The Potty Training Saga: Part 1

(This turned out to be REALLY long, so I broke it up into several posts.)
im⋅passe: (ĭm'pās') n. A situation that is so difficult that no progress can be made; a deadlock or a stalemate: reached an impasse in the negotiations.

We have reached an impasse in potty training.

stub⋅born: [stuhb-ern] –adjective
1.unreasonably obstinate; obstinately unmoving: a stubborn child.
2.fixed or set in purpose or opinion; resolute: a stubborn opponent of foreign aid.
3.obstinately maintained, as a course of action: a stubborn resistance.
4.difficult to manage or suppress: a stubborn horse; a stubborn pain.

Eleanor is a stubborn child.
frus⋅trate:  [fruhs-treyt] verb, -trat⋅ed, -trat⋅ing, adjective
–verb (used with object)
1.to make (plans, efforts, etc.) worthless or of no avail; defeat; nullify: The student's indifference frustrated the teacher's efforts to help him.
2.to disappoint or thwart (a person): a talented woman whom life had frustrated.
–verb (used without object)
3.to become frustrated: His trouble is that he frustrates much too easily.

It has me feeling frustrated.

Potty training was going so well for us once it finally got started that first time she went on her little potty. I bought her some pull-ups ("big-girl pants"), and it was smooth sailing. I told her not to go potty in them, and she had only a couple of accidents that she lamented greatly. I let her choose one of her Halloween candies to eat each time she went on the potty at first, and later, I just gave her candy if she remembered to ask for it. She even seemed comfortable having bowel movements on the little potty. She was a little more hesitant to do it on the big potty (with one of those potty seats for small bottoms), but she had no problem wetting on it. I gave her a choice each day between a diaper or "big-girl pants."

A few weeks before Christmas, the interest was dying. She wasn't as excited to choose big girl pants and was much more likely to just ask for a diaper. I let it go, putting a diaper on her each time it was requested. We were going to buy her some real panties for Christmas, so I knew it was only a matter of time before she would be excited about potty training again. It worked. She was excited to have panties, and she was excited to wear them. . . for a little while. Then, she started asking for a diaper again. This time, her daddy and I weren't so flexible. We pushed the panties on her, telling her how cute they were and what a big girl she was, how exciting it was, etc. We even bought some more fancy Sesame Street panties. She was only excited about those for a very brief time. Pretty soon, her choice in the matter was gone. It was, "You have these nice panties, and you're going to wear them."