Day 79

Today was the 5th day of potty training. It was even better then yesterday. For one, we have had no accidents. Two, she managed to go to the bathroom every time we tried. It wasn't always a lot, but it was something. She even tried to go poop on the potty!

The weird thing is that I feel like I accomplished something too. Not only am I proud of Lucy, I'm proud of me. For some reason, this feels like one big milestone of being a parent. I learned what to expect and how I need to handle myself in situations when her stubborn attitude pushes me to the limit.

The thing I like best about this though is that she feels proud of herself. She smiles every time she goes potty and claps with more excitement then I've ever seen come out of her. You can see on her face that she feels like a big girl and just like her little friend Rori. Thanks to Rori, Lucy knew what a potty was and that big girls use it instead of diapers. Rori is older and Lucy thinks she is the most fascinating person on earth. Now Lucy thinks of herself as a big girl too and you can see on her face.

So if you want to know what I think you can do, here you go:

You need to have a large amount of these things on hand:
*Paper towels (to clean up accidents)
*Disinfectant (to clean up accidents)
*Treats (individual bags of treat work good in the beginning, smaller treats-like individually packed Reese peanut butter cups-work best once they "get" it)
*Stickers (LOTS of them-their favorite characters work best)
*A cool handmade chart to put the stickers on
*Cleaner for the potty chair (to sanitize)
*wipes for poop accidents
*floor cleaner to clean the floor at the end of the day
*easy to make meals (if you are alone) like pizza, reheated leftovers, anything that only keeps you away for 5 minutes or less
*Juice and lots of it
*loads of underwear

My own tips:
*don't let them drink a lot 2 hours before bed. Lucy still has milk with dinner, but the dry diaper scenario won't happen if they have a huge glass of water 5 minutes before going to sleep.
*start by trying to put your kid on the potty every hour for a few days before you take away the diapers. Just so they get used to the potty and the timing. BE CONSISTENT! Even you are shopping, stop at the store bathroom. Make looking for a bathroom a priority when you get places.
*Find a book you like and you know your child will like to hear about potty training
*have steps or potties in every bathroom of your house. You never know when you will have to run to the potty and running upstairs to the main bathroom isn't always an option.
*Spend at least 3 days solely focused on potty training. That means you probably can't leave the house and your housework will have to wait (unless its laundry-haha)
*Take away all diapers- ALL OF THEM! Keep them out of sight. I'm keeping a package of pull ups on hand for a while, but I don't plan to use them.
*roll up the carpets
*find a waterproof mattress pad for the couch if you are concerned about cleaning it
*make sure you are mentally ready for all the challenges that your kid will throw at you. And they will find ways you never dreamed of to drive you crazy.
*Talk to other parents. Every one does potty training different. No kid is the alike and the way they learn to potty train is never the same way.
*wait until your little one has had dry diapers after naps and in the morning consistently (I waited until Lucy's were for at least 3 weeks straight)
*most importantly-RELAX! There are going to be a lot of challenges, but in the end you'll both be super proud of yourselves!

I'm no expert on this whole thing. But I am one of the first people in my group of friends to do it. Lots of people ask me how I'm doing it and I'll tell them all to read this blog since I talked about it most here. I still think we have a ways to go, but the fact that she's going on the potty and hasn't had an accident makes me think I'm over 75% of the way there. Whew...that is a HUGE relief. Maybe I can put the diaper bag away for a while :)