Potty-training is not for the faint-of-heart!

As it is Thanksgiving weekend, I just have ONE VERY BIG THING to be thankful for.  There are so many others, but this one hits pretty high on the charts for me this month.  YES, the big day has finally arrived- Heidi is now officially potty trained.   This is my ultimate cause for Thanksgiving.  I was starting to wonder if it was EVER going to happen.   It has almost felt surreal, like it just can't be true.  I have dreamed of this day for a VERY LONG time, too long in my opinion.   

We started potty training at age 3, which was the age that it "clicked" for my other two.  I would have liked to do it sooner, but they just weren't ready.  With Erika being my first, I wasted a whole year from age 2-3 doing potty training and then when she turned 3, it just clicked.  Then, with Kyle it only took like 2 days just after his 3rd birthday and he had it down.  One thing that has been harder with Heidi is that she has been behind in pretty much everything else, including walking (25 mo) and talking.  We had her in the up-to-3 program and she was receiving help with a speech therapist and going to developmental preschool.  So, I was not expecting her to do as well as the other kids had at this.  But, I had no idea it would take this long.    

We took a few breaks after starting just because she simply didn't care at all.  She would walk around in poopy pants for hours if I didn't catch it and it really didn't bother her.   I tried every method I could think of.  I hate to admit this, but by the end I really wanted to burn the book "Potty training in less than a day"  (Even though it worked with Kyle).  It just bothered me that they claimed their methods worked so well with handicapped children.   I honestly tried EVERYTHING.   I was looking things up on the internet, reading books...   Finally we just stuck to the timer method.   I took her to the potty every 2 hours and she did okay with #1 but was terribly afraid of #2.  And, I went back to pull-ups mostly for my own sanity because getting her pants all wet didn't bother Heidi at all.  

Well, last month we started a potty chart with stickers and prizes- and she finally got it!!   (Before this I don't think she could really understand the chart thing).  If she went #2 in the potty she would get to pick a prize from the prize box that we have for the other kids when they earn rewards for being good.  I could not believe how excited she was about it!!  She went #2 in the potty that day and almost every day after that.  Well, a few weeks and only a couple of accidents later, I think we have arrived.  

I don't know if you really wanted to know all of those details, but oh well.  This has been my life for the last year-and-a-half.  All I can say is, potty training is not for the faint-of-heart.   For those of you who had it easy, lucky you- I have been there before.  But, to anyone who has had a hard time,  I comlpletely empathize!  I have told Aaron- I would pay up to $1,000 to send my child to a potty-training camp where they go for a few days and come home  completely potty trained.  That may sound bizarre, but I think it would be totally worth it!   Motherhood is a great training ground, with so much to learn and discover.  I've always said that among all the tasks of a mother, potty training has to be my least favorite, with baby food falling in as second place.  There are those things that you just trudge through and then you are glad when they are over, and then the rest you ENJOY.  Even the hard parts can end up being successes to celebrate.