Potty News

I think we reached a potty milestone today. As you know, Julie has been going through the motions for quite some time, but without seeming to understand the crucial step of actually "going." A friend recommended a book on the subject, which I got out of the library and quickly read. Friday afternoon I started a concentrated attempt at implementing the strategies it suggested. By the end of the day, I'd cleaned a lot of pee off the floor and it seemed like we were no closer to the goal. Looking back, I realize that's not entirely true. Julie did manage to learn the M&M reward system I'd set up...the girl likes her chocolate! Then we went to Michigan for the weekend, so no potty stuff for us. I wasn't necessarily going to work on it today, but this afternoon presented its own opportunity after Julie drank quite a bit of juice and water. I figured "why not try?" Knowing Julie and the way she learns, I was convinced that if she could "get it" just one time, she would connect the dots for good. I watched her closely and, amazingly, discerned that she was about to go. I helped her onto her potty and she started to pee! Larry was home at the time and we were both ecstatic! Julie was pretty excited too. She giggled and watched the pee pee with delight. She's been asking the pee pee to come out for days, but it hasn't complied until today. She even put her hands in it, which I hear is very normal. She also thought it was big fun to use toilet paper, flush the toilet, and wash her hands. Then she got 3 M&M's as a reward. What an exciting time!

But it gets better...

We kept her pants off as she continued to play in the living room. Can you guess where this is going? In the midst of playing, Julie actually stopped, ran to the potty, sat down and peed again! We were in disbelief but so excited! SHE GETS IT!!!!! SHE UNDERSTANDS!!! This is what has been missing up until now. Until today, I didn't even know if she knew when she had to pee or if she truly had the bladder control to use the potty. Now I know and the answer is YES! And just to confirm it, she peed in the potty yet AGAIN tonight, all on her own. We weren't even in the room with her! She called out "pee pee" and we thought she was just trying to get more M&M's. When we went to look in the potty, however, it did indeed have pee in it! I have no idea what will happen tomorrow, but for now I am on potty-cloud-nine. I am so proud of Julie, I could burst. My little girl is growing up! (Can you believe she turned 38 months old yesterday?)