"That will be another box of diapers, please."

 At the beginning of August we made the decision to start potty training Eva. I had read lots of information about readiness signs and felt like she was basically asking me to teach her to use the potty. So we made our plan. I read the Potty Training in One Day book and didn't really agree with that philosophy (no offense if it worked for you). I liked the Potty Training in Three Days method that is popularly floating around Pinterest much better. Wow, what a difference those 2 days must make in how to potty train! I also made up a fun potty training bag to take with us on the go!

I made a plan that for a few days we would stay at home and mostly hang out on the tile in the living room. We set the little potty next to the couch. I used to think that seemed crazy, but trust me, it was totally practical. I let her drink more juice and watch more movies and have more time on my phone or the iPad than I normally would. All of this led to a few days of what I thought was a successful step in the right direction. Not that I would have said she was trained, but definitely learning.

Then....she started to regress...more and more accidents....less successes.....and way less desire to even sit on the potty. Granted, this regression happened when I recognized that after a few days we had to get back to normal. She could only have juice as a treat. Same with movies and the iPad. I just wasn't comfortable living life in a "potty training bubble" for weeks on end. I even moved the potty back to the bathroom because after only a couple of days she had associated sitting on the potty with getting to watch a movie.

All this to say, we bought a full box of diapers at Costco on Saturday. We gave it a good try for a month. I'm honestly not stressed about this because I feel like it's what we need to do right now. Yes, I really wish we could not spend more money on diapers, but that's part of having a baby. I figure we will wait a couple of months and then try again. Or maybe she will surprise me and decide to train herself? We still have the potties out in the bathrooms so that she can sit if she wants but I don't plan on asking her unless she initiates it, which she actually has a couple of times since going back to diapers. We will still watch Elmo's Potty Time, the best DVD for any toddler who loves Elmo (and parents who enjoy a good potty related joke). We will still read her potty training picture books, because they are truly her favorite books right now.

I know she is still really young and has plenty of time. Hopefully this story of our experience will encourage other mama's out there who are in the potty training trenches with me!