Potty Training

Being a first time potty training mom I had many misconceptions going into it:

- I thought Anna would actually need to use the bathroom every thirty minutes (why else do you set the potty watch?)
- I thought she would care if she peed all over herself and would then be forever potty-trained
- I couldn't see how having a potty-trained child would be easier than a child in diapers
- I thought I would spend the next year of my life sitting in the tiny hall bathroom waiting for Anna to go potty (at this point it took Anna 45 minutes of sitting on the potty before she would go)
- I thought pull-ups were a waste of money rather than a way not to have to change a child's clothes all day long
- I never thought I'd be one of "those" who carried around a portable potty - in fact, it lives in my car!

Potty Progress:

Weeks 1, 2 and 3: On Monday, potty-training would start with fresh panties and sticker treats. By Tuesday it was reserved for evenings after daddy got home. By Wednesday I had stopped even asking Anna if she had to go and put her in a diaper.

Week 4: Stickers turned into Hershey kisses, we had to up the ante. Amazingly this was just what Anna needed. She finally starting going on the potty after only sitting 5-10 minutes rather than 30-45. We were making progress as long as we stayed at home.

Week 5: Hershey kisses are now yucky and so we moved onto gummy bears. Anna was able to start "holding it" which prevented accidents while out of the house.

Week 6-8: Still going strong and having a few mornings of her waking up dry. Anna has now started proactively telling me she has to go potty rather than me constantly asking her. She's started wearing panties while in the house and I love how few pull-ups we're going through.

Today: Anna told me she had to go potty and went and did it. The only help she needed from me was to turn the water on for her to wash her hands...