It's Potty Time!

Math time! 6 diapers per day is 42 diapers per week. 42 diapers per week is 42*4.3 diapers per month. 42*4.3 diapers per month is 42*4.3*12 diapers per year. That means that over the course of Kaylani's 2 years and 5 weeks of life, we've used 42*4.3*12*2+42*4.3+42 diapers (give or take a couple here and there). Now that may not seem like a lot (especially since I didn't actually do the math), but I think you get the point. So its no surprise that when Kaylani's cousin Zoe started her potty training that we decided to follow suit shortly after. Unfortunately we haven't had the same "splash" as she did.

For months now, Kaylani has been okay with sitting on the potty. She has her own special Dora seat and even her own mini-potty downstairs, but for the most part, they've just been places for her to sit and relax or read books for a few minutes. Once she went #2 on the mini-potty after starting elsewhere, but otherwise nothing (sidenote: its amazing that the mini-potty was cleaned instead of being thrown out and replaced. Guess its true parenthood (or finances) change you!). So with Kaylani being as comfortable as Daddy on the toilet for 5-10 minutes (or more) at a time, we thought that potty training would be a breeze. Wrong.

When Zoe went cold turkey potty training, Yin Yin bought a "potty watch" to help the process along. The idea was to have a countdown (30, 60, or 90 minute increments) and play a little "potty time" jingle while flashing lights (who doesn't like flashing lights?) which would help remind the child (and the parents) to go potty and avoid accidents. In theory, GREAT invention and probably worth the $11. In theory.

We tried this for the first time around 3:30, after Kaylani woke up from her nap. She was thrilled to try to use the potty, but mainly cuz it meant she got to wear Dora panties instead of a diaper. So after a quick try, we were all systems go. Cold turkey, no diaper, and only her panties, pants, and hopefully hardwood/tiled floor instead of carpet/furniture in the way. 30 minutes later, music and lights came on and it was Potty Time! 1 minute later, we were back with no pee pee in the potty, but that was expected. Every few minutes we'd ask if Kaylani had to use the potty, but the answer was always nope. Another 30 minutes went by with the same results. Music, lights, but no pee pee in the potty. So back out we went.

5 minutes after that 2nd potty trip, we heard this: "Papa I went potty in my pants" followed by a lot of crying because she "made a mess." Poor girl, but that was how she was supposed to learn, right? Peeing yourself makes you feel wet and makes a mess, and both those things make you cry. So accident #1 we'll call a productive accident. After some explanation about that, and a change to Princess panties and new pants (and a quick Clorox clean of the stool she was sitting on), we were back. 30 minutes later, music, lights, no pee pee. 24 minutes after that, we had something. But we weren't at the potty.

Crying, mess cleanup, and a change of clothes and we were back again. Another 2 trips and nothing until 15 minutes in, we had accident #3, right before bath time. So close, but no luck as we had our 3rd wet panties and pants set on our hands. That was enough for Day 1 of Potty Time. Day 2 didn't go much better (depending how you look at it).

Day 2 started the same with panties after nap. No accident after the first hour, and none after the second hour either. We approached 2.5 hours (or 5 music/light cycles) with no accidents. The problem was that she wasn't peeing at all! It was at the 3 hour mark, after dinner, that we threw in the towel (panty?) and slapped on a diaper so she could sit on the couch and watch Dora for 22 minutes without us worrying about her peeing on our furniture. The alternative, as suggested by Jes, was to cover our furniture in plastic like my grandma did, but we decided to go the diaper route.

Day 3 went the exact same way with her pushing 3 hours without peeing in the potty or her panties. And that brings us to day 4, which is today. Not sure how that's going to play out, or if Mommy is even going to try with me not home until after bedtime. We're convinced Kaylani just needs that first time to "get over the hump" and get the pee pee cues (with or without the watch). Our pediatrician recommended we get Kaylani potty trained well in advance of Baby #2's arrival, so we're working on it. We've still got 6 months or so, but at this rate, its not looking good...for any of us!