Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The adventures of potty training

For about a month now Annalise has been potty training, and who knew it  takes so long to get a child to want to pee in a toilet?

She was very excited when we first started, she got some new princess underwear with Ariel on it, and all the other lovely princess'. She was trying really hard to do well, and she even started telling me when she needed to go.

And then it all went downhill...


  • She stopped telling me when/if she needed to go
  • When I ask her to go she says "no" most of the time, and I have to beg her to go, and usually by the time I get her to come to the bathroom she pees in her pants
  • She seems to stay drier when she has her pull ups on vs. underwear
  • After she does go potty there is no way she wants to put her clothes back on.....because she loves "nakey time" (as she calls it)


The best was when we went to the pumpkin patch and she was sitting on my shoulders and, yes.....she peed all over me (my hair, jacket, shirt, and anything else that gravity could handle.) So needless to say potty training has been an adventure. We started off by giving her a single treat every time she went successfully in the potty. We slowly phased the treats out, but apparently I did it too quickly. I don't know. So today I have started a sticker chart, and I think she is taking to it quite well, but only time will tell.

8 comments:

Karina B. said...

Sounds like our experience with Lilly. I eventually gave up and a year later she decided it was time to be a big girl. The second time around, I bought a clear plastic container and put princess stickers all over it, filled it up with candy and called it the "Princess Treats". Every time she went to the potty, we made her feel like she was a princess and she got to pick a treat out of the special princess container. It worked. The second time around it only took her a week and she mastered it. Good luck!!!

Patty Sampson said...

Oh you poor thing!! I totally feel horrible for you and your pee-d on self at the pumpkin patch. I take it that event was after the lovely picture above. :) My Mom tried stickers for us, but the only thing that worked was gummy worms. And we had to use those for almost a year with my little brother. Good luck! I know it isn't going to last past kindergarten. ;)

E said...

Oh wow, that's rotten!!!! I don't think I've ever had pee in my hair... Good luck!!

dan and linds said...

Oh noooooooo... I am definitely not looking forward to potty training! Oakley has started taking off her pants and diaper when she's down for her nap and that makes enough of a mess... I can't imagine getting peed on! I'm sure Oakley has some fun things up her sleeve for me when we get to the potty training stage :) Good luck! I hope the stickers work! I'll be calling you for advice in about 7 months.

Sierra Parke said...

Oh no. I can't believe she went to the bathroom on you. My the things we mothers go through! Potty training can be so frustrating, but eventually she'll get the hang of it! What a neat pumpkin patch you went to too.

Blair and Angela Jolley said...

I was having the same problem with Max. What worked for me was emphasizing that everytime he messed himself he had to stop playing and take a bath and put new clothes. This worked after a few days. He got the hint that it was easier to go potty than to wet himself.

M and B said...

All I can say is good luck- A has been doing the same thing, and we've been potty training about a year now, and he's just finally starting to seem to get it.

Jessica said...

I am potty training Crew right now as well. It is a nightmare. It is my least favorite thing I have done as a parent. SO anyways congratulations on the pregnancy. I am so excited for you . Grandma told me that you and Heather were either due the same day or around the same time. SO cool. I hope you are feeling ok.