Yesterday consisted of me having Babs sit on the toilet a lot. She also had a few accidents. But she wouldn't drink any water, so they were few and far between. And my air conditioning broke, so I just tried to maintain my sanity as my house got hotter and more humid as the day went on. By mid afternoon I wasn't sure what to do... go out, get cool, but break the potty routine, or stay and suffer? Although I had the following experience, we stayed until my husband got home from work. I was trying to get the dishes in the dishwasher, and Babs yelled "Momma!" "Just a second!" I replied with little patience. "Momma, I pooping on the floor!" she reiterated. "Argh!" I thought as I hurried to put the plate down, and go help with the mess.
Once he came home, we went out to eat. (I was not willing to add to the heat, nor was I capable of cooking. Our frozen pizzas for potty training became useless given the temperature of our house.) Then we came home, played a little, and tried to go to bed. As I was putting Babs to bed, after she had a diaper on, she told me "I pooping on the floor!" which meant not what she said, but that she knew she was peeing. I told her she was wearing a diaper so it was okay, and put her to bed.
This morning Babs was amenable to putting her underwear back on. She wants to wear it. But each time she would sit on the toilet, nothing would happen. After a few hours we found our rhythm. She would say "I have to go pee-pee!" We would run to the toilet, and nothing would happen. (Except she would get her "sit on the potty" treat. M&Ms. "Look! I find choc-late!" she announced joyfully each time she bit into one.) She would then get up, and not long after she would pee all over the floor, her, and often me. Remembering the first time, I tried to convince myself we were making progress.
Then without warning, she did it. She said she had to go, and she did go in the toilet. We cheered and clapped, and gave her a mini oreo cookie (she loves them). We called Grammy who also cheered with us. And since then things have looked up. She has peed as often in the toilet as on the floor, so I have high hopes for tomorrow.
Tonight, she used the potty just before bed. As she got up to look at her accomplishment she announced "Look! I make it yellow!" She's so proud of herself, and I'm proud of her too.
Side Note: In linking to my discussion of Kiddo's training, I was struck by the different experience of the two events. Part of it is that they are very different children, with different motivations. Kiddo was so excited to be a big girl. But Babs has no desire to be a big girl (in fact, we're playing a lot of baby these days). But a big part of the difference is that I'm using a kinder-gentler technique, inspired by my sister-in-law and my own memories, as opposed to a plan designed by psychologists who don't leave room for actual people in their prescriptions.
There is one big similarity: they both slipped on puddles of their own pee. And I can laugh about my experiences with Kiddo now, and Babs too.
