Mira update:
I'm not sure how it happened. I'm still questioning where my baby went? WE HAVE POTTY SUCCESS! I didn't push it, but at about 18 months, Mira started peeing on the potty! We celebrated every time with 2 fists in the air and a good 'ole, "WOOHOO"!!! She watched her big cousins learning how, and it kinda just happened! (The M&M's and cookies had NOTHING to do with it, I'm sure!) Right before she turned 2 we started actually wearing big girl panties around the house. This Momma was too chicken to venture out that way! She hadn't gone #2 on the potty until January. We bought tickets to see Sesame Street LIVE! and I was trying to use that as her reward for going #2. She could have cared less, because she had NO idea what I was talking about, she had never been to a live show yet! 2 days before Elmo, she actually pooped on the potty! I hadn't been that excited about poop since it turned solid at 6 months! (This is a great thing for a cloth diapering Momma!) We got to go see Elmo, and I'm so glad. I think Mommy and Daddy were more excited than she was!
So, at 27 months, she wears big girl panties all day, even at nap time, and only has the occasional accident. Sometimes there's just too much fun going on, and no time for potty! She's still needing a diaper at night, but that switch will be coming soon. A relative recommended switching to a big girl bed and big girl pantie at night all at once. Makes sense to me, so we'll attempt that in another week or two. She still wakes up pretty wet, so I'm not rushing it! I think we will use a reward system, maybe getting a sticker for every time she wakes up dry, and when she gets 10 stickers, she gets a prize. All in all, the process was pretty smooth to this point. There were VERY frustrating days. Potty training DEFINITELY tests Mommy's patience. Definitely. I'm not an expert by any means. If someone asked me what was the key to success, I would say that once she was comfortable sitting down and peeing on the potty, it was more about a constant reminder to do so. We would start first thing in the morning, wake up, sit on the potty, and then continue to try every 30 minutes. Yes, a daunting task, but totally worth it. A couple days of that, and she was ready to spread it out to every hour, then every 2 hours, until she was confident enough to tell me when she had to go, and when she didn't. Boy did she tell me when she didn't! Ha ha! Thanks to my Sister at this point, for the encouragement to not fight to get her on the potty. She was ready to tell me on her own when she had to go. She's such a big girl and we still celebrate every time! "WOOHOO"!!!
A couple funny things:
I often have to remind her to get her finger out of her nose. Gross. Now, when I catch her doing it, and ask her to stop, she says, "It's mine!" Yes honey, it is yours, but it's still yucky. Ha ha ha!
She is becoming quite the procrastinator at nap and bedtime, and uses every excuse she can think of. The funniest one is that her "finga-nail" hurts. Then it's her chin, elbow, cheek, and finally, she has to go potty. AAAGGGGGHHHHHH!!!! GO TO SLEEP!
Every time we drive past a Wendy's, she wants "burga-a-cheese" and fries. Now when we drive past a McDonald's, it's "chick-a-fries". We don't eat there often at all, but it's amazing to me how quickly a child is influenced by commercial things. She sees the sign, and knows what it is. Crazy.
When she cries or gets upset and I ask her, "What's wrong?" Her reply is, "A 'cause". Ha ha ha!
Finally, we have been obsessed with singing Happy Birthday lately. Lots of our family celebrates their days Nov-March so she's gotten lots of practice. It's the sweetest thing! The first video was in February, sending birthday wishes to our sweet friend, Marissa.
This past week, we celebrated Mommy and Daddy's birthdays. She sang to Daddy on Mommy's day, and vice versa. I can't believe how much her birthday song has improved in just a few short weeks. Sweetest. Thing. EVER.
