Training, Training, 1, 2, 3 . . .

Okay, I am planning on documenting Sarah's potty training here more for myself than anything. Whether this is a successful venture or not, I know that one day I will want to look back and remember what we did. For many/most of you this is probably the least interesting topic EVER. So feel free to tune out for a few days. I do plan to post updates each day. I will just tag the updates on to the end of this post.

DAY 1:
So we have completed day 1 of our three-day attempt to potty train Sarah. And I must say at the end of day 1, I find myself asking whether Sarah even knew she was in training.

The goal of this strategy is to allow for and expect multiple accidents. Multiple accidents = multiple learning opportunities. I'll spare you the step by step, but know that Sarah is oblivious to any and all accidents. OBLIVIOUS. And she also has the bladder capacity of a . . . . of a . . . . um . . . . okay, I honestly don't know a good example. I am not an expert on bladder capacity. But let's just say that the kid can hold her water.

She only had two accidents all day long. Which isn't so impressive once I tell you that those were the only two times she peed all day long. And with both of those accidents she was clueless. One time, she was sitting in a puddle of her own urine, wet as a seal and happy as a lark. (now I've got synonyms-a-plenty)

So with both accidents, I followed the same routine:
Take her to the bathroom.
Explain where we put all our unwanted fluids.
Wipe her down.
Put dry panties on her.
Clean up the puddle that started this whole process.

We truly had a pretty stress free day. Sarah was happy to check for dryness all day. She was very proud when she would find that she was dry. (Although she was equally happy to pronounce herself dry when she was sopping wet). Since I truly don't think she was dry because she was TRYING to be dry, I have my doubts on how successful today was for the process. But we will see what tomorrow holds.

DAY 2:
So the lesson for today would be, "Careful what you type." Complaining about Sarah's lack of accidents was all it took to turn that right around. I think she had 6 or 7 accidents. And two of those accidents? Right on my lap. Yep.

But I am really not complaining. I was actually told to expect up to 20 accidents so Sarah is still way behind the curve. The day was good as far as I am concerned. She was willing to sit on the potty multiple times and even ALMOST managed to "go" on the potty right before bed time. Close, but no cigar. However, we celebrated as if it was mission accomplished.

Here is hoping that tomorrow will hold much more success. We had better get this thing figured out quick though because I have to be out of the house for part of the day on Friday so the new buyers can come in with the inspector. Somehow I don't think they will appreciate seeing a little girl pee all over their new home. Best keep that little tidbit a secret! Shhhhhhh.

DAY 3:
URF. That is the best word I can think of to describe how I feel right now. URF. Today was quite frustrating for me.

My sweet Sarah is making progress. She has finally proven that she is capable of holding her bodily fluids in her body. She managed to stay dry all afternoon. This is great! What is not great? Glad you asked. For some reason unknown to me, Sarah woke up this morning with a massive fear of the potty. Yesterday? They were pretty good friends. She sat on the potty several times. No problem. But today? Completely different scenario. Anytime I would take her cute little toosh anywhere near the potty she would have a fit. Cry, kick, shake her head no. And the few times I was actually able to get her on the potty, she was saying, "All done!" a nano-second after her bottom hit the seat. All I can figure is that she must have had some strange nightmares involving rogue toilets.

I am grateful that she is learning the art of controlling it, but would be even more thrilled if she would learn the art of releasing it at appropriate times.

So here we are at the end of day 3 and I can honestly say that my child is NOT potty trained. My current plan is to soldier on. I figure I will just continue with it and see who breaks first. I would say, "Good luck Sarah" since I am so stubborn, but if there is anything I have learned about my youngest is that she inherited her stubbornness from her Mommy. So I may be the one needing the luck.

This could become quite the showdown.