Potty Queen

**Warning! Super Long Blog Entry. Short on time?

Here is the Summary...**

S......a is Fully Potty Trained!! No accidents for five days!!

Success with #1 and #2!! Goes on the BIG Potty!!

Way To Go S....a!!!!!

The Story: S.....a still being in diapers has been a real sore spot for me. I had lofty aspirations to have her potty trained by 30 months but Biddy's arrival put things on hold. Once life calmed down again we got out the potty but had little success. Three months later and not one drop of pee pee in the potty I decided to get serious. I researched dozens of methods and finally settled on the Three Day Potty Training Method. I picked the weekend and started getting prepared. Lo and behold I broke my foot so my potty training plans were a wash. While vacationing in UT S....'s third birthday came and still no potty. I was determined to start as soon as we got back to MA. Gall bladder Surgery dashed my hopes and another three weeks passed by. On Fir 12 June, just one week after surgery, I could not stand it one more day. I took away her diapers and that was the beginning of the end.....

The Challenge: S....a did not want anything to do with the Potty and she has unbelievable bladder control. She can hold her pee in for five or six hours. On top of that she has an absolute meltdown if we even walk by the bathroom. Despite the screams of terror we kept at it and eventually she got half her "accident" in the potty. We battled it out for three full days and by Sunday night I was at the end of my rope. The carpet saw far more action then the potty. The three day method had failed and I had no idea what I was going to do. Some sage advice from my Mom and some brain storming with Burke helped me develop a new plan. It was clear that S.....a needed to know that going pee pee on the potty was not an option. She had to do it no matter how unpleasant. She is three and perfectly old enough to understand consequences. I just needed to find some logical consequence (not punishment) for when she refused to sit on the potty. The reward part was easy, lots of candy:).

The Solution: When S.....a needed to go pee pee I would ask her to sit on the potty. If she refused she was not allowed to be in the family room because there was carpet in there. This worked for me because I refused to have any more pee on my carpet and bad for Susanna because all the toys and movies were in that room. It didn't take long for her to figure out that when the door locked I was serious. No amount of crying, screaming, begging or pretty please was going to get that door open. It was pee in the potty or no fun. Guess what she chose? By the middle of the day the most amazing thing happend she came up to me and told me that she needed to go pee in the potty. From there it was pretty much smooth sailing. We had #2 in the potty the next day. On Saturday she went pee pee in a public restroom!!! Today she decided the big potty was not scary anymore and I took the training potty downstairs. She can pull down her pants, sit, wipe and pull everything back on again all by herself. It is fantastic. I still get resistance when I suggest she goes on the potty so I have stopped suggesting and let her take the lead. She has not had an accident for five day so I feel like I can trust her. It is awesome and I am so proud of her for deciding to be a big girl and go on the potty!!! I can tell she is proud of her accomplishment too as she tells everyone that she is a a big girl now.