Praise to the Potty Training Gods!

I have been avoiding talking about my latest obsession because it just really upset me there for awhile. Court was just adamant about sitting on the potty or even discussing it. It was quite frustrating because she was almost completely trained last summer and when I switched her from her nanny to her daycare, she totally backslid and seemed almost afraid of the toilet. I tried everything: a potty chart, M&M rewards (I know, I know a big no-no), buying pretty panties, potty videos and books...heck, we even bribed her with a trip to Disneyland. But nothing worked. It was causing tension between her and I, so I backed off, but still read every potty book and article I could get my hands on, mainly to convince myself that my kid wasn't a complete anomaly. I was completely convinced that my five year old was going to start Kindergarten in a diaper. I'm not sure why it upset me so. I think I had big expectations for her since she did everything so early developmentally. I kept hearing that little girls potty train much earlier and had friends with kids who were trained at 2! People were starting to give me looks when they noticed that my 3 1/2 year old was still in a pull-up. Strangers can really be so judgemental. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, a very stressful situation suddenly presented itself and brought with it some unexpected results!

Two weeks ago, our daycare provider told us that her mom was diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer and she was leaving immediately to Oregon to care for her. I had 24 hours to find a new babysitter. I am embarrassed to admit that I cried for that entire day from the stress and the fear and ashamed that my prayers weren't totally with the DCP and her mother. My kid is very shy and doesn't handle change very well (or so I thought). I continue to be convinced that I lead some sort of charmed life, because I found an AMAZING Montessori program down the street from my house within a couple of days that was exactly what we were looking for and they took kids that WEREN'T POTTY TRAINED! Hallelujah!

I planned on her only being at the preschool for a half day that first day to get used to it. When I dropped her off, she was very nervous and sat in the corner, rubbing her eyes to avoid interacting with anyone. When I left, she stood at the door and waved goodbye with the saddest look on her face. I was heartbroken. I couldn't concentrate on my work and was convinced that I made a major mistake. Then, when I went to pick her up, I didn't see her immediately and asked where she was. "Oh, Courtney is in the bathroom!" Excuse me! Apparently, my stubborn child had been using the "big potty" all morning with absolutely no coaxing from anyone. I was floored. I tried not to make a big deal about it because I didn't want to embarrass her, but I swear, I wanted to just drop to my knees and cry! I had tried everything to get her to just SIT on the potty, and a few hours of good, old-fashioned peer pressure solved the problem! Who knew!

She uses the potty pretty regularly now (except for #2, but hey, I'll take what I can get right now). She's still in a pull up but keeps it dry during the day. I will switch her to panties in a couple of weeks when she gets more used to her school. She LOVES school and her new friends. She seems to have forged an immediate and sweet bond with her teacher and just feels comfortable there. She's even taking an afternoon nap (which she hasn't done in a year!) I swear, it's like she's a different kid. No more tantrums either. She's just the sweetest thing now that she feels more independent and is getting more rest.

I'm grateful for being forced into this change that I was convinced my family wasn't ready for! We're all happier because of it.