P-Day: Part Two

Awhile ago, I posted about our adventures in potty training. Lydia seemed like she might be ready, so we gave it a go with some mild success. We had a great diaper-free weekend. Then came Sunday. A string of accidents, including one in Lydia's carseat, sent me over the edge. Honestly, I was surprised by my complete inability to deal with the carseat accident, and it caused me to realize that both child AND parent need to be ready for potty training. It takes patience, yo.

Now that summer is underway, and I'm home with Lydia most of the time, I have decided to give it a try again. Starting Wednesday afternoon, we have began Project Potty. My piece-meal plan goes like this: no diapers at home when Lydia is awake, pull-up at naptime and bedtime, attempt to run errands with training pants on (a find through Toddler 411--thickly-lined underwear that manage messes but are uncomfortable should the child have an accident, thereby teaching them to use the potty instead). Strangely, Lydia does best when she's not wearing anything on her bottom, meaning she frequently runs around the house with a dress on and nothing underneath. The girl likes to be free.

Over three days, she's had three accidents, two at home and one while out and about. Two of the three occurred while she was eating sweets, making me think that if she's going to do something she really won't want to stop, we need to anticipate and attempt the potty beforehand.

**Warning: Poop Talk Ahead**

Exciting milestones that make me feel this isn't such a crazy idea: Lydia used the "big girl" potty at Thunderbird, she has been good about using the potty for, uh, liquid and solids as long as she isn't wearing a pull-up, and yesterday while at a playdate at her buddy Dax's house, she used his potty multiple times. No accidents!

Who knows how this will stick, but I feel we're at a new phase in the potty training process. We'll see!