Potty Training

Well, our week of hardcore potty training has come to a close and the result is a sweet two and a half year old potty trained little girl. We started on Sunday night by taking a trip to Target and letting Julianne pick out her own panties and drink of choice (she picked apple juice). Monday morning Potty Day began by saying "bye" to diapers and "hello" to big girl panties. I used one of her dolls to demonstrate what would happen when she used the potty and then had her sit on the potty every thirty minutes or so, asking more frequently if she needed to use the potty. She caught on pretty quickly and only had two accidents. After each accident we practiced ten times starting from where she was when she had her accident then running into the bathroom and sitting on the potty. Whenever she went pee or poop on the potty we had a potty party (which mainly consisted of wearing party hats and blowing noisemakers) and she got to pick a sticker to put in her potty book. At the end of the day we celebrated by eating potty cake. Cake is always a good motivator! On Tuesday I began to realize the signs that Julianne needed to use the restroom and would take her each time she showed those signs, but was a little discouraged that she wasn't telling me when she needed to go. I gave her a little extra motivation by offering her an M&M each time she would tell me she needed to go to the restroom. By Wednesday she was telling me each time she needed to go and by Friday I wasn't having to remind her at all. She actually hasn't had an accident since Monday and has even woken up dry from all of her naps. On Friday we celebrated the end of Potty Week by having a movie party (watching Toy Story and having popcorn and soda) and by going out for ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We are so proud of Julianne for making this next step in growing up.