My Girl Likes To Potty All the Time (Well Almost)

Miss Evie has been familiar with the potty concept from way back.  My understanding is that even at the SWI (social welfare institute), the nannies had the babies in chairs with a convenient hole in the seat, quite often.  I do know that starting when we were in China, I could put her on the potty (with a convenient traveller fold-up seat that I had brought along) right after breakfast and she would go for me!

I tried this once we got home too, and it worked well on the days that I could get her there.  But life got busy and our mornings ended up rather hectic, once Bob was back to work and I was on my own, getting the three kids ready.  (Skyler was pretty self-propelling at that stage, but I still had to make sure he had everything, answer queries, sign things, etc. etc.)  So our routine of the toilet-after-breakfast suffered.

Eventually, after she was about 18 months old, I brought the potty out and just set it in the bathroom.  We had started reading some potty books, so there was interest.  She would go and sit on it, as a chair.  As you can see, she had her own reading material handy...

Then came more interest, and me putting her on it every now and then sans diaper.  I didn't expect miracles, since the synapses aren't really in place for them to "know when it is coming" prior to around 2.  But just before her second birthday, she responded when I set her on it, and made her first pee!  Wasn't long after Christmas before the first poop came also.  I started to let her go without a diaper at home, and just had to remember to set her on the potty. 

We did have the occasional accident, and she was always very good about telling me about it right away.  (Or Sean did, in that big brother snitch type of way.)

Then, when we were away at March break, living for a few days in a smaller space with only three rooms, she started to use the potty on her own, no reminders necessary from me!  Essentially, she trained herself.

Now though, we are at a plateau; she has no problem going on her own, unless she is wearing underwear or pull-ups!  Then it's just too easy to go in those....sigh.  I hate poopy diapers/pull-ups/underwear.  I think after three children, I've just had enough of it!

So, at home, we invariably end up wearing a lot of dresses with nothing underneath, and then she's independently going.  Or I have to be really really diligent about taking her to the potty every hour if she's wearing her Elmo underwear, which is a fave.  Sometimes she is cooperative, sometimes not.  And I just haven't been able to get her past the hurdle of going on her own while wearing underwear.  Not sure of the next step, but I just keep on trying.  Eventually she will get it.  They all do.  (If Sean could, any kid can....it took till he was 5, but we got there).

And today, we have a new seat, a step-up to the toilet, and a big girl who has some very good days with this.