yes, I am that mom

You know, the mom that records the whole potty training process for posterity’s sake?  Yup, that’s me.

This is serious business, after all, and deserves a place in our family history.

Oh, but it’s not all seriousness.  There are lots of smiles, too!

And even some straight-up silliness.

All in all, this bit of independence is a wonderful thing.

(If you don’t want to read about potty training, you have my permission to just skip this next paragraph!  I’m one of those people who actually like to hear about others’ experiences so I thought I would share mine, too.)

We aren’t quite there yet, but Cami is doing great.  She’s in undies almost all the time and makes it to the potty almost every time.  That’s pretty good considering we just started on Monday!  I definitely embrace the all or nothing, go for it philosophy of potty training.  It’s worked well for me three times, although each time has been different.  Camryn was my one that seemed to have an actual fear of going on the toilet.  On Monday, she was holding it for hours and hours until finally her little bladder just couldn’t hold it.  There were tears…lots and lots of tears.  But I had told myself I was going to give it a good 3 days before I gave up again (we’ve tried potty training twice since the summer, and both times it was the same story.  But since she was barely two, I didn’t push the issue and just went back to diapers for a few months.)  This time, we had everything ready to go for the big day.  On Sunday night, we made a big deal about wearing big girl underpants on Monday morning.  The sticker chart was ready to go, the candy was laid out, and there was lots and lots of encouragement given by everyone in the family.  Oh, and lots of Elmo’s Potty Time.  I’ve never let any of my kids put their potty in the living room, and honestly  I didn’t understand why someone would train their kid to pee in a room besides the bathroom.  But now I get it.  The fact that we were in the living room all day was a huge sanity saver for me!  By Monday night, we had had a few successes, a few misses, and I think we were all relieved when the diaper went on a bedtime.  Tuesday was a little better but the biggest step was that she didn’t want to wear her diapers (a big improvement from the diaper begging she did on Monday!).  She only wanted her “underpants” as she calls them.  On Wednesday, it finally clicked for her, I think in part to the big fat bribe I laid out there.  “If you can go potty without any crying just like a big girl, then we will go to the store and you can pick out a new baby.”  It totally worked.  Never underestimate the power of a bribe!  We still have a few hurdles to overcome (like going on an actual toilet besides the prized elmo potty and…ahem…number 2…)  But I am so very proud of my big girl (and it’s just a little bittersweet to see her growing up so fast!  Wasn’t she just born?)

Okay, no more blogging about potty training.  I promise.  Although I am sure I will still be that mom about lots of other things in the future!