Well we finally had time to potty train Amber this week. Unfortunately I am 32 weeks along and it did make it a little more interesting. For instance when I had to "run" Amber to the potty most might not consider it a run as much as a fast waddle. However, we had decided a few months ago to use the 3 day potty training method and this was the first time there were enough days that I didn't have to work or go to school, and Amber didn't have to go to school. So off we went on Sunday with potty training. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 3 day potty training method I basically ate, breathed, and slept potty training. I spent all day with Amber with her right by my side.
Day 1: She was very excited about her big girl panties and throwing all her diapers away. As far as potty training it was what you would expect from a child who hadn't used a potty for what it is for. In the past she had sat on the potty and thought that is what going potty was. She had about a dozen accidents and didn't go in the potty once. I was very consistent though every time I saw her tinkle I ran her to the bathroom and sat her on her potty. This was fun because as I was taking her to the potty she would still be peeing. So I had to find the pee trail to clean up. I also made sure to be positive, and not punish her for wetting her diaper. It was also good because Amber learned what her body was doing. Before we started I don't think she really understand what the potty was really for and what her body was doing. We started not letting her drink after 6 and sent her to bed at 8. Overall it was still a productive day.
Day 2: She did have an accident in the morning and she tried to come and tell me but she slipt on her on pee. After that she did really well she did "wet" in her underwear but she was able to stop and tell me and I took her to the potty. I believe her slipping on her own pee made her realize she should not pee while running. It also helped her learn control. She peed twice in the potty and was dry after her nap, yay. She was calls going potty, "water", so that is what I called it. After she went to bed I waited about and hour and got her up, although technically she hadn't gone to sleep yet, and took her to the potty. Her bed was dry but she told me when I got her up that she didn't have any water and she was all empty.
Day 3: I woke Amber up at 7, about an hour before she normally wakes up, and she had only wet the bed a little. She didn't pee for almost 6 hours so I started to play running water and after her telling me a couple times and taking her to the potty, and nothing happening, she finally went. She held on so long that it hurt when she peed. I think she was afraid to get her panties wet so she decided to just not pee. She only wet just a little during her nap. She was finally figuring out her body. During dinner Amber started acting like she was going to poop so I rushed her to the bathroom. She pooped in the potty on the first try. I was so happy because I have heard horror stories about the pooping. She peed a total of 4 times in the potty. I couldn't believe how much had changes in her in a few days. We didn't put her to bed until he peed twice in the potty. When I went to check on her an hour after she went to bed she was still dry and said she didn't need to go.
Day 4: Yes I realize this is a 3 day training program and I am talking about day, but since Amber was older I knew it might take longer because she was set in her ways. Some might say stubborn, like her mom. She did wake up wet again. She had one accident because she was playing and not paying attention. I started to make a bigger deal out of her peeing in the potty than her being dry, hoping to help her be more willing to go potty. I think she was still afraid to go to the potty so she was holding it for a very long time. She did wake up dry from her nap, yay. I had to play some water music again to try to get her to pee before bed, but finally around 8 she went pee. I got her up 1 hour after we put her to bed, and she did go potty, yay. I talked to my sister Mandi about Amber still wetting the bed and decided to wake her up around 1230 to get her to go potty, and even being half asleep she went potty.
Day 5: This was the first day that she finally woke up dry. This was really the last big hurdle to overcome for potty training. She also made it all day without a single accident. She went potty about 10 times as well, one of those was a poopy! I was concerned about going to school and leaving her with Steve because I had done all of the potty training. I thought that she might not want to go for him. She had no problems though.
I think that we can finally stop holing our breath and can officially say that Amber is potty trained. She was probably potty trained around day 3 or 4, but the extra day or two was really more for me than it was for her. I wanted to make sure that she was really ready before we went anywhere so that she did not regress or anything. So we are officially diaper free, well until the new baby is born!
Overall I am very pleased with this potty training. Even though it might have taken a little longer than 3 days, it was still less than a week. Also, it was a lot shorter than how long I have known others to take to potty train. I would highly recommend this method of potty training to anyone who is potty training, or will be potty training in the future. I believe with Catherine we will not wait as long to potty train. More than likely we will do it around 22 months.
