Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Potty Training: Day One

{Our bathroom setup}

So, I don't want to say 'no success', but...it kind of feels that way for today. She never once peed on the toilet. Not once. Through the power of blogging I was able to check back to when our first training attempt was, and it was in the middle of January. Even then, when we had 5 or 6 accidents before lunchtime, even then she still had several excited attempts on the toilet with just a trickle of pee. Today- none. She only had 2 accidents, so at least that kept me from going crazy. When she went down for a nap (which she mercifully took for the first time in 5 days-) I put a diaper on her, and even though I withheld fluids for an hour or so beforehand, she still woke up soaked. Saved it all for the diaper, I think.
What worries me is that she tells me she doesn't know how to pee and asks me for help. I try to explain what it feels like when you have to pee, when you do pee, but it's hard to do in terms she can understand. We've tried at least a dozen times on the potty today, setting the timer for up to an hour between attempts, and then any time she asks to try. I got some special juice which we never have, and have been trying to push fluids all day. We have books just for the potty, so she frequently lures me in there just to sit on the hard tile floor and read to her indefinitely while she keeps up the pretense of 'trying'. This afternoon I borrowed a floor potty from a friend, hoping that would encourage her. We set it in the living room. Oh, the things we do for our children and the desire to teach them some independence. A chamber pot in my living room. Still, nothing.
Oh, except she pooped in the bath, which I can't even remember the last time that happened. She seemed a little freaked out by it, so I immediately put her on the toilet, and somehow she seemed to 'finish' on the toilet so I was able to give her one reward for the day, and hopefully end on a good note.
I just hope she's ready- I assumed she would have to be since she's over 3, but at the same time I probably wouldn't be pushing her yet if the baby wasn't due soon. Timm described it well- he thinks that going to the bathroom is like breathing for her- she never thinks about how she does it, it just happens. So now that I'm asking her to identify it and do so ahead of time, she doesn't really know how. That's the part that makes me wonder.
I'm tired.
I want Timm to come back now.
And help.
And not go back to 3 jobs.
And I want her to go to sleep and stop crying so I can have some peace for at least a small portion of my evening before I do it all again tomorrow.
Is that too much to ask?
Apparently so.

7 comments:

Denise said...

It's not too much to ask! I wish I had some good advice, but alas, all I can offer is something a friend of mine (mother of twins) once said: "It;s just a phase. When I feel overwhelmed and like I can't take it one more day, I tell myself, This will pass, it's just a phase." I think there's to that.

Denise said...

Oh good grief--should have proofread! I meant to say, I think there's something to that.

michelle said...

Oh, dee. Potty training when you're single-parenting seems like too much! I hope tomorrow is better.

Tasha said...

Jessie, Evie turned 3 right as we moved across country and had a baby. My ped's advise to me was that any ground I gained would be undone by having the baby since she would undoubteldly regress. I didn't even address it, even though it was a major pain to buy diapers for both. Evie was 3 years and 7 months by the time she got it, but when she did. she did. I was able to send her to preschool in pull ups, she never pooped at school, I would have had to go there and change her myself, and it was only 2.5 hours, so wasn't too terribly wet when I got her.

It has been the hardest parenting thing to date. I wish you luck. All of my friends' advice was that they wish they would have waited until their kid was asking for it. I will send you every single spare diaper I have for the baby!

I want timm to come home too, I also wish he wasn't coming home to 3 jobs. That man is the hardest man I've never met Jessie.

Anonymous said...

I am in the same boat as you right now with a baby on the way and a 2-1/2 year old still in diapers. I've not wanted to even try to attempt potty-training yet, even though it would be nice to not have two in diapers. I have also heard the same things that Tasha talked about - regression once the new baby comes, etc. We are also planning to move soon after baby comes, and Henri has shown NO interest in the potty. So I'm choosing to wait... I think it would be nice for you to have Timm around too! So I vote for holding off - who cares how old Bella is... she'll get it eventually and when she is ready it could possibly be easy - imagine that!

rmt said...

Oh, Jessie....I'm so sorry that you had a rough first day! I truly hope that today will be better and that she will take a nap again.

charlotte said...

Sorry Day 1 of potty training did not go well--hopefully today will be better!

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