On the Road Again

Well, we are trying potty training again with Abby.

It's hard. I admit, I was the problem last time. I was in a really bad situation for potty training but I thought I could do it and not let circumstances dictate our time frame. I was wrong. We started potty training in February - Abby was almost 2. March, Cate was born. April, we decided to move FOR SURE. May, we packed up and went to my parents house. June, the car broke down on the way out to Colorado, we moved into my parents apartment, and Andy finally got off to Montana. July, a hard month of waiting and wondering what was going to happen in Montana. This is when I finally gave up on potty training Abby. She was having several accidents a day. I was breastfeeding an infant and trying to keep our lives contained in a tiny little room. My dad was sick and in and out of the hospital.

One day after the second poop in her pants, I got so mad that I just lost it. I went outside and screamed and cried. What was I doing wrong? Well, how is a kid supposed to learn something like potty training when they are distracted by a new baby, cousins, and parents/grandparents who are to distracted to give attention to this life changing lesson in her life? I ask you? What was I thinking? Anyway, it was traumatic for both of us.

This time, Andy discovered he had a few extra weeks before school stated again so he said he was going to train her. I laughed. I worked on training her for 5 months before and finally gave up. What did he think he was going to do in 2 weeks? He worked with her for 3 days. She's trained.

When he got a call that he was going to have to go back to work yesterday at the hospital for the whole day (today and the weekend also) I thought I was going to cry. I can't potty train this kid. But yesterday, she did everything on her own. Today she has done it all by herself again. I guess it was timing and that good old Adams patience that did it. I'm not going to say there will never be accidents again and we still have night training to go but, I think the worst is over. Rejoice with me, people. We may never have to buy another daytime pull-up again.

EXAUSTED

I'm tired. Potty training is literally the worst part of parenting EVER! Abby did really well today but I am worried that now that my mother in law is gone, she will have trouble as I am breastfeeding and I can't just yank one kid off to help the other when the call of nature hits.

We have moved the baby potty into the bathroom and she is using it as a stool to get on the big potty. She told me today that she needed "prishey" which I figured out was privacy when she pushed me out of the bathroom and shut the door. We are also leaving the door to her room open a bit when she is down for a nap and for bed so she can get out if something happens. She uses potty as an excuse to get out of bed time and nap time but eventually, she does get to sleep and I'd rather have to take her back to bed over and over than clean up another crazy mess of POOP ALL OVER HER ROOM!!! We'll see how it goes. I think it's going to work out this time. I wonder when we will be able to transition the whole way into underwear and not use diapers EVER AGAIN!!!

POOP!!!!!!!!

Last night, after an hour of "being in bed," Abby was crying and Janet opened the door of her room to find that Abby had pooped. She had taken off her diaper, her pj's and was smearing the poop from here to Kingdom Come. It was everywhere: on the floor, on the bed, on the toys, on herself. She put Abby in the tub and that's when I came out of my room to see what all the commotion was about. I went right back in my room and buried my head in my pillow and screamed. I was so angry. I came back out, barely.

I scrubbed down my daughter, I scrubbed down her carpet (going through a whole bottle of Resolve and several pairs of disposable gloves) and my mother-in-law took the bedding and toys and got them all clean. We put her back in bed. Abby knew she had done something wrong. She cried the whole time.

Two guesses as to what she did today during "nap time" and the first two don't count. Andy is on his way to the grocery store for more resolve and a steam cleaner ON THE SABBATH!

Suggestions?