Potty Training: Take 5

I thought I'd better right this down while I remember. Because even though I've never been so frustrated in my life and I am hating it. I think, maybe, I will look back at this and laugh one day.

I started potty training Macey again, on a whim, on Monday afternoon. She had just filled her diaper with nasty stinky 3 1/2 yr old poop that I did NOT want to change. (Now, we have had many, many attempts at potty training, all failures. I have THE most stubborn child) So, I tried the guilt trip thing- telling her it makes me sad and why does she want me sad. No go. Then I tried talking the potty up like crazy. Still nothing. Then I decided to go a little more extreme and created a moster that lives in the cabinet with my diapers. I reached my hand in and made some noise with the diaper wrapper, (she couldn't see) and boy oh boy did that reach her! She was petrified. The diaper monster only gets girls that are 3 and named Macey. And the only way to fight him off is to use the potty. So I asked her, Do you want to go use the nice, happy, fun, awesome potty? Or do you want the DIAPER MONSTER TO GET YOU!?!?!?! I could see those wheels in her head turning like crazy, and she finally says " I wanna stay in my poop!"

Are you kidding me? It was all I could do to not laugh my head off. I had definitely instilled some fear in her. I knew that for sure because I had THE cabinet open a bit and she pointed to it and repeatedly told me "You need to shut that!" But she still needed a little more convincing to get her to the potty. So we called up some cousins to psych her up to use the potty. It worked and we were off to the potty. It took a few minutes but she peed a tiny bit. She was SO PROUD! We cheered and hollered and she ran out and yelled " We saved the day!!" Adorable. We called her cousins back to tell them and she said, " I fight the monster with my pee!!" Then my nieces mom came by to pick her up and Macey was still on cloud 9 and told Misty, "I fight the monster with my poop!!" She was so excited and was loving wearing her My little Pony underpants even more. We had no accidents that day.

Day 2 started out promising.  We put a pull up on her overnight, and when she got up she told us "It's ok, my pullup will protect me." Goofy girl. That morning she sat on the potty and peed a little more.  That afternoon I left her in her underpants and we picked McKay up from school, ran to the bank and to Target. We were gone for over and hour and she didn't pee! I was shocked! This girls has some serious muscle control. I know for certain her little bladder had to be full and she will let out a drop at a time and call it good. Who can do that? I guess her little bladder had finally had enough and she peed in her room. But we cleaned it up before the monster could smell it and come.

Day 3: She peed on the couch and carpet in the morning. yuck. yuck. yuck. She really wouldn't pee for me at all. Just a few drops here and there. So, she went to preschool in her pull up and came home with it dry. This was the day she decided that the potty is a girl. And she needs to drink her pee. Don't make the mistake of calling the potty a boy.  I think she may have peed a few more drops before we went to Joe's Real BBQ's free day for dinner. She drank 1/2 a can of sprite and some water. That bladder was about to burst! So we made her sit on the potty as soon as we got home and for about 20 minutes. Drop, dribble, dribble. She would hardly pee, she had to be dying! To bed she went and again she woke up DRY!

Day 4: She woke up completely dry. That means she hadn't really peed in 24 hours! She has gymnastics on thursday morning, so it was back on the potty before we left. Nothing. Not even a drop! I was getting ULTRA frustrated and my patience was growing very, very thin. Probably a little too thin. She had some privileges taken away and she was not happy one bit about it. Pull up was back on and the darn girl peed in it before we left. So I threw on a new one and away we went to gym, costco and the grocery store. Came home and she was dry. But we sat on the potty again, and nothing was happening. I hadn't completely recovered from our little episode this morning, so I suggested she go out back and pee in the grass. She loved that idea. So out we went and with in 5 second there was full fledged peeing happening. Why can't she do that on the potty? This is as far as we've gotten. But at least she is done with diapers. She wont go near them out of fear of being eaten.

Wish us luck...and patience.