Light at the end of the tunnel. . .

Honestly, I thought I was going to have to throw in the towel. I've tried bribery, I've taken away things she enjoys doing, I've begged and I've pleaded. Then, I found an article written by a pediatrician that addressed "Toilet Training Problems". I was starting to get worried that her past issues of "holding it in" had messed up her system to the point she couldn't control it. Well, come to find out. . .I am the problem:) As you can imagine, I was mortified to think I was causing my own grief! Sweet baby has a few traits of a strong-willed child. It turns out that this was a power struggle that was exacerbated each time I would ask if she had to go (which was about every 5 minutes). The article suggested explaining that it was her responsibility and that she was now going to have to take control. It had me apologize for "hounding" and promise to never ask again (which has been really, REALLY hard being that we live so far out. . .and yes, I failed once because I knew she would fall asleep in the car!!!) So this plan goes on to have the child be responsible to clean up any messes that they choose to make. Today, after the fifth time of cleaning (of course I am helping. . .a lot) she said "I don't like to clean it up." I replied "Neither do I" and we finished the chore. The doctor also says to have a basket of desirable things that she can have for 15 minutes after each success. To create something worth while, we went and got the swimming Ariel doll that she has been obsessed with, as well as several new pairs of panties. I even broke down and bought a set of Hannah Montana underwear that she may have after 4 successes with ZERO accidents. So, since the time the official "training" began, she'd only had one success. I was really getting frustrated. Last night, 5 minutes after I put her to bed, she said she had to go. I told to go on in and try. 20 minutes later we had a win! We were both thrilled. She got a new pair of Ariel panties and a cool flashlight that shines fairies on the ceiling and I slept knowing that we were going to beat this. This morning. . .two accidents. She had to return the panties and the flashlight and help clean up. We are also not playing outside until she shows some effort; mainly due to the fact that EVERY time we are outside she has an accident. So, after round three today (yes, I did mean 3 ~ she had her first tee tee accident in months while I was on the telephone ~ anyone see passive aggressive behavior here?) I thought "now what?" I was so angry. . .however, I felt so bad because this is not supposed to be a negative experience. Then I remembered the article suggesting to have them go naked. I knew that she would have to go soon and of course it did not take much convincing, so we played blocks and cheerleader. . .yes, I know, you can only imagine how funny it is to watch a three year, naked. . .with pom poms! Anyway, you could tell she was getting antsy and then. . .it happened! She got her Ariel panties back and a new headband and I, once again, breathed a sigh of relief. I caution you about making unannounced visits any time soon. I think we are going to stick with the new plan (while we're at the house) to help reinforce what we've learned. I know you are all getting sick of potty training stories. . .trust me, I'm sick of telling them. Hopefully the next post will be the All Clear signal!
One quick funny. . .Her cousin Alyssa had learned the arm muscles and leg muscles in her ballet class. At her recital last weekend, the AWESOME teacher had them demonstrate this cute exercise they would do at the end of every class. She'd have them "make muscles" and then they'd all point and say biceps, triceps, quadriceps, hamstring . . today while I was folding clothes, my silly goose came in, made her muscles and said "Bi-cycle, tri-cycle. . .leg, leg!" It was definitely the comic relief in the drama series:)