Our Big Girl

Call me crazy, but I decided last week to try (again) to potty train Audia. Yes, I know it is only a couple of weeks before my due date, and most likely she will regress when Callen gets here, but I figured if we can get it even partially mastered before his arrival, then it will be easier to finish the job later this summer, and before she starts preschool this fall.

Let me preface this by saying that we have been trying, without being too pushy about it, to potty train her for MONTHS now. But to say that our daughter is strong-willed is not only repetitive, it's an understatement, and she was flat out refusing to have anything at all to do with the potty each time we brought it up. Her pediatrician said not to push the issue because that could delay progress, so after a couple times of her refusing to even sit on the thing, we would give up for a week or two. I was beginning to get distressed about it because we found a preschool that we really, really like but that she can't attend if she isn't potty trained.

Thanks to some key advice from my BFF N, as of today she is mostly potty trained! I started potty training on Friday morning. By that afternoon, she had peeing on the potty mastered, and hasn't had an accident with it since! Yesterday was the first day she pooped on the potty, but considering that I've read that pooping can take weeks or even months to happen after peeing, a few days of needing changes is nothing! And what was the magical piece of advice that N had to give me? No pull ups. Go straight to panties. Sure enough, the first time Audia wet herself in her panties, she had a coniption fit. The second time she wet herself was the last time. She definitely is highly motivated by being able to, and being praised for, doing things by herself, so I am hoping that the pooping on the potty continues.

In other big girl news, the sleeping issues we were having a few weeks ago are totally gone now. We can easily put her in bed, without any whining or complaining or making millions of excuses to get us back in her room. She sleeps through the night 99% of the time, and even if she does wake up now, which is seldom, she will turn on her ocean sound by herself and go back to sleep.

It is crazy to me how you can essentially watch a toddler's brain growing. There is definitely a cycle to emotional and intellectual growth just like there are cycles with physical growth. And Audia continues to demonstrate for us that she will do things at her own pace, in her own way. We just have to be patient, nurturing, and supportive and she pretty much figures it all out on her own. I always knew that this applied to raising older children, but I am constantly amazed at how much it also applies to toddlers and even infants. There is no forcing a child to do anything before they are ready. And really, I think that overall children teach us far more than we could ever teach them.