The Potty Training Saga: The Final Chapter

The next few days, I put her in big girl pants instead of panties. She went on the potty less and less, but didn't have any more accidents. That Friday, she wet her night diaper in the morning. I put a diaper on her for nap time, but she woke up dry, and I quickly put her back in big girl pants. She didn't potty ALL DAY LONG. Until finally, in the evening, she started crossing her legs and begging for a diaper, saying she had to go potty. We told her to go on the potty. She refused, said she didn't want to. I was fed up and did another thing I probably shouldn't have done (woohoo! scoring bad mommy points all over the place! --eye roll--), and I took her in the bathroom, yanked off her pants, and placed her on the potty. She immediately started to go, and I sat in the bathroom with her and found something to laugh at to try to ease some of the tension of the situation.

The next day was the same thing. She didn't go all day long. In the evening, we were at Grant's parents' house, and she wet in her big girl pants. She regretted the accident. A short time later, she started putting her hand on her bottom (the back door) and saying, "owie!" I tried to tell her that her body was trying to tell her she needed to go potty, and that if she would go potty on the potty, her bottom would feel better. She refused no matter how much we tried to convince her. Finally, believing the natural pressure on her body was on our side, we tried the same method as the night before, and Grant tried to place her on the potty against her will. She had learned from her previous experience with this tactic and would not allow her body to bend in order to sit her down on the potty. That was abandoned quickly, and she went back to her uncomfortable situation, telling us all about it. So, I told her that we didn't have any diapers, and if she wouldn't go on the potty, we would have to go home to get a diaper so her bottom could feel better. She had to say her goodbyes, and we went home and put a diaper on her.

Now, I possess a certain amount of stubbornness myself (believe it or not), and through all of this, I was not ready to give in and backtrack in potty training. But, when it comes to my daughter's health being threatened by her holding it all day or becoming constipated, I have to draw the line. For now, I had to admit defeat. The next day, we got out the diapers, and gave her the same old choice (diaper, big girl pants, or panties). Of course, she chose a diaper every time. I'm going to keep giving her the choice and hope that the desire comes back. (I'm open to any ideas for motivation!) I moved her panties from the top drawer of her dresser to the bottom, so that maybe she'll see them there and remember the good times they had together and want to wear them again.

She has been in diapers every day. When she needs to potty, she'll turn to me or Grant and ask, "Is this a diaper? [pointing to her pants]" We answer in the affirmative and ask her if she needs to go potty. She replies, "Mmmm. No thanks. I will just go in my diaper." Grrrrr!

I am not completely defeated. I've held off on weaning her from binkies lately because we were putting so much pressure on potty training that I didn't want her to have to deal with so many transitions at once. The day the diapers came back, we took away one of her binkies, leaving her only one left. That was a big deal because she sleeps with two at once, one in her mouth, and one rubbing against her cheek. This girl is going to grow up one way or another, whether she likes it or not. So there!

Mwah ah ah ah!