ALL ABOARD!!!!

ERIKA'S ON THE POTTY TRAIN!!!!

Back on Tuesday, Grandma Hatch showed up with some cute little Princess Potty training stickers and chart.  Erika LOVED them!  I was skeptical because I had tried the stickers and chart thing and it didn't work.  We've actually done a few "first days of potty training" in the last 6 months or so, since the first time I bought her some Tinkerbell panties.  None of them took, and I was just trying to be relaxed about the whole potty training, I'd made the mistake in the past where I tried to push it and ended up pushing the kid away from it more.  So anyway, my strategy was to just take it easy and not expect it to happen overnight and well......

it kinda happened overnight!!!

Tuesday she got the chart, put on some panties and got started.  I think she had 1 or 2 wet accidents that day (I can't actually remember 2, but there must have been more than the one I remember...), then Wednesday, she was anxious to put her panties on again (which hasn't really been the case any other time), and she went MOST of the day without any trouble, just one accident (which was really disgusting and made Facebook).  We even went shopping on Wednesday with her in panties, and had to make about a million trips to the bathroom- I think she liked the tiny potty in the Family Restroom- which happens to be a major selling point for shopping there right now.  That is where she made her first poop in the potty!!!  YAY!!  The pooping in the potty is HUGE to me :).  So we had to celebrate with ice cream!  She actually had a little diarrhea that night, so that wasn't helpful.... she did have an accident that evening.... and that was pretty gross too.  

(I'm sure you all love hearing about Erika's bowel movements and urination... sorry... it's my blog ;) )

So anyway, Thursday she only had one accident (wet) and that was because Lukey was in the bathroom, so she didn't make it in time.  She was TOTALLY disappointed!  And actually, on Thursday, I had to run some errands, and then stopped at my Mom's for a minute, and she didn't go to the bathroom (she sat on it but didn't do anything) for FOUR WHOLE HOURS until we got home!  So she knows how to hold it now!  She had even taken a nap in the middle of that four hour period and didn't have an accident!  WOW!!!  

It is now Friday morning, and I just witnessed my little 2 year old girl, holding it ALL NIGHT LONG!!!  She didn't have one accident in the night!  

(It was a long night, she had come down to sleep in my bed and I knew she only had panties on so I didn't want her in my bed, so I took her out in the family room and "slept" with her there for most of the night.... asking her if she needed to go potty about every 2 minutes.... I was just amazed she didn't need to go!)

So anyway, before I left to take Nate to work, I instructed Bradley to remind her to go when she woke up and sure enough, when I got home, she had used the potty all by herself and filled it with a WHOLE night's worth!!  AMAZING!  

Erika and Noah have sure made potty training look easy!

I'll be the first to admit it wasn't this easy with any of our other kids.  I think Bradley and Luke were the hardest... for different reasons.  The girls just seemed to take a LONG time so that was what I was anticipating with Noah and with Erika, and they have just surprised me!  

I think I'm going to write a book that goes against all the other books out there.  It doesn't NEED to take a day.  It can take several months.  And if you approach it with that attitude, it's a lot more pleasant for you and for the kid.  Also, don't stay at home!  Most of my kids have done WAY better on the potty training when we're not at home!  Something about the thrill of using a store potty or a friend's.... I suggest Walmart because of the Family Restroom.  AND make sure they are ready!!!  

(wouldn't hurt to have Grandma show up with a cute potty chart of their favorite thing to help jump start their motivation!  Thanks Grandma!)

  

WAY TO GO ERIKA!!!  WE'RE SO PROUD OF YOU!!!