Potty Training - 1 Month later

I am happy to report that we have potty champion!! Layla is doing AMAZING, I'm so proud of her. A month ago I would have never thought that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Layla is now going on the potty 100% of the time at home (still in diaper during nap and bedtime) with no accidents! In public, she will tell us when she needs to go but we are working on our fear of the "loud potties" (aka- automatic flushers). The only time we have accidents is when we are in the car...and she typically has a Pull-Up or diaper on for that reason. I was sick of taking the car seat out, taking it apart, washing all the stuff and putting it all back together. But if that's the worst thing, I'll take it!

We are still struggling with naps because she typically poops during nap. I'm kind of hoping she will just grow out of this or start to hate sitting in her own poop...but no luck so far. She did poop on the potty today though and she kept saying "yuck! yuck!!!" while she was going. LOL. And she took a 3 hour nap! I wish we could get this thing worked out, she's not ready to drop nap yet but she's not quiet good enough to poop on demand. Ha! But surprisingly I haven't had to deal with a single poopy mess in her underwear.

All in all, I think Layla has been one of the easy kids to train. Or maybe I'm just that good...haha.

This is probably my last potty post since it is becoming a non event in this house (YAY!!). But I will recap on some things that I've learned though this experience...things that I want Layla to know when she starts potty training her children:

1. If I would have known that potty training would interfere with nap time, I would have waited until you were 5 to start.

2. You must own at least 25 pairs of underwear if you are going cold turkey like we did.

3. Socks can soak up A LOT of pee.

4. Pull-ups are not that absorbent and are not to be used as back ups in the car.

5. Your car seat comes apart and you can wash everything from the cover to the padding in the washer.

6. It takes 24 hours for padding from car seat to dry...you won't be leaving anytime soon after #4.

7. The word "potty" sounds a lot like "pirate".

8. Use a potty doll and practice for a few days "training" the doll before you get started. Use water for pee, and chocolate chips for poop.

9. Don't leave chocolate chips in the potty, dogs will get them.

10. Having your carpets professionally cleaned is expensive, just buy a carpet cleaner and clean up messes as you go.

11. Apple juice goes though a toddler in 3 minutes and 46 seconds.

12. I can read "Apples on Top" 5 times in a row...if you aren't ready to poop on the potty, you aren't going to go.

13. Finding Nemo is a LIFE saver when you are trying to get a toddler to sit still on the potty for the first few days.

14. You will know where EVERY. SINGLE. BATHROOM. in the city is located and that it takes 1 minute, 23 seconds to get to the Mejier bathroom from the back of the store. Or 4 minutes if I let you walk.

15. Automatic ("loud") potties were invented people that do not have children.

16. No matter how much pee you are covered in, no matter how many times you have to wash that 25 pairs of underwear, through all the screaming and tears, packages of Oreos and episodes of Wow Wow Wubbzy...I promise you that BOTH of you will get through this, but your life will never be the same.