Monday, February 6, 2012

The Unpottytrainable Princesses

Once upon a time, there were two princesses.

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(In their outfits of choice this morning)

Actually one Sleeping Beauty + bunny ears= Sleeping Bunny princess

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And one self-proclaimed “Queen Esther”

Their life was good and included many activities, like dressing up.

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Squirrel watching, dressing up,

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playing with babies, dressing up,

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a great many tea parties and did I mention dressing up?

But all was not well in the housedom because their Mama didn’t know what to do.

These smart, little princesses, though beyond capable, refused to try and sit on the potty, even amidst their Mama’s pleas and blatant attempts at bribery. (Example of said bribery, “Girl, if you can put anything in the potty, you can have whatever you want, name it, ice cream sound good? or stickers? Cookies, sure and we can make cupcakes.”)

The end of the story is not yet written, but right now it would be something like…”and they all lived smelly ever after”.

Give me your advice, admonishment or encouragement.

Because I want this story to end like this…

”And they all lived happily ever after in their big girl panties.”

16 comments:

Kim said...

This was so cute!!!!

David and Larisa said...

Hee hee! As a Mom whose child came fully potty-trained, am I allowed to giggle or do I need to take a vow of respectful silence for your pain on this one??

From what I've heard from the stories of my 26 nieces and nephews being potty-trained, give them time and they'll do it when they're ready!

sarah.flyingkites said...

Hmmm...

A couple weeks ago we successfully potty trained Emitt in 2 days (granted, he is 4). His therapist had an amazing program set up for it...if interested shoot me an email.

Prerequisite: knowing the difference between "wet" & "dry"

(of course they may not be "ready" yet so I can't guarantee it'll work!)

Kara said...

my daughter was the same way... would not go at all! so we put away the potty. we got it out again and she decided it was ok to go potty, but only during naps and bedtime. quite the manipulator! so we stopped again. then a month before she turned 3, she asked to wear big girl underwear. and crazy me, i agreed to take her to target. she went potty at target, and has been dry during the day since. so i agree, wait until they are ready and it will go smoother!

Amber said...

Amy,

Google "3 day potty training." You can buy her e-book inexpensively. It helped me so much with all my girls and several of my friends have done it and really like it too. It's not 100% always at the 3rd day, but I love the ideas behind her suggestions as it really helps them understand their bodies and not just the repetition or habit.

Even just from what Sarah said, I wonder if it resembles what she did. I will say, potty training twins was intense . .. but you will get there. Set lots of little goals, 3 days, than 1 week, 2 weeks, 1 month. You'll see a huge difference at each of those (even just in being able to let down your guard some) and you guys WILL get there. : )

Hang in there - it's hard work!

Anonymous said...

Our daughter just basically did it in a week! what worked: monkey underwear! She LOVES LOVES LOVES monkeys and when she realized that if she went potty in them she would "hurt" (her words) the monkeys, it was all good to go! Maybe try to find underwear that have an animal or person they REALLY like and give that a go! Worked like a charm here :)

Sandra said...

I am with most of these other mothers....
After just coming off of potty training my 3rd child, who mind you was one of the most difficults to date....
I recommend waiting till they really seem interested, UNLESS you are ready to be stern and consitant and not give in!!!
Sometimes it is their will(if they have a strong willed nature) to refuse to potty and you may be the "bad guy" for awhile trying to get them to potty. Of course if they have never pee'd on the toilet then you can't make them, but if they indeed have gone several times and know what needs to be done, then it just gets real hard for you.

If you wait till they seem real ready and start telling you when they pee'd in their diapers then its time:). I use a timer and I clip it to my clothes or take it where ever I go in the house so that I can put them on the potty every 30 minutes. Each child may be different, but try 30 minutes first(if they drink alot) and after 30 minutes set them on potty. Have them sit there 5 minutes and if nothing happens get them off. Of course I forgot to mention but they should wear underwear during this time so you know when they actually wet themselves. You can set timer for 45 minutes and try that as well if they don't pee as often. Either way, once you find out how often they normally go, set the timer for that amount and continually do that for a couple days and by the second or third day you might just have a potty trained child:). I used the timer method for all 3 of mine.(they are all boys mind you) Im not saying its the only way, cause my sister potty trained ALL 4 of her GIRLS in 1 day sessions!!! AMAZING!!!
My sister did it by putting the potty in the kitchen, making sure husband is home to man the house, and you are dedicated to those girls all day. You keep them in undies only, and you stay in kitchen all day with popsicles, water, juice...anything and everything liquid as to make them have to pee often and know what the urge to pee feels like. They will go on the potty right there in the kitchen and go back to eating popscicles and drinking lots and lots of fluids all day!! Supposedly by the end of the day they have gone so many times to the potty and they know what it feels like to have to pee.....that they tend to become potty trained. Ive never done it myself, but I know it works for some as that is how my sister did her 4 girls:).
Good luck with this difficult task!!

T and M said...

Well, you heard some of my stories last weekend ( : I definitely recommend waiting until your girls know wet & dry, and can tell you when they have the urge to go AND have a desire to go. 3 day potty training did not work well for little t, but every kid is so different & i know many that have had great success, especially girls...good luck!

And this post was too funny!

Jen said...

If you try to train before they are ready, you will ONLY drive yourself crazy. Trust me...I've done it. There is absolutely no sense in doing it just because you want to. You'll lose your mind. (: Wait until they show interest! It's still not EASY, but much better!

Janell said...

Just trained Jada....In a day. Also 3 of my 4 boys also trained in a day. (the first boy I started too young and didn't know how to do it). It does help the older they are. I did it once they turned 3, but I know you can do younger.

There is an old book called "Toilet Training in Less Than A Day". I didn't read the book entirely, but use most of its methods. I skipped this first step completely. First you get a doll that pees. Give her drinks and sit her on the potty. Let the littles "train" the baby. After drinking, set on the potty and pee. When she goes, praise her and give a treat. Obviously the baby can't have a treat so talk to the girls and ask if they will be dry and go on the potty. Give them the treat. Do this several times. Make the baby get her pants wet and show disapproval, then take the baby through many practice rounds. I skipped this b/c my kids were older and I didn't want to buy a doll That peed.

I start right away in underwear. Give lots of drinks. Sit on the potty often. I found giving them a book helps them relax. After success, praise and give treat. After wetting, show disapproval, make them change, and then practice.

Sorry for the long post. Email any questions. Check your library for the book and good luck!!!! :).

Justin & Sarah said...

Every child is different. H trained a lot later than P. I waited until they were interested, and then when they demonstrated they were able, I rewarded for being "dry," not for going on the potty (as that had been previously established.) I also took them shopping, and let them choose their own underwear. I do not recommend the thick trainer underwear or pullups (unless used for naptime or bedtime,) as that is too similar to a diaper. The uncomfortable feeling of pee running down their legs and into their socks was "training" enough. :) P did not like getting the "Hello Kitty" on her underwear wet. We kept telling her, "Kitties are sad when they are wet. Kitties do not like to get wet." She would repeat this, and then get quite upset if they ever did get wet. Happy training! What works for one child will not necessarily work for another.

Anonymous said...

I've only trained one at a time, but i have always used the timer method, 10 min on and 20 min off. (gradually increasing that time as they got the hang of it) Don't plan on getting anythinig else done for a few days, but that has taught all 4 of my kids that "feeling" of when they have to pee, making them sit that often was a pretty sure bet they would pee in the pot. Side note...I think all 4 of them screamed the whole 10 minutes each time for about the first day, but they eventually learned they wern't getting off till the timer went off and it got a lot beter.

Also I love all the dressing up, my girls dress up all day long, we have aquired quite the stash of dress up clothes with 4 girls over the last 6 years...so if you decide potty trining is too stressful just come on over here to play dress up, it would be a lot more fun:)

Janelle F.

Joy said...

Oh Amy, I'm right there with you! Jayla is just a few months older then your girls and I I've tried. Jayla wants to sit and go potty but nothing ever happens! I've read the "3 day potty training" that a few have mentioned and I plan on doing that. I've heard lots of good things about it. I just need to get enough motivation to do it. We are having another baby in Aug, Lord willing, and I want jayla potty trained by then. Sorry no advice from me just "good luck."

Anonymous said...

My daughter potty trained in less than a week. We set her little potty out in the hallway and she wore just a shirt around. This way when she had an accident she felt it on her leg. I let her have LOTS to drink and would sit her on the potty every 30 minutes or so. She only had 2 small accidents, as she didn't like to feel it on her legs. We started on Tuesday and by Friday we had a success story!!!! Good luck to you.

Mouseymom said...

Heehee! I think this is your just reward for putting that hairy scary stuffed animal on the toilet! :) My kiddos were hard to toilet train--both are quite willful but I refused to get frustrated after watching scores of mothers nearly losing it over toilet training. Eventually both of my children made the decision to be toilet trained and we all lived happily ever after. the end :)

L, Ann and boys said...

Everyone has already said what I would have. We don't use pull ups-one day when you'll be around home for a week or so without travel, we put on the underwear. I just let them pee their pants without worrying too much about it the first few times and am like "oh no, what happened!" My boys always look at me weird because one day they pee in a diaper and then next it's not the right thing to do anymore. =) I make sure to announce that mommy has to go potty "do you want to go too" and make it a fun thing...not a you do this or you're in big trouble thing. I mention many times over that the diapers are gone and that the cloth ones are in the washer so they just have to put it in the potty. =) Matter of fact, nothing personal, we've just gotta get it done attitude. =)

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