Kamille was 2.5 years old when we started toilet training with her. Back then we chose to follow Lora Jensen's 3 day potty training strategy because others had success with it. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was completely blown away with how successful it was for her. She went from wearing nappies to not wearing nappies in three days and nights. It wasn't easy and it was three days of 1:1 attention and planning for putting her on the toilet throughout the night, but she did it and I was amazed.
It was only a matter of time before my little girl wanted to be a big girl like her big sis. Karis had started showing signs of wanting to try out the potty just before she was 2 years old - typical from what I have read. Back then Kevin seemed to want to get her going on the potty training, but me, not so much. It was only just before she turned two that she had grown out of her cloth nappies and that was enough growing up for me for the time.
But it was apparent that Karis had her own ideas and she was following the lead of her best girly friends at daycare and started to "try" out the potty. Pretty soon she was coming home from daycare with stamps up her arms, letting me know that she had been successful and had done pee on the potty a number of times each day. But I was steadfast on implementing the three day training at home and so I needed three full days where I could give her all of my attention and have Kevin around so that Kamille didn't feel left out of it all. The only thing in my way of that was that I was knee deep in my term at school and I knew that I couldn't give it my all. I assured Kevin and her daycare that I would be on it as soon as I finished my final term paper mid-March.
And I did.
In preparation we needed lots of undies, and so I got Kamille to hand-down to Karis all of the undies that she was not wearing or were too small. Karis and I packed up every single nappy in the house. Originally the ideas was that we would have the Potty Fairy come during the night and take them away, but both girls got a bit scared of having a nighttime "visitor" and so Karis and I made an agreement that I would take them to her daycare so the "babies" could have them. I couldn't believe this was happening. My baby was growing up. She was so excited about it all. I was a tad emotional.
On the night before it all began, I pulled the tabs on her final diaper and commented on it being the last diaper I would ever do up. Sniff, sniff. Kevin thought I was ridiculous. Kamille and Karis were super excited for it to start in the morning.
The next morning before taking off her diaper, I did what any mother would do to preserve this moment...I had a photo shoot with her.
She was so cute rolling around on the ground. She knew it was her last nappy.
She's my baby and I just had to capture this last little bit of baby-ness about her.
And just like that, the diaper came off, the undies when on and we were at it.
1:1 all. day. long.
A verbal running of.....
"You let me know when you need to go pee."
"Mommy is so proud of you."
"You are such a big girl for doing pees on the potty."
"You let me know when you need to do pee."
"Wow! You are such a big girl Karis!"
Over and over and over.
And you know what...our first day was a huge success!!!
The glass inserts on our bathroom door allowed us to keep a tally. Kamille was in charge of ticking off the boxes. By the end of the first day it was apparent that Karis preferred the potty over the potty seat on the toilet, and that she wasn't keen to do poops on either, but over all, she had 10 hits in the potty and 3 misses.
She was totally motivated by "loon" stamps!
Unlike Kamille, Karis was not cool with me getting her up at night to have a "try" on the potty. Eventually I gave up and just opted to see what would happen. I was awoken at 5am to the sound of Karis complaining about her wet crib. Not bad I thought.
Day two was a daycare day and since this toilet training business really started there, I figured she'd have no troubles. What I wasn't anticipating is the run around in the morning before daycare. There was no security of the nappy being on, so I was trying to get up and ready, while ensuring the girls were ready AND running the "Let me know....You are such a big girl now......" verbal drill just so that she wouldn't go pee in her pants, on the floor or on the couch as we are scrambling to get out the door on time. (Kevin was away and I was really wishing I had an extra person that morning).
However, we did make it out dry and she was so proud to show-off her new undies to her teachers and friends! I even picked her up at the end of the day wearing the same pants and undies I dropped her off in! YAY! Night #2 did burst my bubble though.
Oh man. Karis did not settle easily throughout the night and she would wake up, call for me, but then refuse to go when I put her on the potty. Over and over this happened and then every time I put her in the crib she peed. Argh! I was feeling very defeated and really doubting my idea of committing to this ridiculousness at night. I wanted to sleep so bad. I wanted Karis to sleep so badly too but she just seemed distressed. It just didn't seem like it was going to happen.
It was pouring rain that night and the rain was hitting the skylights in Karis' room pretty heavily. I knew that the nappies we had packed away and were still outside in my car. I thought about them. I remembered that this was exactly the reason you give them away so that you don't cave. It was 3am, I was losing my mind. I so badly wanted to run outside, but as Stacey and I always agree on, no good ideas ever happen at 3am so I wasn't sure if putting a nappy on was a 3am rational or irrational decision. I wanted someone to tell me what to do. Give in and run outside in the rain at 3am to get a nappy from my car, or stick with the plan and not cave??? What do I do???
In the midst of these thoughts and remaking Karis' bed for the 3rd time that night, I was frantically searching for more clean jammies and underwear in her dresser drawers. And in pushing things aside, I came face to face with a random diaper that must have been hiding under some clothing. What a feeling! In a text message to Stacey the next morning, I had compared myself at that point saying, "I felt like a recovering addict finding cocaine." I was holding temptation in my hand. I kicked the manual and I caved. It was obvious that it was what Karis needed too. She and I finally settled down for bed at nearly 3:30am that night.
By the morning, Karis had pooped out the poop that was likely keeping her up at night (into the nappy) and we started fresh with a clean pair of undies. Day 3 saw only one pee and poop accident during her nap, but for the rest of the day she was doing it all on her own! After reading my frantic text message, Stacey showed up at my house with some spare nappies and the "OK" I was needing to keep them on her at night. Thank you!!!!!!!! What a relief I felt to be able to put her down for a long and comfortable sleep wearing a nappy to bed. It was definitely the right choice to deviate from the program we were following.
And if it wasn't for the diarrhea that she got in the next couple days I am sure we would have been able to work more successfully with getting her to do poops on the potty, however her bum was just to runny and so we spared her the agony and put a diaper on her for comfort. We were happy to see her insisting that she take off her diaper to do pees though! ; ) What a big girl!
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| Not lovin' the idea of having to poop! Her baby doll is wrapped up in her blanket sling with her. |
Its has now been 12 days of wearing undies. I can honestly say that I don't even need to prompt her to do pee anymore. Just today I found pee in her potty and I wasn't even aware that she had gone! We've been on trips out in the community and she's doing really well at daycare too. No pee accidents since Day 3 during her nap. WOW!
a potty to go. we brought the red potty on our walk and so when karis said she had to go we stopped into london drugs to hang out in their bathroom. success!
Poops are another story. She had a runny bum for a bit but thats better now. She has usually pooped before I take her nappy off in the morning, but if not, an accident usually happens during the day.
When Kamille was going through this, we had the Potty Fairy deliver a magic potty wand that would help her to feel safe and comfortable to do poops on the toilet. It seemed to work well for her so I think we might be send a message off to the Potty Fairy to request a special delivery. Karis seemed to think it would be a good idea when I mentioned it to her. ; )
Oh the joys!
And still such an experience to want to remember!
So proud of my little baby doing big girl things!
