sips of beverage. It worked! Granted, it basically ruined dinner but we didn't care at that point either. We were starting to see small glimmers of hope as Miss L was a little less dramatic about sitting on the potty.
Day 4 I stayed home from church with the girls. I bribed her once again with certain things that she liked to get her to drink so as to afford us more learning opportunities. It was a hit and miss again as to if we made it to the potty. But we were getting there. Still she has amazing bladder control and would just hold it in forever. In the evening I read an e-mail from a dear friend detailing how she does a trial run to see if her kiddos are ready. I capitalized on a moment that evening to add a part in to what we were doing. I took "Mama Moose" through the whole rigormarole and asked if she could do the same thing. "Yes, Mama!" Well, she took the moose through it rather than doing it herself. Quick, think fast! "Can you show Baby Moose how you do it?" After talking through it all she finally did it with very little drama. We were a bit more hopeful by the end of this day.
Day 5 was amazing! No accidents! We began the day again with the moose as a reminder which was fine. I finally had to reel in my little girl and some of her tantrums and let her know that I was the Mama and she just needed to do as I asked. That seemed to click with her (most of the time.) No drama sitting on the potty and she would just go once she sat down. Since then she is quick to tell me if she needs to go and she knows that even though she may not have to go if we are heading out of the house or just waking up we need to at least try. Surprise, surprise (not really) she generally needs to go.
Day 6 (today) was the big test as far as I was concerned as we had a standing appointment to make. <big deep breath> I asked her to go before we went but nothing. Okay, no big deal. At the end of our appointment Miss L was asked if she needed to use the potty to which she responded yes. Okay! Now I was wondering how this was going to fly without the potty seat we had at home. After a bit of drama I got her on the potty facing backward, told her to just put her pee-pee in the potty and voila... she went! I was SO.PROUD. I almost cried in the bathroom because I was so proud of Miss L. No. For real.
BM's have been another story and we had our first small success this afternoon which was awesome. She totally gets being dirty and tells us if she has the accident even if it happens at night. But we made it to the potty this afternoon so I am hoping this leads to good things in the coming days.
All this to say is that I did and do appreciate the model we chose to use. I like that it's pretty short term instead of unforeseeable long term stuff. I am not sure that Miss L would have been ready at 22 months as this method claims. However, we may give it a go with Miss A this time next year. We'll see. It's an intense time but it has been worth it all. I would recommend the method to others with the caveat that something may need to be added or changed for your particular child or household. However, I do think that it is a good method in general.
Awesome! Sounds like she is picking it up and will continue on that path. As for the 22 months thing...you just never know. My little one is only 18 months and knows that if you have to go, you do it on the toilet, she just can't figure out the "release" part and gets super duper frustrated. :( poor thing, she wants to do it so badly. We aren't potty training or anything, but just give her opportunities when she wakes up dry or shows an interest. I read the book you are using and thought it was helpful in just getting my mind ready for when we truly do begin the whole process.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work! Yay, Miss L!
My Will was 3 when I potty trained him too. I actually cried with happiness the first time he went in the potty. He could hold it from the time he got up in the morning till a diaper and nap time and then again until I put a nighttime diaper on. It was definitely a hard job to tackle. But gummy bears when he went was the one thing that finally did the trick. It felt like he would never quit asking for them for a while afterwards, but he did within a month or two. Good luck! You can do it :-).
ReplyDeletePotty Training Problems