Potty Training.....

When Hannah turned three, and still was not potty trained, I figured that she was just going to "live" in pull ups for the rest of her life. Not only was she not potty trained, she had no desire to even become potty trained. She seemed to show no interest and whenever I asked her about it she'd say, "No, I don't want to." She'd do this over and over again, all in her matter of fact way!

Well this week Zoe had to go for assessment testing for Kindergarten which I used as a tool of discussion with Hannah concerning her preschool. I told her that this year she had to be potty trained (which is actually in the preschool handbook for three year olds). Now they have never 'kicked' a preschooler out for still using pull ups and having accidents BUT I saw it as the perfect opportunity to explain to Hannah that it was indeed TIME!! I could 'see' her thinking about it and when my mom asked her if she wanted to go potty with her Hannah said yes. Well she sat on her special little potty and actually went! Of course we make a huge deal out of it--you'd have thought we'd struck oil!!

The rest is history, as she is now going--unprompted as well as reminded from time to time. She uses it, brings it to show me, cleans it out AND puts it back together. I can't tell you how thrilled I am that she wants to do this. I had cleaned it out at first and put it back together with her watching me. When she figured out how I was doing it, she wanted to take over. Oh yes, when she is done she washes her hands too! What a chip off the block!!

So far she has not pooped in the potty--still in the pull ups--but I told her that it was ok to poop in the potty too and that mommy would clean her up really good just like when she went in the pull up. Not that I relish cleaning the potty of that BUT better me than her on that item!!

I am sooooo relieved that she has made this MILESTONE marker!! I was beginning to think that I was going to have to hire someone to come in and teach her to use the potty but the motivation finally struck....and the chocolate treat after probably didn't hurt either!