Pottygate

There comes a time in the life of every parent when they stop and think, "You know, I am REALLY tired of changing diapers. Let's get this kid potty trained." For me, that day came shortly after I got home from the hospital.

So, I waited 2 1/2 years and then I went out and bought the arsenal of potty training supplies: the Disney Princess step stool, the Sesame Street potty seat toilet insert, the potty itself, and the stickers....lots and lots of stickers. The idea was that I would bribe Katherine to sit on the potty and give her a sticker. Gradually, I'd become stricter about sticker distribution and require her to sit on the potty without a diaper and eventually get her to go to the bathroom. I had this whole thing planned out in my head, but of course, things never go according to plan.

First of all, Katherine was terrified of the potty seat and wouldn't sit on it, no matter how many prismatic fishy stickers I offered her. Then, a week or so later she tried to go potty on the step stool. Luckily she forgot to remove her diaper, so I was saved from cleaning up an icky mess. Then, a few days after that she decided that the potty was doing nobody any good in the bathroom and tried to move it to the living room and go potty while she watched TV.

It is now two months later and Katherine still has not successfully used the potty. She will not voluntarily sit on any toilet-related items in our house unless she is fully clothed. However, the potty is her favorite conversational subject. Whenever Grandma calls and talks to Katherine, it's all about mommy and daddy's bathroom habits or about how Elmo uses the potty (we've also been checking out potty movies and books from the library). She even tricked her nursery leader into thinking she had to use the bathroom. They got to the bathroom only to have Katherine balk at the sight of the toilets.

So, I have decided to wait. The potty is in the bathroom; the stickers are sitting in the kitchen, and eventually Katherine will decide that she wants to use them. I just hope I have it in me to wait with her.