Potty Training: Part 1

Yep, we're potty training. I spent four straight days at home last weekend. Worrying about pee, talking about pee, cleaning up pee.

Not exactly the best weekend ever.

We made it through our first serious push, but we're not there yet.

Here are some lessons I've learned thus far:

•  Big girl undies are comfortable. The first few times Amelia put them on, she said "Oooh, Mommy! These are cozy!" Often followed by a cute little dance. This kid can always find a reason to dance.
• Comfort does not equal dryness. Despite Amelia's excitement and promises to keep the big girl pants dry, we were subject to repeated accidents. Five in the first three hours. Who knew those little bodies could pee so much?
• A preschooler's timing can be waaay off. I'm not sure how many times I heard, "Mommy! I have to go potty!", followed by my instantaneous mad dash over to my child. My often wet, dripping child. 
• Sometimes it has to be their idea. By Saturday afternoon, I had nearly driven myself mad. Asking and asking and stressing over potty time. Fighting disappointment with every accident. At this point, we decided to quit. We told Amelia that we were going to lay off and let her wear the Pull-Up again. I felt a twinge of failure, but relaxed for the first time in two days. About an hour later, playing outdoors, Amelia gave the panic potty yell. Shocked, we jumped up and ran inside. Her Pull-Up was very nearly dry! And she insisted on the big girl undies again.
• 2-1/2 year olds are masters at lying. I remember when I was first shocked & dismayed by my little girl's lying. Now it's pretty much a regular thing. Potty training brought out a whole new level of lying. According to Amelia, she is never wet. Or stinky. And she never has to go potty. She may have a craving for a treat and indulge her mama with a trip to the potty to obtain said treat. But she never really has to "go"
• #2 is freaking impossible. I have no idea when she will decide to go poopie in the potty. There is no other lie as emphatic as the "no" I get regarding this subject. No she's not going #2, no she's not dirty. No, she doesn't want a special treat. The child will stop what she's doing and hide behind the curtains. Never, ever admitting what's really going on. No amount of coersion can get her out of her hiding spots at this time. Even the promise of an extra special big treat won't cut it. So I'm trying to perfect the easiest and least revolting method of cleaning out dirty big girl pants.
• There is nothing wrong with baby steps. The sarcastic me is coming out tonight. But really, it has been going fairly well. When we first began, Amelia had no idea when to go potty or how to hold it. Now, even if she has a small accident, she is able to make it to the potty before a little leak becomes a major disaster. She totally understands the concept and accidents now trigger emotional meltdowns. She has such a desire to learn and master this concept - and that is good enough for now.
• Consistency is good... but so is life.  I stayed home for 4 days with Amelia wearing her big girl pants. I held so much anxiety about whether she needed to go, when she last went, how much. Finally, I decided to chill out. We went to the playground Monday afternoon while she wore Pull-Ups. She went to school in her Pull-Ups this week. It is true that Pull-Ups feel drier than big girl pants, but she was still able to tell me when it was time to "go". And she had only one accident at school the first day! So moving forward, we'll encourage the big girl pants at home, but keep those Pull-Ups handy so we can get out and live life. No more cabin fever for me!

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