Potty Training

Oh the joys of potty training. The idea of being free from diapers, lifting a 30 pound kid onto a changing table enticed us enough to begin. I kept putting it off but finally took the first step when my diapers ran out. I was told to be prepared for lots of messes, to not leave the house for 2 weeks and to put her on the potty every 20 minutes. Not a problem. Doesn't sound that bad. Game on.

Hailey was always interested in sitting on the potty, (pre training) it was fun and why not, she got a sticker and an m&m after. M&M's worked for a while but they soon lost their effectivness. Stickers are always fun but didn't motivate her enough to keep it going. The first few days were tiring, felt like all we did was sit on the toilet but she took care of busines every time she sat down. Then finally one day 'it' happened. Brad and I were eating lunch, then she padded off to the bathroom, informing daddy of what she was about to do. Shortly after one of us did a potty dance with Hailey celebrating a big victory; I won't say who :)

I started thinking, this is awesome, it only took us a few days, she's got it. Um nope. Something changed and she started peeing in my office right in front of me and not holding anything in. Ugh! We were at a lose, I thought my doughnut strategy was working but I was wrong and my creative juices had trickeled to a stop. What else could I do to help motivate this little girly to get excited about being a big girl?

I recently searched "train" on netflix and I stumbled across this show called "Dinosar Train". She LOVES it. It's really short and there aren't many episodes but it's her new favorite. We also went to the pool with our friends and her daughter had a purple and pink dinosar. So I went to the dollar store, bought her a few cheap toys and wrapped them up. I didn't have enough to wrap her new dinosar so I thought that was ok. Nope, bad move mom. The tail and head stuck out and it tortured poor Hailey for a day and a half. She had a tantrum on the toilet because she wanted to poop so badly to get that dinosar. I felt terrible so I thought I'll just move it that'll make it better...yet another terrible idea from mommy. This started a full blown tantrum with her on the toilet. Poor girl. Finally she achieved her goal and she has been kissing and hugging that dinosar all day, she's even sleeping with it.

So we are on the up swing and I hope it keeps getting better. She's tested us and I almost quit and bought more diapers but I just couldn't do it. I tasted the freedom and I liked it.