Potty Training Boot Camp

It's Saturday morning.  My parents are on a flight to enjoy a week in Napa Valley.  Jeremy is here until July, and the 3 of us are in the unfinished, carpet free part of the basement starting our version of potty training boot camp.  I know, I know ... I'm supposed to wait until she shows interest, wait until she shows me that she's really ready, not supposed to force it but guess what, I don't have time for that anymore.  I have a baby coming in just over 8 weeks, a husband that will be gone in July and then leaving for a year in less than 3 months, and a soon-to-be 3-year-old daughter who is registered for a 'diaper-free' pre-school in September.  She, and I, really need the preschool so I can't give up her slot (she'll never get back in) because I was sitting around waiting for Emma to tell me that she was ready to get rid of the diapers. So here we go.  We'll spend the next week in the basement, outside or in my parents GIANT bathroom keeping her entertained on wipeable surfaces while she learns that 'Pee goes in the potty!' instead of peeing and pooping in her underpants. My mom said she did it with me, so lets hope Emma can follow in my footsteps.  With any luck, Grandma and Grandpa will come home to a diaper free Emma!

9:00 AM - We have just gathered our potty chair, clean underpants, M & M's for reward and incentive, wipes for messes, and laptops to keep Jeremy and I entertained.  Emma has picked a pretty pair of big girl underpants the color of orange sherbet.  Happily she plays with her Play-Doh.

9:20 AM - I've set my online timer as a reminder to try the potty.  She sits for a few minutes, but nothing happens. Good try!  Jeremy decides to influence the peeing process by giving her some juice and a bowl of cereal.

9:40 AM -Timer goes off, but still nothing.  I'm not sure if she's holding it in or it she really just hasn't had the urge to go.  She's starting to get annoyed with the timer and scheduled potty breaks.  I'm beginning to think I should perhaps just let her go and see what she does. 

9:50 AM - Jeremy notices some 'wetness' on her pretty organge panties.  Emma doesn't.  Oh well, we say.  Let's try to get the rest out in the potty.  Jeremy shows Emma her wet underpants to explain that she peed in them.  She seems unimpressed.  She's puts on a new pair of underpants - white with flowers this time - and off she goes to playing again.

10:05ish AM- Emma and Jeremy are happily dancing away on her new alphabet mat when I hear, 'Oh no, I'm peeing!'  It's a full stream, but she does manage to hold a little in until she gets herself on the potty chair.  Sure it was another accident, but this time she noticed it and even got a  little in the potty. Success, I say! I head upstairs for more underwear, paper towels so she can help clean it up, and a camera to take a picture of the little bit of pee that made it into the potty.

10:50 AM - The timer goes off, so Emma reluctantly leaves the computer game she's been playing - 'The Puppy Show' as she calls it.  She pulls her new cupcake underwear down and sits on the potty while I read her a book.  She seems much more willing to sit there if she's being entertained at the same time.  We sit there for the length of the book.  No pee this time.  I wonder if I should give her something more to drink to get her to pee more?  She pulls her underpants up, goes back to the computer and happily accepts her one M & M for trying.

11:05 AM - Jeremy and I are contemplating a change of venue.  As great a play area the basement area is, after 2 + hours down here, it's getting old.  The plants have to be watered anyway, so maybe it's time to head outside.  Just as we are planning what to do, Emma shouts for her perch at the computer desk that she has to go potty! Hooray! Could this be it? Could this be the first time she's going to make it to the potty?  On the way over, she says, 'Then I can get another M & M!' Ahh ... she's just 'gaming' us.  Oh well, I don't care.  The more time she spends on the potty, the more likely it is that she gets a 'hit'.  She ends up sitting there for a few sips of water and 3 books.  Nothing.  Ugh! Well, at least, we haven't changed underpants in about an hour.

11:25 AM - Time to head outside! Maybe using the hose to water her garden will give her the urge to pee!

4:35 PM - Almost 8 hours into our potty training experience and we've been through about as many pairs of underpants.  Shortly after getting outside, which was just a few minutes after trying the potty inside, she peed.  Changed the underwear, watered the garden, and while on a trip up on the deck to get some toys out of her playhouse, we heard, "Oh no, I'm peeing!" Once again, we cleaned her up, this time just putting her pj pants back on sans underwear since naptime was close.  Nap time was spent in a pull-up.  Of course, it was wet when she woke up.  Andrew and Jen came over to hang out for awhile.  While she was happy to show off her underpants, she was not as happy to try sitting on the potty again. Reluctantly, and with some coaxing from all of us, she tried.  Nothing.  10 minutes later, Aunt Jen heard and 'Uh oh' and noticed the pee running down her leg.  Change number 7 (I think) turned into change number 8 soon after when we realized she had her first poop accident.  So much worse than her pee accidents, but the first one is behind us now.  She's starting to get highly annoyed when asked to try the potty.  I'm not giving up, but starting to wonder if this is helping or hurting our cause.

5:14 - Jeremy has been searching the internet for potty training videos that Emma can watch.  He stumbled up on an Asian cartoon of a tiger learning to go potty complete with illustrated 'Pee' and 'Poop' characters. That is the one, of course, that Emma wants to watch on repeat.  Can't understand a word of it, but she just wants to keep watching it. Oh well, if it helps, I'm all for it.

7:36 PM - Ahhhh.  Emma is in bed in a diaper until morning.  She didn't want to try the potty after dinner, but she also didn't have another accident after the poop so I didn't really mind.  I'm sure she's not thrilled about Day 2, but I can't say I am either.  She did like wearing underpants though and I was proud of her for doing it all day.

Wish us luck tomorrow!