Potty Training: Day .5

A couple of months ago, my friend forwarded me the 3 Day Potty Training Manual that she used and considered a huge success. I did a little more research on the method and found wonderful reviews. Without going into too much detail, the idea is to stick close to your child for 3 days, catch them in the act of "going" and redirect them to the potty (more or less). I made up my mind to do this months ago, but was having a hard time finding a free 3 days to actually commit.

Caroline has been showing signs for a couple of months that she was ready to start being potty trained. I started to notice a change in her facial expressions and body stance when she was wetting her diaper. And then she would hide and get quiet when she ::you know:: in her diaper. We got her a "big girl potty" a while back and she used it from time to time, with our prompting, and we gave her a big marshmallow as a reward each time she successfully went.

The straw that broke the camel's back? Last week after she had peed in the potty she ran away from us and went in her room to shut the door. After a couple of minutes of letting her be alone, her Daddy and I walked in and she was attempting to put a diaper back on herself. I say "attempting" because if she had actually had the diaper on right instead of backwards I really think she would have succeeded. Wally and I looked at each other and said "This is enough."

So, off to Walmart I went. I bought about 6 packs of undies because that's what EVERYBODY has said to do. And what do I know? I really hadn't intended on starting this weekend but by around lunch time on Saturday I realized that I had nothing to do until work on Monday so why the heck not?

So, begin Potty Training: Day .5 I'm obviously not following the 3 Day Potty Training to a tee because I started late within the weekend, but I am most certainly committed to following the method as closely as I can. I may be over-thinking this or shooting myself in the foot and prolonging the process, but it's a start and it's not going to last forever (is it?).

The first (half) day went well. She had some accidents, but I have to give her credit. She rarely has full blown accidents. Caroline tends to tinkle in her drawers, then can stop herself and hold it until she makes it to the potty. I think that's half the battle right there. There were also times when she realized she had to go and held it until she went to the potty. Even better! Plus she gets SOOOO excited when she goes.

Stay tuned for the entire journey, whether you like it or not! HAHA!