Potty Try and Fail, Try and ... Fail.

For the first few weeks of January Bella started randomly asking to go potty, with a few successes. I thought if there was any sign she was ready this was it.

*** I had no idea when I started that this would be such a long process, compared to Connor's overnight training, so I recorded lots of details and info for me to remember. Unfortunately the results of our training were not great, and we will be doing a REDO with Bella probably this Summer or Fall. So this is a detailed account of attempt one! ***

Day 1

We started off Friday morning, Jan 24th, with POTTY DAY!

(Very similar to Connor's Potty Day)

Her new underwear (Hanes Tagless Cotton Briefs - 2T) was laid out and ready for her to try on. I thought this would be one of her favorite parts, she loves going in Connor's drawer and wearing his underwear as an accessory. I was right she was happy to try on one pair and then three all at the same time. I was worried about the size considering they seemed big, even though they were the smallest size. But they fit fairly well, just a little loose.
Once I got the underwear situation down I sat her on the little potty with a juice box and had her watch Bear in the Big Blue House - When You've Got To Go. I also had a list on Amazon Instant set up with potty episodes; Daniel Tiger - Prince Wednesday Goes To The Potty/ Daniel Goes To The Potty, Blues Clues - Morning Music , Rugrats - Chuckie Versus the Potty/ Tommy Pickles and the Great White Thing/ The Big Flush/ Potty Training Spike/ Day of the Potty.
She sat and ate cereal drank her juice box, and nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Finally I took her off and she wet her underwear right away with a "Uh oh. Sorry. What happened?" as her reply. I then put her on the potty and explained and changed her underwear. It wasn't long before this happened again. Then I sat her on the potty and she went for the first time. It was very coincidental, I felt. And to be honest she didn't even know when it happened, she had been sitting a while and then Connor checked and cheered. So confused Bella turned into "I did it!" Bella.

I had a sticker chart instead of a punch card for her to use while she learned. I marked an X for accidents and she put a sticker on for successes. By the end of the day she just wanted to rip the stickers off and play with them. So the sticker chart didn't last long. She loved the stickers tho.
Later I saw her trying to hide, which is usually the big sign that she has to go #2. So I sat her on the potty and she went. Every time I asked her throughout the day she would shake her head. Then we had a couple more accidents with the same "Uh Oh. What happened?" then she would cry about it too. Day 1 ended with about 5 accidents and 2 successes. But nothing had clicked. We ended up putting a pull up on her for bed and changing it before she even fell asleep.
Connor was a great help throughout the day. He was a distraction at times, being 3 I didn't doubt that he would be. All in all though he cheered for his sister and sang potty songs from Daniel Tiger and helped give her treats (and get his own). He was so excited for her and a great helper.

It was quite an exhausting a day. 

Day 2
I didn't really keep track because I had pretty much given up before it even started. But I tried to keep to the same plan. Juice boxes, salty snacks, little potty in the kitchen. Potty shows.
By the second half of the day I was exhausted and gave up. So on went the pull up. I thought to myself "Well good try before baby 3 comes." I figured we'd wait till she was 3 and potty train then. Two in diapers isn't so bad. I mean we've done it before.
Almost right after the pull up went on and I threw in the towel, Shea came home. She was so happy and talkative. Soon Shea and I started playing a game, my brother had come over, while we were playing she got really fussy. Shouting "NO" to anyone that would look at her.  Shea went into the bathroom and she followed and he set up the big potty for her (stool, potty seat) and asked her if she had to go potty. She nodded and he sat her up. She went right away. He clapped and cheered and gave her a treat (which she just crumbled up)! About half an hour later the same exact thing happened, fussing, bathroom, potty?, and SUCCESS! I started giving her stickers every time she had a success. Sometimes she'd play with it, or put it on her shirt, or on the chart, or stick it and rip it off wherever she went.
That night every time Shea asked her she went. Her pull up was dry at bed time, the same pull up that I had given up and stuck on her earlier in the day.

Day 3
Shea woke up with Bella and asked and toke her to the potty and she had another success. Later in the morning I asked her and she shook her head with "uh uh". Shea asked in the early afternoon and she had another success. That day Shea was home and was on potty duty. She had a dry pull up most of the day. With only a little accident followed by a success.

Day 4 - 8
Shea was back in school and work. So it was up to me. It didn't work as well with me. And she consistently would wet her pull up before she would go on the potty. She had a few successes to several every day. We gave up on underwear for now and are sticking to pull ups. She likes the whole routine in the bathroom getting on the potty, hearing the sound of going potty, wiping, flushing, putting away the seat/stool and closing the potty.

Day 9-10
Daddy was home and although she wasn't as in to it she seemed to do better with him. She would get very excited to hold the stickers while she went and pick one out.

Day 10-14+

After continuing a relaxed version of this potty training, (it being that she'd wear a pull up night and day, only using the potty if she showed signs). I was getting frustrated that this was a drawn out ... Failure. But after done persistence the next few days she started wetting her diaper less and asking to go more. Dirty diapers are regular though, she rarely goes # 2 in the potty. And I have no hopes of potty training for sleep anytime soon. But we're getting excited that she seems to be showing progress.

Potty -Away from Home- Success
(Feb 6th)
Bella asked to go potty at school (toddler lab). And she went no problem. Her teacher was very impressed saying "She asked and did perfect!" I was so proud. Great sign that something is sticking and that we may have a potty trained girl after all!

Identifying Bella's Potty Training Issues:
1. She doesn't communicate using words much. So she wasn't talking and telling us anything. She was mostly silent the days we started trying with underwear. When she is unhappy she doesn't talk as much.
2. She is an eater. She drinks to quench her thirst when eating and that's it. Connor loved all sorts of special drinks and would choose milk over food most days when he was her age. So when we had juice boxes and sodas and sports drinks, and kool-aid he was thrilled and drank and drank all day. Bella was not impressed with the drink arrangement and was happy just sipping here and there. Which made it so she just doesn't go to the bathroom as much.
3. I am a nagger. So hoping to avoid another accident I would keep asking and she would keep saying no. I think finally she hated the question.
4. Bella has seen Connor use the big potty with the potty seat for months now. So when we pulled out the little potty, she was confused and didn't make the connection. Especially since in the weeks leading up to it when she asked to go potty we would put her on the big one most times, because it was just easier.
5. Bella needs privacy. Usually when she goes in her diaper it is off in an empty room. So putting her in the middle of the kitchen, like we did Connor, was probably an obvious no, no.

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Potty Update #1: 
February 19th
Well in the past couple weeks where I thought things would be improving greatly on the whole potty front, they are just plainly not. Bella seems less and less taken with it and it is all on me most of the time. She rarely asks to go potty and when I mention it her usual response is no. And when I lead her into the bathroom to go she whimpers and whines. Usually ending with me changing a wet pull-up along with her going in the potty. I don't know if I should be pushing underwear instead, or if my expectations are too high because Connor was basically an overnight success.Unfortunately since we've started potty training she leaks through a lot more often, I am guessing this happens because she tries to hold it. It makes for a lot of clean ups especially at night. I also think I am just too lazy as I am in my third trimester of pregnancy and changing pull-ups and taking her to the potty constantly feels like double the work with no end in sight. We are stopping potty training and plan to pick it up closer to 3 hopefully when she is a little more vocal. For now we are going to let her use the potty if she asks to but not offer it (we don't want to do any more damage and go in reverse of what we have taught). Were also going back to diapers instead of pull ups, since they are easier to change, per Shea's request, the upside less leaks ;)

Potty Update #2:
March
Bella goes potty each morning per Mommy's request. Occasionally during the day Bella asks to go potty. Every time before bath she uses the potty as well. Other then that it is diapers, day and night. Except for "school" / toddler lab she always wears a pull-up there because she asks to go potty at "school" every time.