Potty Time!

Savannah has been officially potty trained for 3 weeks now! She is a rock star during the day and about 70% at night. Because I know I will have to do this again there are a few things I want to remember...

• Started introducing the potty idea with library books
• People kept saying you'll know when she's "ready," but I didn't know what that meant, and I was ready, so we jumped right in.
• The 3-day method where you hang out in the bathroom all day with treats and a naked toddler did NOT work for us. Mostly it was me being impatient and not willing to sacrifice 3 days.
• The best advice that worked for us was to take baby steps. I prepped her for "undie day" the night before and forced required her to wear undies the next day. She would cry when I put them on, but soon forgot about them. It was only for a few hours, or whatever my patience could handle that day.  We did this for probably 4 days. I told her that if she just "tried" she would get 1 potty treat (M&M's) and if she went on the potty she would get 2 potty treats. She was 50% with this method. 
• I know potty training is mostly training the parent to help the child- but I could not find any sort of pattern with her needing to go. I tried setting the microwave timer every 15-20 minutes, but she would get mad and not want to sit on the potty because she didn't have to go- then she would have an accident in between the timer. Finally after 3 accidents in a row (within an hour) I looked her in the face and said "You have GOT to tell me when you have to go" and then....she did.
• Savannah never, not once went potty on the baby potty. She preferred the big girl potty with the potty seat. 
• A big part of it is helping her "go" at a convenient time. Ex. before we go somewhere, it is now a rule that we both have to try before we get in the car. Always before nap and bed. I also keep a mental note of when she went last and if it has been too long, I take her. She is pretty good at telling me, but she gets busy playing and forgets.
• She responded well to potty treats in the beginning and slowly forgot about them. Now she responds well to praise. Last weekend I heard her upstairs saying "Mom, I went potty". I ran up thinking she had had an accident, and she was sitting on the potty and had already gone! Naturally, I freaked out and was so excited and happy for her. She caught onto that and now has gone a few times by her self! Hallelujah!
• We are still doing pull ups at night because I am not too keen on changing bedding every morning. We are working towards a weeks worth of dry "night-time undies" (aka pullups) to advance to full 100% potty trained status.

Whew- I am very proud of Savannah (and myself) for achieving this milestone. It was super intimidating for me and I am so happy with how well she has done.  She is now in a big girl bed, no binky, and potty trained... where did my baby go?