Disclaimer: potty-related talk ahead...you have been warned.
Ah, potty training. The end result of which every parent longs for, but the process every parent dreads. When Lillian was 18 months old, we hauled out the little potty chairs that we'd been given by generous neighbors and had one in the upstairs bathroom and one in the downstairs bathroom. L was pretty interested in "bathroom-related things" aka watching us (yep, privacy is a non-starter with toddlers), and we started to talk about the potty. For the next month or two, she would occasionally ask to sit on it but nothing ever happened and she squirmed off in about 3 seconds. We decided to buy a seat for the real toiliet to see if that would help. Nope. I took it easy for a few weeks and didn't ask if she wanted to use the potty but would put her on it if she asked me, which she did every few days.
Right at 20 months T's parents came to town for the weekend and L peed about 2 drops in her little potty. We cheered for her as if she had just kicked a game-winning goal in the World Cup(GOOOOOALLLLLL). The next day, I attempted to repeat the conditions sans grandparents and she cried and squirmed off the seat. I prayed about it, and just decided to drop the whole potty training issue for the moment. I didn't want it to be traumatizing for her, or stressful for me. I came to a peace about two kids in diapers, but most of all, I knew that L would do it when she was ready (b/c she's just that kind of kid). She has all the "readiness" signs--interested in the potty, wakes up dry after naps and in the morning, knows when she is going, etc., but I didn't think there was any point in forcing it.
On Saturday afternoon, I got a hankering for something sweet and came back with all the fixins' for rice krispie treats with M&Ms. Which I never got to make because SOMEONE decided they wanted frozen yogurt that night instead. :) (No complaints here though!). Anyways, L saw the M&Ms and asked for some and on a wild hair, I told her that if she peed in the potty she could have a piece of candy. Like she'd been doing it all her life, she ran to the little potty and peed. Then she immediately demanded her treat, which we handed to her in a state of shock. Side note, she says "M&Ms" just like she says "animals," and when you think about it, they really do sound alike! She went four or five more times that evening and a handful of times yesterday when we were at home, including the Big Kahuna. Naturally she has figured out how to work the system and oftentimes she will go, come to the kitchen and demand an M&M, then go back and finish up and ask for more M&Ms. At this point, we are being pretty liberal with them since this is all such an experiment. She's enjoying her Elmo underwear and the chocolate candy, so we are sticking with those things for the moment and enjoying a few diaper free hours.
Where is all this headed? Honestly, I'm not sure. We're going on vacation soon and there is no way I'm lugging a potty chair across the country or sticking her cute little butt on a public toilet seat. Ideally we'll take a break for a couple of weeks and "hit it hard" when we come back. Then she'll have a few months to get used to it before Little Bro Regression is born. Don't worry, I will be sure to keep you posted since I'm sure you are all dying to know the ins and outs of L's every potty training move. We are pretty proud of her for her progress so far and we are enjoying how perfectly reflective it is of her personality.
