Potty Boot Camp

 Last weekend we decided to embark on our greatest adventure since becoming parents: potty training. My friend Jennifer told me about the 3 day potty training boot camp and it sounded right up our alley. The basic gist is to quarantine yourself and child for 3 days and focus solely on the potty. We have done some potty training when we thought Grace was ready several months ago but looking back, the trouble was with being consistent.

To say that Saturday was stressful would be a grave understatement. Grace refused to use the potty and would scream and cry anytime we asked her if she needed to use it. She was excited about "big girl panties" and her reward of m&m's but not much else. She spent the day running into the bathroom and acting like she needed to go, then standing up promptly, declaring, "I'm done!" and asking for a "bean" (m&m). She also had at least seven accidents- it was so frustrating to watch her look right at us and then go on the floor. I believe I had two meltdowns and was ready to take her to PetsMart to see if they could handle her.

Sunday started out very stressful with her refusing to go to the bathroom. After hearing her yell, "my belly hurts," and watching her cross her legs for two hours, we decided we were going to tweak the system and make her sit until she went. (This is a big no-no according to the system, but I believe Dan's exact words were, "That book is fairies and unicorns and unless someone else is going to come in here and clean up all her accidents, we are going to sit here until she goes." That sentence pretty much sums up why I love my husband).
She screamed for 10 minutes and we basically held her down until she finally went. We repeated the process once more and from then on out, the child has been a potty-going machine. Something clicked that morning and she has only had one accident in six days. She is excited about picking out her panties every morning and has finally stopped asking for rewards. We have had a lot of success with number two since Monday night and she even used the bathroom at United one morning during a shopping trip.

We are still using pull-ups at night (another no-no according to the book) but she has been waking up dry so I think we may start trying to go all night soon. She has been waking up at least twice a night to go potty which has been hard on us, but I am grateful we can finally say we have a child that is potty trained.

If you want me to forward you the e-book, leave your email on the comment and I will send it to you. I may rename it "fairies and unicorns potty training manual" but I digress...