Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what a day.
By the time naptime rolled around today, I'd cleaned up four wet accidents (thankfully all but one of them happened on the kitchen floor) and we hadn't had a single success on the potty yet. I was ready to throw in the towel.
Rachel woke up around 7:00 this morning and immediately remembered that last night I showed her a Dora sticker chart and told her that tomorrow she'd be wearing big girl pants and using the potty, and if she used her potty she'd get to put a Dora sticker on her chart. She was so excited, and as soon as she remembered this morning, she asked to sit on the potty. So she did--for almost 45 minutes, the trooper! But nothing happened. I gave her apple juice. Nothing. We read books. Nothing. She drank milk and ate cheerios. Nothing. At one point she looked down and said, "Come on, pee pee!" Oh, how I wanted to give her one of those Dora stickers! She was trying so hard and wanted one so badly.
All morning she'd go to the potty as soon as I'd tell her to, sit for quite awhile, and do nothing. She'd get up to play some more and within a few minutes, produce a puddle on the floor. "Uh oh," she'd tell me.
Naptime came. I had her sit one more time and we read books (we normally read books before naptime, but usually it's in the rocking chair with her in my lap). I sat next to her on the bathroom floor, and she kept slowly inching her little bottom from the potty over to my lap. I'd move her back over to the potty, and slowly she'd make her way back over to my lap. Poor little girl--just wanted to be held. And I wanted to hold her. But not with a bare bottom which was a ticking time bomb. Finally I put a pull up diaper on her and let her sit and snuggle in my lap for a few minutes before bed. Ahhhhhhhhhh. Comfort and relief for both of us.
I was really hoping her pull up would be dry when I got her up. No such luck. When she got out of bed I put her on the potty, where she sat for about an hour (watching a video, so she was happy to sit still to watch). But nothing happened. Daddy came home and I left for a half hour or so to go the library (truth be told, I really needed to get out of the house!). While I was gone she had another accident. Daddy didn't do too well with that, I guess. She sat on the potty several times after that, but to no avail.
Now it's bedtime. No more chances for her sticker today. Poor little thing. She's been such a good sport and tried so hard all day. No tears or complaining, just asking every so often, "Can I have my sicker now?" My heart breaks as I have to tell her no, that she needs to use the potty first. She struggles to wiggle her pants down and sits back down to try some more, even without my telling her to. You can't fault her for not trying. It makes me so sad that she didn't get it.
So many times today I've wanted to just put a diaper on and have our happy day of play back. I want to hold her on my lap (without fear of getting wet). But I know I wouldn't be doing either of us any favors if I gave up now. I might have to, if we keep having unsuccessful days--maybe she just isn't ready--but I'm not quite ready to stop yet. Close, but not quite. Tomorrow is another day.
3 comments:
Hang in there! We used this method with both boys, and it took Andrew quite a while to get the hang of it. It's hard because that's ALL you do, and you feel like you're walking on pins and needles waiting for the next accident. Have you tried giving her a reward (we did a raisin or an M&M)when she stays dry? We started out doing "dry checks" every 5 minutes so that the boys got the idea of staying dry and also had some early success. Then I'd put them on the potty every 30 minutes or so, but I would only have them there for the length of one book. If they went on the potty, they got more rewards. If not, we'd go on with the dry checks and try the potty again in half an hour (or sooner if I thought they needed it). It takes some time for them to get the sense of what a full bladder feels like and how to go and how to hold it. Hang in there! It's a lot more work than diapers at first, but it's so great in the end!!!
P.S. Give me a call if you need some encouragement! :)
Oh, wow, you are doing a good job for perservering! I've tried panties yesterday and today for 1 hour each time, and gave in when she wanted to put the diaper back on. I want to do something "full force" like you are doing soon, but I feel like I need to read up on it a little bit first. Good luck, and I'll be checking in often to see how it's going for you!
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