Eloise & her big girl panties

I'm not sure what it is about the Valentine girls but Charlotte, cousin Karis & now Eloise each had a mind of their own when it came to potty training. I definitely had a different time planned to complete the process but Eloise decided the week the boys came home from the NICU was absolutely perfect! I mean really, could you think of a better time to potty train rather than adding two newborns into the mix? Ha! Maybe it was that Eloise wanted a little blogging attention since her brothers stole the show in the recent months ; )  

My mom was really the one that convinced me that we should just go for it since we had made the decision to quarantine ourselves until the boys hit the two month mark.  We were thinking that if we didn't do it now we may not have time (or energy) to do it for another year or two ; )  I have also heard from many a parent to not pass on the opportunity to train when a child shows interest/readiness so the decision was made...potty training would begin the following morning.  My mom & I read up on the 3 Day Potty Training method we previously used & looked back at the blog post of when I did it with Charlotte.  I was feeling great about our decision until I looked back at the blog post & was reminded of the pure torture it was for the entire family. I was prepared for the worst & told my mom to get ready!

Char & I went to the store early the next morning to get some juice, stickers, jellybeans & a couple toys for Eloise.  She was really excited to help sissy!

Here is the counter all set up....

Right after breakfast we threw a diaper in the trash & made a big deal about how Eloise was a big girl & got to wear big girl panties like Charlotte. She smiled big & slid on the first pair of Minnie Mouse undies.  Here she is getting some instruction from the potty expert. Love that little tush!

Eloise had been going on the potty on & off & was used to the feeling of emptying her bladder all the way. I think this helped immensely with the process.  Within a few minutes she ran to the potty, sat down & went! She said "yea Eh-Wheez!" while we all cheered.  That's pretty much how the day went.  She had about 3 accidents the first day which was the polar opposite of potty training the eldest child.  We were thankful for an easier experience with the current circumstances : ) One thing that has made us all laugh hard is how she was approaching the potty the first day. She would start walking backward towards it then lean forward placing her hands on the ground. She walked backward on all fours until she could see the potty & feel it on her calves before sitting down. Rob said that showing her how to get on the potty was his contribution to the whole training....hahaha!

Here is little Elo sitting on her potty....so cute!

One of the exciting toys was a bouncy balloon on a string.  It provided much entertainment & still is a week & 5 days later!

My mom took on the role of primary potty trainer keeping Eloise nearby at all times. Eloise was happy with this arrangement since my mom is her favorite person. They cooked together, ate together, played together....you name it, it happened together! 

Jellybeans happened to be on sale a week after Easter so we got a bag of Starburst flavored ones...my favorite. Eloise was SO good at going on the potty she ate like a million of them the first day! We had to cut her off & switch to more stickers than jellybeans : ) Charlotte decided that she would like to be rewarded for going on the potty too. She would declare her success each & every time. She went about 10 times as often as she usually does just to maximize her jellybean intake for the day.  We cheered for her too but by day 2 she would go into the bathroom alone & then scream from the potty "I don't want anyone to say 'yea Charlotte' when I go potty!" It was pretty hilarious.

Elo & her favorite color jellybean...

Quick summary of the progress over our three days & beyond:

Day 1: 3 accidents including one during naptime, 1 accident overnight
Day 2: 2 accidents, dry during naptime, dry overnight with us taking her potty once before we went to bed
Day 3: 1 or 2 accidents, dry during naptime, dry overnight with the same routine as night before

Since then she has done really well with maybe one accident every few days usually while she is running to the potty but sometimes while playing. We are still taking her right before we go to bed since she is sleeping in a crib & not able to get up & go right away if she needs to. I'm not sure when we will stop this..maybe soon.  It's funny how it works....I wrote the previous few sentences a couple hours ago & since then she has had two accidents.  So, we are not 100% yet but we are headed that way.

All of those accidents listed above are "tee-tee" as we call it. Poopie is a whole different ballgame for this girl. This maybe TMI but the blog post IS about potty training so here you go! For the weeks leading up to potty training she had a little constipation with a few painful passings if you will. Those experiences scared her big time.  So, every time she has to go #2 she runs through the house yelling "poopie hurts! poopie comin'!" It is hard not to laugh....it makes me grin just thinking about it.  She usually makes it within a foot of the potty & is in a crouched position pushing like a woman having a baby. We have to guide her backward & once it is out she is really excited & shouting what it looks like (rock, snake, you get the idea)...also hilarious.  Since I wrote this paragraph Eloise has gone twice on her own right in the potty. As I started this post I said that Valentine girls do things their own way....enough said.

Both girls are hooked on Caillou right now so Elo's favorite prize for being such a big girl is her very own Caillou figurine. He watched her eat breakfast the first morning, has gone on multiple car rides & even watches himself on Netflix.

Who knows how long it will be before we are accident free but I think we might be close. It's not like there are any other transitions going on in this child's life right now to distract her ; ) We are very proud of Eloise & are jumping for joy to only be buying diapers for 2 kids instead of 3! I requested that the extra money be put into a spoil mommy account...maybe a pedicure once a month? No answer yet from the leader of the pack.

Crazy to think that the next potty training in this house will be double time & for BOYS! We might send all three of the boys in this house on a camping trip for the weekend or something...knock it out that way ; )