Potty Training Woes and Successes

Everyone has been telling me to be patient, that Sheila will potty train when she is ready. That there will be signs. I waited and waited. I tried different things. I tried bribing her with her favorite candy, I tried promising her a trip to McDonalds and a cake when she starts wearing panties, I have tried having her just wear panties so she can feel the wetness and ickiness.

She started school yesterday and they have a potty schedule. I learned today when I dropped her off that she had only one accident yesterday and that she used the potty. I decided I needed to follow a similar schedule. As I sat home today gearing up for the confrontation I would face when she got home I started to really doubt my ability to be a mother. I have heard people tell about how all of a sudden their child wanted to potty train and would practically do everything themselves. It seems to be a magical number around 3. Well, that magical number never came for us. Was I doing something wrong? Was I not trying hard enough? Did I need to just sit back and wait or did I need to get a little meaner? I watched shows, asked questions to other mothers, read books but nothing helped Sheila and I with the issue.

So anyway back to gearing up for the confrontation. I knew she would not be happy with me and decided not to prolong it. I would put her on the potty as soon as she got home. I even came up with the idea to put her potty in mom and dad's bathroom and make it special. Also that bathroom is a lot further away from Timmy's room who was taking a nap at the moment.

Sure enough a fight insued. I thought I would have to chase her around the house but she did sit there but she cried and cried. I tried to take her mind off of it. I sang to her, shown her pictures on my camera phone, and other distractions. But she did not calm down. I let her get off, gave her a hug, and reassured it that it would be okay but told her she would have to sit again in about half an hour until she went peepee on the potty.

A little over an half an hour later the fight was on. She had woken her brother during her first tantrum over the potty and so I had moved her potty back into her bathroom. I tried to get Timmy to sit with Sheila but he didn't want to do it. After a few minutes I let her get off and decided to try to get her in a better mood before I tried again.

I gave the kids a snack and an hour later put her on again. I kept checking back every so often. After about five minutes I go in to get her off and she is standing up looking in the potty. She had a dribble of peepee in there. I made a big deal of it. We poured it in the big potty and she got to flush the potty and then we did the peepee dance and I gave her a hug and a kiss.

I called my husband who was on his way home and he was so excited. So when he got home I had Sheila tell her daddy. She then said she wanted to peepee in the potty for daddy. He took her in there and within a few seconds she had went. We made a big deal about it again. Half an hour later she told me she wanted to peepee in the potty again too and so we went again and sure enough she did. We made a big deal about it again. Finally some success. She hasn't peed on the potty since she was about 2.

But as they say take two steps forward and one step back. I did not expect her to be potty trained after the first time but when she started to tell me she needed to go I was hopeful it would keep it. But then she had a number 2 accident in her pants and then it became a fight again. I am bound and determined to keep up with the schedule though. Every hour on the hour and she sits there for a few minutes or until she goes. My husband's aunt told me something a few weeks back to kind of make me feel better. She said, "You have to remember she won't be in diapers when she is 15." I will celebrate the day she is no longer in diapers.