Adventures in Potty-training!

Yes, you read that correctly. We are potty training Mady.
Let me explain....
Normally, I am in the camp of people who really aren't a huge fan of pushing your kids to do things that they aren't ready to do. Case in point, Mady walked at 14 months, not 12 (like the average age). Mady also crawled at 9 months (not 6ish, like the average age).
Ever kid advances at their own rate.
Let them be kids. That is my motto.

However.

When your (very verbal) little girl tells you "poo-poo" and then proceeds to walk into the bathroom shut the door and come out a few minutes later with a rather smelly back side.....you have to re-consider the whole idea of when you will begin potty training. Which might I add, wasn't even on my radar until 2 yrs. (Or so I thought).

Yes, I know. 

This isn't right. I shouldn't be posting a picture of her on the potty....but I just couldn't resist. She will hate this one day, and please know Mady, as you read this, I am sorry....but I will remind you of this when you call me all excited to tell me that my grand baby had his or her first successful poo-poo on the potty! 

Mady's 'How-To' guide, for inquiring minds:

Ok. So we went from her sneaking off to go and me verbally telling her what she was doing: "Are you going poo-poo?" and her agreeing with me....to her following me into the bathroom (at all times, yes I did just say that) and then to her having to know what is going on (at all times and while in the bathroom with me). She figured it out. I even would sit her on her potty, while we were in there together (great mother daughter time, by the way). The wheels in her head were a-turnin'.  When she was walking into the bathroom and going in her diaper I starting thinking of all the money I could save us if she was in fact "ready".

So we tried it. The first time took 20+ minutes and she didn't go. That's ok, I thought. We'll try again in a few months when she's really ready....and then ten minutes later. She comes up to me (in a panic) "Poo-poo, poo-poo!" I immediately race to the bathroom, while stripping off the layers as we go and place her on the potty. She loved looking at the pictures in the pottery barn kids catalog. So thankful its easter time, lots of bunnies and ducks to find on each page! This time it only took about 5 to 10 minutes.  After she was done we had a poo-poo party and she received a cookie. Way to go Mady!

Every day, for a week she went on her potty! Amazing, I thought. No accidents. She even went at church on a child size real potty in the nursery. I was thrilled.

We had two weeks with only 4 accidents. One of which was while she was sleeping, does that even count? So maybe only 3 accidents. Half of the time she was telling me she had to go and the other half I was timing it right to her usual schedule. That part being half the battle. Even my little talker has trouble sometimes pulling herself away to tell me she needs to "take care of business".

Now before you start praising me, don't. First of all. I am not sharing to get a pat on the back. I am sharing because a few reasons. A.) I have the worst memory. I would totally forget this had happened at 15 1/2 months if I hadn't just now recorded it in said Blog. and
B.) We are having major regression.

I was warned this might happen....over the past two days the potty has become a fun game.  Mady enjoys telling me and then sitting on it (mind you after I have pulled off her pants, unsnapped her onesy and taken her diaper off) and 3 seconds later pops off and says "All done!"....oh but she's not all done, there is nothing in that potty! She has also stopped telling me when she has to go. So I am trying my best to watch her and get her used to going on her potty again. The past two days each poo-poo has been in her diaper and I have had so many mad-dashes to the bathroom with her that I am ready to give up. However, I am not a quitter and I really do think she was/ is ready.

If there is any encouraging news in this whole regression. She has learned more about how to pee-pee on her potty. I was nervous about how to teach this or even get her to tell me she had to go. So I wasn't going to even try yet, but every time we have made the mad dash to the potty to only be let down by no number two she has had a little number one, sometimes. She gets a little surprised by it and smiles as she goes. Hilarious!

We are sticking with it. With prayer and friends support, we will one day be without diapers! I am putting no time line on it. In the meantime, I am happy to be changing less poopy diapers and saving us some money. The day she doesn't wear a diaper may be in a few months or next year. Either way, I can promise she won't be going to school in diapers! Ha.