Third Time's a Charm

Between February 3rd and May 21st, it was all about Ethan. Poor Claire kind of got pushed to the side; until it was potty training time.

Monday, May 21st - I realized that if I was going to try round three of potty training, now was the time. I tried round one when she was only 18 months, which ended up being way too early. I had gotten my hopes up when I heard of a few people trying that early and being successful. Round two took place about three months after Claire turned two years old. She took to it okay, but figured out that if she held her pee and poo until nap/bedtime, she could go in her pull-up. Smart little girl. Her pediatrician said I needed to put her back in diapers because she didn't learn to go in the potty, she just learned to hold it. Ugh! Very frustrating.

Then came round three. Mentally, I wanted to get her potty trained before she was three. I also wanted it to be done before one of our summer vacations, and it needed to be done before the end of August so she could go to preschool. The deadlines were looming and the next day was going to have to be day one. I was terrified.

Claire and I went to the store and picked out her prizes. Because I was not going to except failure this time around, the prizes were pretty big. At this point, I didn't care. I just wanted it to work.

Tuesday, May 21st - Day one began. Claire barely ever goes to the bathroom so I knew we weren't going to have very many chances to get it right. I had her practice running to the potty and sitting down even if it was just for a second. For that, she got a yogurt covered raisin. She held it all morning and finally had an accident around 1:45pm. A few hours later, she needed to go number two. Claire was so scared. As she sat on the little potty, crying, I gave her hugs and sang her a few songs. Eventually, she went. Thank goodness!

Day one and day two she had a few accidents, but she was willing to sit on the potty, which was a major improvement. I could tell that she was finally ready and that this was going to work. Besides her being "ready" this time, we also took her out of her crib and had her "big girl bed" on the floor next to a potty. During nap time, she had to hold it or go in the potty. Pull-ups were only for night time.

On day three I could see the light. :) After one accident in the morning, she was incredible. It was like it finally clicked. Hallelujah! I felt like we had just accomplished the hardest thing in the world. We were so happy for her. She did wonderfully the next four days and rarely had an accident. Each time she went, she'd pick out a prize from off of the ping pong table. Her favorites were lip gloss, a treasure chest, and a pink camera. She was loving it! The grand prize was a ride on the Thomas the Train - Heber Valley Railroad. She was so excited and we were thrilled that diapers were gone forever.

 

 

Funny note - for the pictures in front of Claire's potty chart, I let her pick what she wanted to wear.

She put the oddest outfit together and then insisted on about eight barrettes/clips in her hair. Silly girl.

 

That weekend (Memorial weekend), we spent the night in Heber at a friend's cabin. It worked out perfectly as the Thomas Train was the next day.

 

 
This year, Erik took Claire on the train ride (I took her last year). From what I hear, she had a lot of fun.

 

 

 

Once the train ride was over, we enjoyed some yummy kettle corn (I am not a kettle corn fan, but this stuff was amazing), a magic show, Claire got some face tattoos and a fun balloon hat. Ethan spent the afternoon in the stroller hanging out. He was a trooper.

 

 

It was quite a week for our little Claire Bear. Honestly, I can't believe she is finally potty trained. It is such a relief. She loves wearing big girl undies and still enjoys playing with the prizes she earned.

 

You did it Claire!!!!