Adventures in Potty Training

Note to Readers: An alternate title to this blog was going to be "Don't give me advice about potty training", but I thought that was too harsh. Don't get me wrong; I have had fantastic advice from all my friends, and their support has been wonderful. I have used many tips and suggestions. However, my cuppeth overfloweth. I'm good. And I am a wee bit sensitive at this point. So, please refrain from advice-giving. :)

Thursday: Right before bed, Em utters the fatal words "I don't want to wear diapers." I jump on that with the ferocity of girlfriends "sharing" a slice of chocolate cake. I make a plan. Okay, this weekend, we are POTTY TRAINING.

Friday: Potty training begins. I change Em into her panties. She is very excited. I am nervous. We talk a lot about things I never imagined discussing with another person: our favorite underwear, how to use the potty, what we can do on the potty to make the time more pleasant. Em takes her first sit after breakfast. I let her get up after a bit. 10 minutes later, I hear screaming. Em is in her room, standing in a puddle, very upset. We get cleaned up, change clothes, and refocus.

Later that day, friends come over for dinner. Very kind, understanding friends who have a recently potty trained daughter. They make me feel much better, especially when Em has not one, but two accidents that evening. She hadn't gone all day since her first accident, so these displays were quite impressive, so much so that I had to change outfits. Awesome.

Saturday: Being at home is getting a little stale, but I don't feel comfortable taking Em out and I don't want to confuse her with diapers. So we hang out at home. Within one hour of waking up, I am considering throwing in the towel. Em has two accidents. She just doesn't seem to know when she has to go.

My mom comes over and is very supportive. She expresses a lot of excitement to Em about using the potty. Still, we have a BIG accident right before dinner. Ugh.

While I am frustrated, I am learning some valuable lessons:

* Emerson is not motivated by candies or toys
* Reading books to her was a great suggestion made by many friends; she'll stay on the potty much longer if I read to her
* I really need to pay attention to my instincts
* My daughter is a camel (she never pees)
* Perhaps I need to make sure Em drinks more
* I have no idea how people do this when they don't get weeks off at a time during the summer

Sunday: I decide that we need to get out, so my mom, Justin, Em, and I head out to breakfast. We (mostly me) are not ready to go out without a back-up plan, so Em is wearing a pull-up. She had a dry diaper in the morning and did not go pee during breakfast. I was sure she'd use the toilet when we got home, but nope.

During her nap, Emerson does go in her diaper. Justin and I are a little concerned that she is waiting for her diapers to relieve herself. However, she went the whole day without an accident and actually sat on the potty of her own accord once. Hey, I'll take that as progress.

We are pretty much home-bound this week, so I think we'll continue to work on the potty training. Wish me luck!