Potty Training

I've been trying on and off to potty train Daniel (now pushing 3 in July) with very little success. Believe me I've tried just about everything, but to little success. We've tried potty training in a day. We've tried patience and sticker charts and cleaning up lots of little messes. We've talked and talked and talked about potties and what we do with them and Daniel knows very well by now that poopy and pee pee belong in the potty and can articulate this to me, he can sit for hours on the potty and not do a thing then get up and walk two yards and let loose. I've given up for now on him and have moved onto my next target – Abigail! Yes, she is only 7 months old now, and that's precisely why I'm trying. This is our second day when I've put her on the potty and she has produced something tangible within a minute every time. I had begun to call her miss poop-a-lot as she goes very, very often just little amounts, so when my friend Dhurata said she'd started putting her daughter Ester, who is 9 months old, on the potty for number 2, I thought, why not? She said it would create a reflex, which is exactly what Daniel is missing. I was pretty sure it wouldn't work with Abby, but I tried anyway and we have 4 successes for 4 attempts so far. I'll try to get back in a few weeks and give an update. The long term plan is to have Abby so used to using the potty with help now, that it will be a smooth transition when she can do it on her own later. I don't know how this will work out, but for now, I've done away with changing all of her soiled clothes sometimes even 3 times a day when we have blowouts.

So, we have some picture proof of her seated – we decided to avoid showing you the evidence…