Pottygate Revisited

I have what you would call a potty-training resistant child. I have been trying off and on for about a year and a half to get Katherine to use the toilet and without much success. She has excellent bladder control, the ability to follow directions, and interest in the goings-on in the bathroom and all the other clues to make a mom think that her child is ready to be potty trained. She just didn't despise the wet bum feeling enough to switch to underwear.

I tried everything you can think of to get her potty trained. I tried using reward systems with stickers, sticker charts, m&ms, Cheetos and finally Easter candy. I had hoped that I would hit on something Katherine liked enough to try using the potty. No dice.

I read Toddlerwise and tried the suggestions there, which were feeding your kid lots of juice and salty snacks to encourage lots of "need to go to the bathroom" situations and just practicing to death. That didn't work either.

My final attempt was cold turkey potty training where I took away the diapers and said, "Sink or swim." She could soil herself or use the potty. Four days of soiling herself (and the carpet and me and...) and not even trying to make it to the potty told me that at 3 1/2, Katherine just wasn't ready.

After Logan was born I decided that I needed to take a break for a while. I just couldn't handle the new challenges of raising 2 kids and then potty training on top of it. So, I waited till the end of the summer.

At the beginning of September, Casey and I decided that we had had enough and that we were going to get Katherine potty trained or die in the attempt. Since none of the previous ideas had worked, I thought I would try blending all of them together. I went out and bought some beads and m&ms and made sure I had plenty of carpet cleaner.

We put Katherine in underwear and I followed her around all day, waiting for the pee-pee dance, then we'd run to the potty and sit and read stories and sing. If she went, she got a bead for a potty necklace. If she didn't go, she got a few m&ms just for sitting and not flipping out. After she had successfully used the potty enough to complete the necklace, she would receive a Cinderella doll which I bought a year ago when I tried the bribing thing. She would also have a lovely piece of fashion jewelry that she made herself.

Finally finally Katherine decided that getting the beads and m&ms was worth using the potty. We had some messy days and some floods in her bed. Some of her stuffed animals needed a bath and the bathroom smelled a little funny for a while. But I am proud to announce that today--six days before her 4th birthday--Katherine got her Cinderella doll. She nearly peed her pants from excitement, but she didn't because she is POTTY TRAINED!!!!!!!

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think Katherine is pretty pleased to be a "big girl" now too.