Ladies Room

Has it been a week since I last posted?  Wow, time flies when you’re having fun. 

Last Friday we announced to Clare that it was the last day she was going to wear diapers, that starting on Saturday she was a big girl and would start using the real potty.  I was fine with this idea, partly because I was going to be at work all day Saturday leaving Jeff to be the one to clean up any accidents and handle any meltdowns.

Friday afternoon I went to Target to load up on potty training supplies.  I loaded the car with princess panties, Minnie Mouse panties, two potty seats and a second step stool, carpet cleaner, Smarties candy, DumDum lollipops and a new Rapunzel doll with long long hair and hair brush.   I figured this would get us thru the weekend, if we needed more than this than maybe this wasn’t our weekend. 

Saturday morning I left for work and wished everyone luck.  Apparently Clare slept in a bit but was ready to go the moment she woke up.  I desperately wanted to call and check in, but figured no news was good news.  Around 9am I received the first text message, which read ‘we’re almost out of carpet cleaner’.   By this point in the morning she had had some success with the potty, but didn’t have the hang of it just yet.   At 9:30 I received another text indicated she’d had success, peepee was in the potty!   I didn’t hear anymore until I arrived home around 2 when Clare was up from her nap and happily playing in the living room.  When Jeff’s phone started making noise Clare announced it was Potty Time and ran off to the bathroom where she was successful.  I could hardly believe it! 

Sunday was another successful day; we used the timer for part of the day but soon realized that Clare was announcing her need to use the potty and actually being successful.  By the end of the day Sunday we were no longer setting a timer, she may have sat on the potty 75 times but had no accidents and had gone in the potty every time.  Going to bed Sunday night I told her how proud of her I was, I could tell she was proud of herself also. 

Monday Jeff stayed home; it was such a treat!   We decided that we’d give leaving the house a try, she’d been accident free since Saturday morning and we needed to go to the grocery.  So, with spare princess panties in my purse we headed off to Walmart, but not before lining her car seat with a cloth diaper.  Clare did a great job while we were shopping.  As we got in line to pay I asked her if she needed to go to the ladies room before getting in the car, of course she did!  Surprisingly the Walmart bathroom wasn’t too bad, it was her first experience sitting on a public toilet but she did well after her initial freak out and pulling on my shirt.  After a few minutes she told me to go, so I stepped back and checked the time on my phone, what did I hear while doing so?  Yay!!!  Clare was so excited and proud of herself.  Having the toilet automatically flush was pretty exciting also.  To nobody surprise after we washed our hands she announced she needed to go again, not wanting to take the risk we went back in and tried again, this time just for fun.  Jeff was patiently waiting for us outside and congratulated Clare on her amazing potty skills.  We made it home from our 2hour adventure with no accidents and public potty success. 

I had told Karen on Friday what our plan was for the weekend, I think she was just as excited as we were, I’m sure one less diaper to change was a welcome thought for her.  She told me to just bring extra clothes and she’d continue working with Clare as best she could.  Typically Clare takes her ‘packpack’ with her but it has a few toys and a cup in it, Tuesday it had two pairs of shorts and four pairs of panties.  As soon as we walked in the door on Tuesday Clare announced she needed to use the potty, we were all pretty excited.  I was even more excited when I went to pick her up and found that she hadn’t had any accidents all day!!!  The rest of the week went pretty smoothly, she only had two accidents at Karen’s the entire week, both of which we think were because she was busy playing.

A little side note, because I’m so proud, Clare has also not wet a diaper at night or during her nap since last Saturday.  I hadn’t planned to night time train her just yet, she’s still happily sleeping in her crib, and frankly I figured one thing at a time was the best approach.  But, she’s just that awesome.  Jeff even went as far as not putting a diaper on her for her nap the other day; she did great and stayed dry for her entire 2.5hr nap. 

I think it’s safe to say Clare is officially a big girl and has conquered using the toilet.   I am happily searching for the receipt for the three unopened boxes of diapers I bought last month so I can return them.