I decided to go hardcore with the potty training today. It was a long time coming for Anna who can and has used the potty but only very sporadically and for the past few months has flat-out refused to go in anything other than a diaper. Seriously, the girl would have to pee so bad she was in physical pain but instead of just sitting on the potty she would lay on the floor screaming for a diaper. Being her father's daughter she seems to automatically resist whatever other people want her to do. Rachel seems to want to do (or at least try) everything Anna does, and I am afraid she will start this potty refusal act too. I was quickly tiring of this battle of the wills - my refusing to give Anna a diaper and Anna refusing to pee in the potty. So today I made the girls go cold turkey. I figured if I'm doing it with Anna I might as well at least try it with Rachel. At almost two-and-a-half she's old enough to start potty training and she loves to sit on the potty chair and pretend. So I told the girls there were no more diapers, period. All gone. Here is a summary of my day, just for fun.
8:30 am - Girls wake up and I take off their diapers and give them panties.
8:39 am - Rachel cries as she pees and poops into her panties. I do the first of what will be many "it's ok, accidents happen, Mommy isn't mad" tear-wiping talks. After each of these accidents the girls sit on the potty.
9:03 am - Anna dances around singing a made up song about her beautiful big girl panties.
9:17 am - Rachel gives me an encore with another double shot in her panties. She then spends ten minutes happily sitting on the potty with her blankie watching Nick Jr.
10:30 - 11:30 am - Anna decides to eat non-stop for a full hour.
12:10 pm - The girls talk me into putting on The Little Mermaid.
12:14 pm - Anna tells me she wants to take a nap so she can put on a diaper. I remind her that there are no more diapers. She looks a little desperate and repeats that she doesn't want to go in the potty. I tell her that's the only option other than peeing in her panties.
12:26 pm - Rachel wets her pants again.
1:04 pm - Anna starts to cry "I'm going peepee!" from her perch on a couch pillow. I sweep her onto the potty seat but it's too late, she's soaked and there's a tiny bit of poop in her panties. She's beside herself and it takes a few minutes to calm her down.
1:30 pm - Girls go for nap. I put Anna down in her panties but sneak a diaper onto Rachel after I close Anna's door.
1:33 pm - I consider doing a load of laundry but decide to wait until Anna wakes up because I will surely need to wash her bedding.
1:34 pm - I consider starting to drink early but decide that I will need energy this afternoon so I have a glass of water.
1:40 - 3:20 pm - I watch About a Boy on my DVR and I actually find it kind of a cute movie.
3:40 pm - Anna wakes up TOTALLY DRY! I am so excited that I whisk her downstairs to see if she wanted to go to the potty but the resistance is back. I reward her for being dry with a Cars sticker (her choice) and she immediately demands a snack.
4:30 pm - Rachel wakes up and I sneak off her diaper before I bring her downstairs so Anna won't see. Rachel now suddenly decides she doesn't like the potty anymore. Fan-tastic. I reconsider the idea of alcohol but come to my senses before I can act.
4:30 - 6:00 pm - This time period is a blur of wet panties and crying toddlers interspersed with my attempt to feed them some semblance of dinner. Not a drop of pee lands in the potty. Anna starts the desperate pleas for a diaper. She's holding her crotch and crying and saying she doesn't want to go potty and she doesn't want me to be "happy" (this is her way of saying she doesn't want me to get all excited by any progress she may or may not make as the attention is apparently too stressful for her). She approaches the potty, acts like she's going to pull down her undies, then backs away and cries louder. This seems to go on forever and I chat with my sister for strength.
6:12 pm - Anna sits on the potty, cries for me not to look at her and finally, sweet Jesus, pees. I try not to get too "happy." She does accept the reward of 4 mini marshmallows, 4 chocolate chips and an Ariel sticker.
6:47 pm - Anna does it again without any prompting or fuss. She gets another sticker and even allows me to hug and kiss her.
7:00 - 8:45 pm - More peeing from Rachel, none of which goes in the potty. Large load of laundry started.
8:50 pm - Dan comes home from work and Rachel sits on the potty. And then she pees! That girl knows her timing. I reward her and wash out the potty seat.
8:53 pm - Rachel yells "I did it!" and brings me the potty seat which has a little more pee in it.
8:58 pm - Rachel yells "I did it!" and brings me the potty seat which has a little more pee in it.
9:02 pm - .... you guessed it. I crack up laughing as Rachel is apparently wringing out her bladder one drop at a time. I make her sit down and stay there and she pees even more.
9:30 pm - Anna pees in the potty again. I never in my life thought I would be this happy about it all. More stickers all around and wind-down time with Daddy as the girls bask in their victories.
10:00 pm - I start to take Rachel up to bed and she notices the potty and announces she has to go again. She sits down and lo and behold she's got more. I take her upstairs and put a diaper on for the night.
10:10 pm - Anna goes to bed with big girl panties, although they are the extra padded kind and we told her they are night time panties for big girls. Whatever, she went to bed happy.
If you've gotten this far you are clearly a glutton for punishment. Or the parent of a toddler. As if there's a difference.
8:30 am - Girls wake up and I take off their diapers and give them panties.
8:39 am - Rachel cries as she pees and poops into her panties. I do the first of what will be many "it's ok, accidents happen, Mommy isn't mad" tear-wiping talks. After each of these accidents the girls sit on the potty.
9:03 am - Anna dances around singing a made up song about her beautiful big girl panties.
9:17 am - Rachel gives me an encore with another double shot in her panties. She then spends ten minutes happily sitting on the potty with her blankie watching Nick Jr.
10:30 - 11:30 am - Anna decides to eat non-stop for a full hour.
12:10 pm - The girls talk me into putting on The Little Mermaid.
12:14 pm - Anna tells me she wants to take a nap so she can put on a diaper. I remind her that there are no more diapers. She looks a little desperate and repeats that she doesn't want to go in the potty. I tell her that's the only option other than peeing in her panties.
12:26 pm - Rachel wets her pants again.
1:04 pm - Anna starts to cry "I'm going peepee!" from her perch on a couch pillow. I sweep her onto the potty seat but it's too late, she's soaked and there's a tiny bit of poop in her panties. She's beside herself and it takes a few minutes to calm her down.
1:30 pm - Girls go for nap. I put Anna down in her panties but sneak a diaper onto Rachel after I close Anna's door.
1:33 pm - I consider doing a load of laundry but decide to wait until Anna wakes up because I will surely need to wash her bedding.
1:34 pm - I consider starting to drink early but decide that I will need energy this afternoon so I have a glass of water.
1:40 - 3:20 pm - I watch About a Boy on my DVR and I actually find it kind of a cute movie.
3:40 pm - Anna wakes up TOTALLY DRY! I am so excited that I whisk her downstairs to see if she wanted to go to the potty but the resistance is back. I reward her for being dry with a Cars sticker (her choice) and she immediately demands a snack.
4:30 pm - Rachel wakes up and I sneak off her diaper before I bring her downstairs so Anna won't see. Rachel now suddenly decides she doesn't like the potty anymore. Fan-tastic. I reconsider the idea of alcohol but come to my senses before I can act.
4:30 - 6:00 pm - This time period is a blur of wet panties and crying toddlers interspersed with my attempt to feed them some semblance of dinner. Not a drop of pee lands in the potty. Anna starts the desperate pleas for a diaper. She's holding her crotch and crying and saying she doesn't want to go potty and she doesn't want me to be "happy" (this is her way of saying she doesn't want me to get all excited by any progress she may or may not make as the attention is apparently too stressful for her). She approaches the potty, acts like she's going to pull down her undies, then backs away and cries louder. This seems to go on forever and I chat with my sister for strength.
6:12 pm - Anna sits on the potty, cries for me not to look at her and finally, sweet Jesus, pees. I try not to get too "happy." She does accept the reward of 4 mini marshmallows, 4 chocolate chips and an Ariel sticker.
6:47 pm - Anna does it again without any prompting or fuss. She gets another sticker and even allows me to hug and kiss her.
7:00 - 8:45 pm - More peeing from Rachel, none of which goes in the potty. Large load of laundry started.
8:50 pm - Dan comes home from work and Rachel sits on the potty. And then she pees! That girl knows her timing. I reward her and wash out the potty seat.
8:53 pm - Rachel yells "I did it!" and brings me the potty seat which has a little more pee in it.
8:58 pm - Rachel yells "I did it!" and brings me the potty seat which has a little more pee in it.
9:02 pm - .... you guessed it. I crack up laughing as Rachel is apparently wringing out her bladder one drop at a time. I make her sit down and stay there and she pees even more.
9:30 pm - Anna pees in the potty again. I never in my life thought I would be this happy about it all. More stickers all around and wind-down time with Daddy as the girls bask in their victories.
10:00 pm - I start to take Rachel up to bed and she notices the potty and announces she has to go again. She sits down and lo and behold she's got more. I take her upstairs and put a diaper on for the night.
10:10 pm - Anna goes to bed with big girl panties, although they are the extra padded kind and we told her they are night time panties for big girls. Whatever, she went to bed happy.
If you've gotten this far you are clearly a glutton for punishment. Or the parent of a toddler. As if there's a difference.
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