Potty Training Ella

Most of you know that I have been potty training Ella for about a year. She showed early interest, so we thought- why not!? I was hoping I would be one of those parents that had their kid trained before two. What a mistake that was! Part of the problem is that we weren't as consistent as we should have been, but the other part of the problem was that our strong willed child wanted to do things on her terms. By her 2nd birthday, Ella COULD have been trained, but she refused. Sometimes she would agree to go on the potty, sometimes not. But she knew exactly what to do, how to do it, etc.

Mark and I were constantly frustrated for the next 6 months. We had been told not to put too much pressure on her or she would rebel so we'd constantly ask her if she wanted to go, but her answer was usually no. Finally I decided to put her inn underwear, I though maybe feeling wet/dirty would push her over the hump... but no, that didn't work either and was just a HUGE mess for me. We tried rewards, bribes, we went shopping for underwear, we pointed out all the "big kids" who didn't wear diapers. We bought books and videos on potty training, and even an Elmo doll that "goes" on the potty. NOTHING was working.

Finally, with Charlie's arrival just days away, I knew we needed a break. Luckily, a friend with another strong willed girl gave us some great advice. She told us to totally STOP the potty training cold turkey. No talking about it, no asking Ella if she needs to go, no acting disappointed when she went in her diaper... NOTHING. So we did it. It was interesting... all the sudden Ella realized she wasn't getting any attention anymore. She would bring up potty stuff out of the blue, saying things like "Mom, remember when I pooped!?" and laugh hysterically, trying to get a rise out of us. Or she would go in her diaper and request to be changed immediately. We would tell her we were busy and she would have to wait. It was pretty funny to watch her get frustrated that she wasn't getting all the attention she used to.

Finally, after three weeks of no potty training, we headed out to a neighborhood birthday party where one of our neighbors starting asking Ella why she was still wearing diapers. When we got home that evening, Ella requested to sit on the potty, went pee and then told me she would like to wear underwear. I was SHOCKED. I marched her downstairs where I made her repeat her request to her Dad and my Mom (who was in town visiting). We all told her that she could wear underwear if she wants, but she had to throw away all of her diapers. She agreed! We went though the house and found all of her diapers and she put all of them into a trash bag that her Dad "took out to the trash". Success!

We've been in underwear for over three weeks now and she has only asked for diapers back ONCE. It's been a lot of work, but now I know its totally worth it. Even though we put her on the potty every hour or so, the first week we were averaging 1-2 accidents a day plus I was constantly washing sheets. We're not really trying to get her nighttime trained just yet, but just felt like putting her in pull-ups at nap and nighttime was sending a mixed signal.

But as of today, we have had 5 days with no accidents and 2 days with no washing sheets. Yeah! We rewarded her yesterday with the two gifts she has been requesting since all this potty training nonsense started: a guitar and a Curious George doll.

Congrats Ella!!!