potty training: first week

I started potty training Lydia on Monday. She just turned two, tells me when she poops in her diaper and is pretty verbal so I figured she could do it. Because I still cloth both girls, I'm getting a little tired of all the diaper wash I'm having to do. All those nasty poopy diapers gave me a nice push into potty training.

I've been considering doing it for a while now but there wasn't a time when we were going to consistently be home for a few weeks/weekends that I could dedicate to helping Lydia learn to go on the potty. After thanksgiving we don't have any over night or traveling plans until Christmas. I figured this would be a great month to start working on it.

My method of potty training is to let her run around bare bottom. This would be really easy in the summer but because it's cold I leave her in a long sleeved shirt and put my knee socks on her legs as warmers.

The first day consisted of a poop on the floor to start things off (thankfully on the hard wood!) and then a few times of sprinkling on the floor and then running to the potty to finish. We didn't have any all out straight peeing on the floor until about 3 days in. She got the concept of going on the potty pretty quickly.

We do a peepee/poopoo on the the potty song and dance after she pee/poos and then she gets a piece of candy corn or a few mini chocolate chips. I praise her and tell her what a big girl she is. There were a few times when she would cry and say she didn't want to go pee pee on the potty. I'd tell her that babies go potty in their diapers and that she's not a baby. I'd ask her how old she was and then after she'd say "two" I'd tell her that's SO BIG! And big girls go on the big girl potty. She's starting to get it but we still have a long way to go!!

One of the highlights of this week: In order to not have a lot of accidents on the floor I knew I was going to have to watch Lydia like a hawk. I wanted to see what she was doing at all times... waiting for a funny face or a little dance that would indicate that she needed to go. This meant I wasn't on the phone that much, I wasn't checking email or blogs or facebook... I was spending time with her. There was a lot of time spent on the floor playing. I try to do this anyway even when we aren't potty training but this week was different. It was special and I'm thankful for it. In a time that could have been really stressful, the Lord gave me a heart that rejoiced in being with her.