Monday was my first day back at work after 11 weeks home with my babes. I was in touch with work folks here and there, answered questions here and there, but I did manage to ignore the really icky emails while I was home.
I wasn't shocked to find all the icky problems described in the icky emails waiting for me when I got in Monday. Oh well. I will NOT complain about my job--I really am thankful that David and I are both still employed while living in a state with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.
Anyway, so both girls are in daycare now and I'm getting used to the new routine (paying for two kids in full-time daycare though....holy sh*t...can't even talk about that yet...) One of the major benefits of daycare is that the teachers are rather routine-oriented, and routine is a beautiful prerequisite to...potty training. They've been working with Rach for a while, and she's been cooperating with increasing consistency. She was wearing Pull-Ups so if she peed in her pants, no big deal. It was just nice that she was getting used to the idea of potty time, the routine associated with potty time, all with zero pressure.
One day, fueled by black coffee and six hours of uninterrupted sleep, I introduced Rachael to underpants. She was thrilled. She put them on herself. She danced in them. She went and told her dadda that "she's wearing her underwear pants." She talked about the butterflies on her underwear pants. I explained to her that she couldn't go pee pee in her underwear pants, so she needed to tell momma when she needed to go pee pee. She nodded proudly and marched out of her room, still talking about her underwear pants.
...Then she peed in them.
...So I put on new ones.
...So she pooped in those.
...So I put on new ones.
..."Rachael, do you want to go potty? Let's go sit on the potty."
...Sits on potty, nothing happens
**5 minutes pass**
...She pees in third pair of underpants.
...I decide to throw in the towel for the day and put her in a Pull Up.
...She goes insane, demanding 'underwear pants'
...I, like an idiot, try to reason with her (did I mention that she'd gotten up at 7am, it's now 5pm, and she didn't take a nap?)
...She has a tantrum.
...and pees on the floor.
So, OK. This was just day one. I never thought we'd get this licked in 24 hours, and as the next few days passed she got more and more wise to the requirements of underwear pants. I'll say this--a few straight days of potty awareness with Rachael resulted in me adding a 6-pack of Sam Adams to the grocery list.
Since those initial days, she's doing a LOT better. We still can't get her to actually come and tell us when she needs to go, but she's clearly able to hold it until the opportunity is presented--when we suggest potty breaks and she actually needs to pee, she'll quietly agree to join us in the potty and, often, use the toilet with success. If she doesn't have to go, she'll say "NO NO NO"in a tone and manner that suggests David and I are not only mean, but clearly stupid. Ahhh....
What's really awesome is that, in the four days she's worn underpants to school, she's had 3 accident-free days. That kind of track record makes me feel fairly confident that we won't still be buying Pull Ups for her when she's learning to drive, or registering to vote. And she's making all of this progress with a newborn in the house, so I have to grade her on a curve. Lots of life changes going on...it's asking a lot to expect her to also master a new approach to bladder/bowel control. She'll get there. :)
Erin, Jen, Rachael and Kristine
Rachael being goofy!