We are on day 7 of the potty training journey, and we just had our first 100% successful experience. Ellie was downstairs with Will watching The Little Mermaid. I heard her come up the stairs calling for me, saying ‘ut oh’ and signing potty once she saw me. This is not unusual—from the second day she has told me when she needs to go potty, but from the announcement until actual peeing is usually a long drawn out process. Until yesterday it meant me putting her on the baby potty, her crying, her trying to get away, me bringing her back…and this could literally last hours. At last she would either pee a tiny bit in the potty, I’d think “okay?” and then set her free and she’d pee on the floor. Or I’d give up and give her a little bit of freedown and she’d pee on the floor and I’d either catch it in time to pick her up and let her finish on the potty or not catch it in time and clean it all up off the floor.
But patience is the name of the game when you’re potty training a 17 month old.
Yesterday we had a major breakthrough. We were upstairs when she announced her need to potty, so I put her on our toilet (with the kid attachment seat thing). Stuck up there, I told her I would be right back—that I was going to get my book. (I’m not kidding about this being a thing that could drag on for hours). She shrieked in protest as I left the bathroom and then I heard the protests stop. I looked back, and she was looking down, doubtful and concerned. She’d done it! She’d peed in the potty in our fastest ordeal yet! Mere minutes instead of hours!
So I decided that the big potty was the ticket and we abandoned the baby potty (I remember this being very helpful for Will, too). This morning she woke up dry (for the third time since we started potty training!) and announced that she had to pee. I took her to the potty and she had to sit there for about 20 minutes before finally going. An hour later she had to go again, and she went a few drops after 5 minutes of protest. I thought that was probably it, since she had just gone before. Not so—5 minutes later there was a puddle on the carpet. Blast.
But then an hour after that, she came up the stairs, announcing her need. I took her to the potty, set her down, and walked out (it seems to go best when she’s alone). I had just made it out of the bathroom when she peed! And not her tricky ‘just a few drops, I’m saving the puddle for the floor’ business—but a real pee! Without any fussing or waiting! Just ‘I need to pee’, sit on the potty, pee, and be done!
By George I think she’s got it!
