Potty Training

So I finally decided I was ready. Allyson has been ready for a while. But I've been quite comfortable with changing diapers instead of lugging a 2-year-old to the bathroom every time she "cries wolf" or cleaning up after accidents. Not that I've had any experience with accidents. Nicole was potty trained in one day and I don't remember her ever having an accident. It was a long day but when it was over it was over.

From the moment of her birth, though, I've been well aware that Allyson is not Nicole. That's not a bad thing. It just means I have to be constantly changing my "game." The things that worked with Nicole usually don't work with Allyson. Usually she's a little tricker for this mom. That proved to be true with potty training. And soon I realized I wasn't as ready as I thought.

That's not to say I wasn't prepared. I checked out the books from the library.

I bought the potty training doll. Heck, I bought a potty training doll that came with her own bathroom!

And she's not afraid to use it.

This dolly also talks (and talks and talks).

I had the treats.

And the panties.

With plastic pants.

And the videos were ready. Here's a little peek into our favorite from Disney's "Bear in the Big Blue House."

We started with opening her doll first thing in the morning.

She "potty trained" the doll until naptime.

Then, when Allyson woke up we would begin potty training her. But, right from the beginning, Allyson (who normally loves to sit and read books) wasn't much in the mood for any of it. She didn't really want to look at the books or watch the videos. She did love her dolly and the treats, though. And that's all she cared about.

We did eventually get her to sit on the potty as long as we (Nicole and I...Daddy had to leave for work) played balloon toss.

By the end of the day Allyson went through several pairs of panties and outfits. Mommy was frustrated and decided it was time to quit potty training. (I mean if you can't get it in a few hours why keep trying, right?) I decided Spring Break was a bad time and I would try again in a week or two.

A day or two later we went to Silver Dollar City. I put a pull-up on her and brought plenty of back-ups. The crazy thing is...I didn't need any of the back ups! Without even trying to remind her, Allyson let us know when she needed to use the bathroom. She stayed "clean and dry" all day!! So far it's been two days. I've been so much more relaxed about the whole thing which, as I'm learning, is exactly the way this little one rolls. Relaxed. Ahhh...