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The Pain, The Agony!

This week’s the week.  Potty training has commenced.  I literally ran out of diapers on Sunday, and I told the baby, diapers are all gone.  You’ve got to start using the potty.  She’s well over 2-and-a-half.  She’s smart as a whip.  And she’s got to be trained to go to school in September.  So I figured, no time like the present.

I knew it was going to be gruesome.  I detest potty training, and she has been resisting ever since we introduced the potty last fall.  She’s my third, and neither of the others were a cake walk to train, but I just had a feeling that this one was going to be a doozy.  She’s stubborn and contrary by nature, and for some reason, she doesn’t want to use the potty.

But I’m determined.  This is it.  I have to stick with it, and I know there will be a tough week or two until she gets the hang of it, but I need to see it through.

Last night we set her on the potty in front of the TV, and after about 30 minutes, we finally got a tinkle in the desired receptacle.  We cheered.  We whooped and hollered.  We rewarded with a lollipop.  And approximately 15 minutes later, she came and told us she had peed upstairs.  ALL over her bedroom carpet.  Joy.

This morning I was determined to outlast her.  I filled her up on juice and turned on the TV and sat beside her on the floor.  I could tell she needed to go, but she was afraid to or didn’t know how to or a combination of the two, most likely.

I cajoled.  I encouraged.  I begged.  I demanded.  I bribed.  I rubbed her back and her legs and her face until my arm was numb.  I wanted to give in and let her put her panties on, but I knew that if I could just outlast her, if we could get the tinkle into the potty where it belongs, we would be making a significant step in the right direction.

Finally, FINALLY, after two hours of that rigmarole (no lie), she hollered, "Mom!  I pee!"  And she proceeded to release about two gallons into that little potty while I danced and sang and whooped and hollered and cheered and jumped around the room in a display that should have frightened anyone in their right mind, but my daughter ate it up. 

She was smiling from ear to ear when she was done, and I victoriously presented her big girl panties as a reward. 

And now I get to go through the whole routine again in about 30 minutes.  Hold me.

***UPDATE***  Right as I was about to click Publish and make this post live, my daughter came into my office with wet panties.  Anyone know how to get a gallon of pee out of a COUCH?

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45 Responses

  1. I always keep some sort of pet urine odor remover on hand for taking away pee smells from furniture and rugs. My dog rarely pees in the house, but even my older kids still have the occasional “I waited too long” accident. The pet sprays work very well to remove the stinkiness.

  2. LOL – I’m laughing because I told #4 yesterday that he was going to use the potty. I was in the office and he was standing next to me and started with the poopy grunt. So I took him into the potty and we sat and read and sat and sang and NOTHING! An hour later he had a little package in his pants. I said “E – this goes in the big boy potty”. His reply – NO MOM-MY. I NO GO ON POTTY, I GO IN RACE CAR. His pull-ups have Lightning McQueen on the front. *snort*

  3. ok no advice here.. my kid is only 13 months.. but im shaking w/ fear from this post.. How will I ever survive 😛

  4. Peer pressure worked for us — when my (then) 2 1/2 y.o. saw (yes, those 3 y.o.’s will show off underwear) the older kids at the playground wearing “big kid!” underpants she immediately refused to wear diapers during the day. We had a few accidents, but she learned quickly.
    Good luck!

  5. this is great! my daughter trained pretty easy on #1 – all the other kids in her preschool class were training too so it was like this great “potty revolution of 2001.” #2 too some efforte. grapes worked well with that one (you’ll have to email me if you want more info on that *wink*). my boy? let’s just say at 5 years old he has to be woken up once to pee in the middle of the night and still wets the bed sometimes. super thick panties and pull ups (at night) saved me!

  6. Oh dear! Thanks for sharing this saga with us. I’m sure you’ll get many tips, but may I start the comments with mere moral support. I’m with ya sister. You will conquer!

  7. I hated potty training my two! Two words ~ rubber pants! Yes, they still make them and they’ll make the mess a little easier to clean up. Good luck!

  8. I’m so going to be there soon. My 2 1/2 year old needs to learn. We are about to have to start buying diapers for the baby (up to now we have been using diapers that were given to us) and I really want to keep the amount of time we have two in diapers to a minimum. None of my others learned before 3 years old, so this feels rather ambitious. I hate it! Good luck in your efforts.

  9. You have entered the indisputably worst time of parenting.

    Wait–I’m wrong. It’s hard, but I think that these hormone-filled years that I am glimpsing in my future will be much much longer. It took me 5 months to get my son fully trained (meaning few to no accidents).

    5 months–compared to the teen years–that’s nothing.

  10. I feel your pain. #3 just turned 3 & it’s time but he has no interest. I figure i’ll tackle it after our two weekend trips coming up. No sense in having to stop every 20 minutes during a 5 hour car trip right?

  11. Good luck with it!! I had my under 2 year old potty trained in 5 hours. Wanna know the secret?? It’s an intensive, but it works :)And it’s much better than working at it 24/7 for weeks on end…. A sweet little book called, Potty training in less than a day!! Check it out. Hope it helps!! 🙂

  12. Thanks for this, I really needed to know that I am not alone in this potty training adventure. Your child sounds just like mine, I need her potty trained by August so she can start a new daycare. I am trying and to no avail. I have tried 2 different potty training videos and she knows the songs by heart but just won’t use all that info for herself, boo hoo. But I will continue to try and hope she will get it soon. Good luck to you and let us know your progress.

  13. I’ll be embarking on the same trecherous journey at some point this summer. Please keep us posted and share your victories so I have some beacon of light 🙂

  14. As you appreciate all natural stuff… Check out Charlie Soap (www.charliesoap.com). Their laundry / cleaning detergents will get out the urine stain – and there’s no fragrance to it.

    Good luck with potty training… it was one of my least favorite things to do –

  15. As you seem to appreciate all natural stuff… Check out Charlie Soap (www.charliesoap.com). Their laundry / cleaning detergents will get out the urine stain – and there’s no fragrance to it.

    Good luck with potty training… it was one of my least favorite things to do –

  16. Reagan is now 2 1/2 and goes to the potty about 4 or 5 times a day, but still has a few accidents. I learned with the first one that it’s better to let them do it on their own..as long as they aren’t 12 and still wearing pull-ups! LOL

  17. Two words – training pants. Not the pull-ups, which are glorified diapers, but the old fashioned, thick fabric ones. Don’t bother with the plastic pants, they’re nasty, but the thick fabric will hold just enough pee to save your carpet and (possibly) couch. Washing wet clothes is MUCH easier.

  18. Ohhhh, this story is near and dear to my heart! Just yesterday I decided to do the potty training my my THREE year old—yes THREE! (He is a boy…don’t think too badly of me!) So, I got out the “big boy” underwear with Thomas and Buzz…yep, he was all excited. Did the whole explaining thing…set the timer for 5 minutes…loaded him up with juice…timer hadn’t even gone off and the underwear were wet and a puddle right by the couch. Sorry your’s was ON the couch…Yikes! I DETEST THIS!!!!!!!!! Somebody just take me away and do it while I’m gone—PLEASE!!!!! Good luck to ya!

  19. ROTFLMAO!!! I have a 2.5 year old too! In this house it is MOMMY resisting potty training. Uggg. And you just gave me another reason to DELAY. Just don’t do it. I BELIEVE, and send out REALLY positive waves that she will one day surprise me and simply pull her diaper off and sit on her beautiful pink throne. :::Squish my eyelids, quick nod of my head, twitch my nose, tap my heels, think happy pink throne:::

  20. I feel your pain. I’m in the midst of training my son. The first 4 days he did awesome and regularly told me when he had to pee. Very few accidents. Then on day 5 it was like he had never even see a potty. Accidents every where.

    And, no, I don’t know how to get a gallon of pee out of a couch. But when you find out, please let me know. I have pee on the couch, in the corner, on a chair, and in his bed.

    What’s that saying? No pain, no gain 🙂

  21. This is why we are waiting to replace family room carpet until next year. Although I kept the older two outside or on non-carpeted surfaces. Furniture cushions were covered with a dollar store shower curtain or large garbage bags and then a pretty and washable quilt over the plastic. I’ll be doing it again next year this time, can’t wait.

  22. Ah, potty training. This was the stage where our investment in a carpet cleaner with upholstery attachments paid off in full.

    I’d douse the area with an OxyClean solution then vacuum until I couldn’t get any more liquid out of the couch, carpet, etc. I haven’t had any lingering smells or stains.

    *hugs* every parent going through potty training needs tons of hugs unless they are blessed with the kid who gets it right away

  23. Have you tried using the padded underware?
    I have found that it soaks up much more in cases like these. But, it isn’t a diaper, so they don’t feel safe peeing in them either.

  24. Have you tried putting those little rubber panties on right over the cotton ones? They aren’t completely leak proof but they do manage to keep a lot of pee off the furniture and carpet.

    And M&M’s! Don’t forget the M&M’s – for her of course, but you can have some too!

  25. You will have to keep us all posted. I am trying to get my little guy interested. He does go about 3 times a day for me on the potty. I guess I have to bite the bullet and put underwear on him and let it run down his leg. Uggg! Why couldn’t they have been born potty trained? Good Luck!

  26. I hate potty training! I am already dreading training my third who just turned 13 months. She is very strong-willed. I feel your pain. Stick with it!

  27. I totally feel your pain, my 3rd is not having anything to do with it and we purchased the panties last night and she clenches and refuses to even sit on the potty chair.

    Good luck, keep us posted!

  28. Oh Darlin’—
    Potty training was SOOOO my nemesis! Stay the course, stay strong, and hang in there!

    Does it make you feel any better knowing that I lived to tell the tale after (months of) potty training twins (at the same time) and we never bought a Pull-up or relented and declared them “not ready” (in our case, I truly don’t think they’d EVER have been ready! Why would you be? It’s much easier to pee without interrupting the fun! 😉 ). Use the money you might have been saving for Clorox wipes, Purell, disinfectant spray and red wine for you. 😉

    Hang in there! You’ll make it!

  29. potty training = not fun

    We’re about to start the same deal with my two year old…ugh. My three year old has been successfully dry for the past 18 months, but will NOT poo in the potty. Seriously, he is terrified, and I am tired of poo in the pants!

    When we first started the training, we pulled the rubber training pants on over the underwear. It doesn’t feel any different for kiddo, but it saved us lots of messy cleanup!

  30. I have two words for you. Potty. Power. If you have charter — it is in the Video on demand Kids Studio/PreK section. 2 weeks ago I put my almost 3 yr old in front of it and she was instantly interested and is now potty trained. If you can, check it out. It works!

  31. I feel your pain! It won’t last long, and then it’ll be over, and voila! no more diapers to change! Now that’s something to hoot and holler about 😉

  32. Oh the memories…It is so hard to do, but the best advise I got each time I went through potty training was to not get emotionally involved; to not fall into the trap of thinking your child is TRYING to make it difficult on you. So hard not to, but really does help to de-stress them AND you. Good luck, sister!

  33. Oh, my prayers are going out to you! I hate potty training.

    Both my kids were 3 1/2 before they every got it.

    Best of luck to you!

  34. Been there, done that, hated it! Been thinking about making a button for my blog, “I survived potty training!” Yes, it was that bad! I feel for ya, girl!

  35. I do not envy you! I say forget the potty training – she will do it probably sooner than later – ever see a kindergarten kid in a diaper? My kids were all around three – daughter was just under 3 and the boys were all over three. My Mom and Aunts were all pushing for my kids to be trained at 2 – after much frustration we decided to wait. We were all much happier and guess what? All of my kids over 3 are potty trained! Four down and one to go!

  36. Whoa. This does not sound like any fun at all. May the force be with y’all.
    I really mean to be encouraging. Please hang in there! Wish I had some tip or trick but I don’t.

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