Potty training success

Normally, I wouldn't dream of describing such things in the public domain. But one of Anna's areas of most difficulty has been potty training. She just hasn't shown any interest, and when Anna doesn't want to do something, she can be pretty stubborn. So a fight over the potty would never have worked. Tonight, however, we had an opportune moment (obvious signs of an Impending Potty-Event) to put her on the potty. I brought her favorite book on the subject, 'Sara's Potty', and Lewis read it to her. Before too long, she said, 'poot!' (Much cuter than 'poop', I think.) And so it was. Success!! But the best part was actually a few minutes later, when I was getting everyone into the tub. She resisted, and pulled away, heading for the potty. I thought it was a stalling tactic--but no! She needed to 'poot', and went to the potty entirely on her own initiative.



It has also been proved that Anna has heard all I have said about 'when you use the potty': I have promised her virtually anything she asks for. Soon after her Great Success, she looked at me and said, 'I want to watch Grinch.' She loved it more than anything over Christmas, and it took some convincing to get her to give it up in January so we could send it back to Netflix. Fortunately, our neighbors have a copy: Anna got her wish. She and her brothers got to watch 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' on the eve of St Valentine's day.



This is a big milestone for Anna, and we hope that it signals the beginning of an interest in potty training. We certainly made a Big Deal about it for her, and Thomas was as excited as we were. He is a fantastic (developmentally 'older') brother when he wants to be. Of course we are not holding our breath for a speedy move to big girl underwear: like everything else with Anna, this will take time. Probably lots of time! If only I had a photo of the pleased look she had when everyone was cheering: it was priceless. Maybe next time....