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Sunday, August 18, 2013

Ramblings: Potty Training

I may have mentioned in the past how much I was dreading potty training.  
Well I can't officially declare Ellie potty trained, but we're fantastically close!  

We tried the "Kool-Aid Method", which is what my mother-in-law did with her kids.  
Basically you let them have a big cup of Kool-Aid and you hang out in the bathroom, read books, until they go potty.  It's more of a get-them-acquainted-with-the-potty-chair system, than a long-term plan.  I tried it when Ellie was interested in the potty, but wasn't quite aware of when she had to go.  I figured a little Kool-Aid couldn't hurt, but I was secretly hoping it wouldn't work.  I wasn't super excited about the idea of filling Ellie with sugar water.  


Well, it turns out Ellie doesn't like Kool-Aid.  
She seemed into it at first, but after about four sips, she was done and asked for water.  
I was okay with that, less sugar means a better bedtime for me!

When Ellie got really into the idea of sitting on the potty, I made her a Potty Chart.  I just bought a poster board, a bunch of stickers, and made a grid.  This kid is obsessed with stickers, so I thought it would work as a reward.  

At the beginning our system was:

  • Sit on the potty = 1 sticker (even if she didn't do anything)*
  • Pee on the potty = 2 stickers
  • Poop on the potty = 3 stickers**
I was hopeful that by the time we filled up the chart she would be potty trained, 
but I wasn't counting on it.  


Well, the chart is full and we're so close!  
I am really glad we didn't have to resort to candy.  

Although I would have done it, if it came down to it.  

Now I have to dig out some of Ellie's old clothes 
because without a diaper she's back to 12 month size pants...

*Once she got accustomed to sitting on the potty, she no longer received a sticker unless she actually went to the bathroom.
**She still has yet to poop on the potty.

2 comments:

Sleep Goblin said...

Go Ellie! And I'm glad you mentioned the clothing size thing. I mean, I know I have go to up a bit to get pants to fit them in the tush, but I know I would have completely glossed over the potential of them going back down if they were out of diapers.

Lisa said...

Ellie was only ever able to wear 2T when she was in cloth diapers. With them, she has no tush. But at least we get a second life out of some of her clothes!