Potty Trained

Although it's been a month or so, I feel P being potty trained is worth documenting!  It's one of those pat yourself on the back kind of milestones, for both mommy and toddler.  I had heard so many horror stories about potty training, I didn't even know where to start.  I feel like she could have been ready sooner, but I was selfish and wasn't ready to go out in public worrying if I could get P to the toilet in time.  I finally decided to buck up and dive in head first.  Luckily for me, P was a dreamboat when it came time to potty training.  She essentially did it all on her own.  I wish I could take any of the credit, but I'm pretty sure Daniel Tiger had more to do with it than anything.  I'm telling you that show is genius.  They timing of those little life lessons have been a saving grace.  

We took it pretty slow to start out with, but weren't making too much progress.  I would put her in a diaper at night and nap time and keep her in underwear throughout the day.  I think she was a bit confused and every time we would get a shipment of Lucy's diapers in, she would want to wear them.  So I decided to rip the bandaid and and go full force ahead with only underwear.

We went to Target and picked out minion and princess underwear to get her excited.  We have this potty and that alone got P looking forward to using the toilet.  Now I know some say skip the baby potty if you can, but honestly it worked like a charm for us, especially on those days where I am upstairs with Lucy and I can't get to P in time.  She walks in the bathroom all on her own and does her business.  I also hear it really comes in handy on road trips.  Will be putting that to the test here shortly. 

Letting her pick out a Starburst every time she went potty was a help, as well as some stickers, but the real kicker was the Barbie bribe.  She didn't have one accident as soon as she heard she could go pick out her very own Barbie.  I made sure to take her potty first thing in the morning, before and after her nap time and of course before taking her to bed.  I would also ask her periodically through out the day and every once in awhile she would tell me she had to go.  A couple of accidents later we had a potty trained Penelope!  
I think the best part of the entire experience was seeing her work towards a goal and accomplishing it.  She was determined to get that Barbie.  As soon as she got her hands on it, she couldn't wipe the smile off of her face.  I couldn't be more proud of my big girl!