Keira: Potty Training Update

Just like in pregnancy and raising kids, not one is the same.  That goes for the same for potty training each of your kids.  With Kaylee it seemed so easy, don't get me wrong she did have accidents and I wasn't sure I could handle it at times, but after the 3rd day it just clicked and she got it.  We started training with her around 18 months and she wasn't quite ready, so we waited till she was almost 2 and at that time she was more than ready.  I made a sticker chart and we had M&M treats in the bathroom for each time she went.  She would tell me each time she had to go and by the time she was 2 she was potty trained during the day and naptime.  Once she was able to wake up each morning dry for like 2 weeks then I knew she was ready to wear undies all the time.  By 3 she was going to the bathroom on her own and even wiping herself.

Now lets talk about my sweet diaper lover Keira.

Around 18 months, I knew Keira wasn't ready at all to even think about going potty on the big potty.  It was so strange to me that my kid had this huge love for her diapers.  Like a love for her diapers that I've never seen before!  This continued on, after she turned 2 we would ask her if she wanted to wear big girl undies like Kaylee and she would scream "NO, I wear diaper!".  I didn't want to push her if she wasn't ready and I knew she wasn't ready.  I thought she would catch on a lot quicker cause she saw Kaylee going, but NOPE!

With Keira I had to come up with a different way of potty training.  A different way to even getting her to wear undies.  One night after a bath, daddy was able to bribe Keira to put undies on with a cookie.  She wore those undies for 15 minutes before asking to take them off and get her diaper on.  She ran and got a diaper, once she returned to her room, she was jumping up and down yelling "yay diaper!".  Baby steps with the undies.  So we let a couple days pass and we tried it again, after a bath Kaylee put her big girl undies on, Keira put her big girl panties on and we even had Kendall put a pair on, which Keira thought was funny.  She wore her undies for 30 minutes this time.  I thought ok, we're making progress.  Again I let it go and a week or so had passed.  We would talk about wearing undies and we would ask Keira if she wanted to wear undies, sometimes it was yes but most times it was no.

Well something finally clicked and when we would ask her if she wanted to wear her undies she would say yes.  Big progress for her.

We are not fully 100% potty training but we are wearing our undies for a couple hours a day and sitting on the potty so that she can get a feel for everything.  My hope is that I'll have her potty trained by this summer.  Potty training is hard, not every kid is the same thats for sure.

Here is a little recap of our journey....

Day 1 {3.4.13}

That morning we had lots of errands to run and I knew we would be out for a long time so there was no way I was putting her in undies and braving it out.  After she woke up from her nap, her diaper wasn't very wet I knew it would be a good time to put her undies on.  Having her wear undies in the house makes me nervous only becuase our whole rental house is carpet {besides the bathrooms and kitchen}.  Well I cant very well keep her locked in the bathrooms or the kitchen, so I figured if she was going to have an accident I'd rather be outside if she does.  So we put our undies on and headed outside to play.  We played outside for about an hour before I head Kendall crying.  We came inside, I got the baby up and gave her a bottle before we headed to the bathroom for Keira to try.  She sat there for what felt like hours, but really it was like 10 minutes.  After those 10 long minutes Kaylee and I heard the little trickling of pee pee hitting the water in the toilet.  I waited for the noise to stop before yelling and clapping!  Even Keira got in the on the excitment and was yelling "YAY".  After putting our undies back on we had to call daddy and tell him, before making our way to the kitchen to get a much deserved cookie!  She wore her undies until about an hour before bedtime {7pm} and I put a diaper back on her and her pajamas.  I think day one was a pretty good day.  Wearing her undies for 4 hours and pee peeing in the potty once, I'll take it.

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Day 2 {3.5.13}

Keira woke up with a wet diaper, not very wet.  She took her jammies off and her diaper and ran to her room to pick out some undies to wear.  I put a thick towel down in her chair {just in case} and got them some breakfast and a drink.  She ate and drank her drink.  She then went to play, we dropped Kaylee off at school, came back home and tried to go potty {she sat there about 10 minutes, but didn't go}.  She went on to play more before leaving again to go get Kaylee.  I know I may be crazy for taking her out with undies on, but she didn't pee pee so that's a win!  She ate lunch and before taking a nap we tried to go potty again {her undies were damp a little}  I knew she had to go but after sitting on the potty for like 10-15 minutes she didn't pee.  I know it's different for her and she may be afraid.  But I am proud of her for even wearing the undies and I'm even happier that she's been able to wear them as long as she has without having an accident.  After nap time she didn't want to put her undies on so I changed her diaper and we put a new diaper on.  Like I said before I don't want to push her, I want her to be totally ready.

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{3.13.13}
Like I said we aren't in 100%  potty training mode.  I want to try and make it fun for her so that she wants to go.  She is big on praise.  When she did pee in the potty she got happy that we were clapping and cheering for her!  So I want to make her a potty chart like I did with Kaylee.  With Kaylee she would get to put a sticker on each time she went potty.  At the end of each week for the first month only we would take her down and let her pick 2 things from the dollar section at Target.

After nap time Keira put her undies on and we headed outside to play {I choose to go outside a lot while she's wearing her undies in case she does have an accident, it's easier to clean her up.  We have carpet throughout the house were renting so I would rather not to clean up pee out of the carpet if I don't have to.} She does really well outside and man can this kid hold her pee for a long time!  I just need her to feel comfortable enough to just let it out when she's on the potty.  I think sometimes she gets scared and then holds it in until I let her down and then she'll have an accident a few mintues later, does that mean she's not ready?!

While playing outside for 2 hours this morning she didn't have one accident and sat on the potty twice {no pee pee either time}.  During nap time I put a diaper on her and she woke up wet.  We took her diaper off and put her undies on and headed back outside to play more.

I'm still thinking she might not be ready, she doesn't tell me she has to go.  I don't know I think I'm going to wait a month or so and then try it again and see if she's more ready!