Potty Training....or....Not...

Steven and I had been discussing potty training - but this month is just a crazy one for us.  Annie's birthday, prime photography time, lots going on with Thirty-One.... so I hadn't really considered starting yet.  However, about 2 weeks ago the weather outside was gross, which kept us trapped inside a lot, so we thought - "hey, why not!  Let's give this thing a try."  I have known a lot of moms who "potty train early."  I also know other moms who are adamant about "they'll do it when they're good and ready."  Well... we are having a baby in 7-10 weeks....and I'd really prefer not to have two children in diapers, so.

I've read a lot about the 3-day method, not to mention Ive known a few mamas who have taken this approach.  I realize that with a child as small as Annie the probability of having her completely trained in three days was very slim.  As far as my expectations:  I expected her to get the gist of what she was supposed to do in 3 days - but I expected it to take a couple of weeks for her to stop having accidents.   The gist of the "3-day" method is this:  You don't go anywhere for 3 days and you focus on nothing but potty training.  You leave them naked waist down so that (1) they dont have to struggle pulling their pants down (2) when they pee on themselves they can really feel it (since it'll be running down their leg...)  Well - here's how our three days turned out:

Day 1:

Annie went naked waist down all day and had zero morning accidents.  She gladly sat on the potty and even peed in it once!  She was so excited and we cheered and made a big deal out of it.  We let her dump her pee pee down the potty and she got to flush the big potty.  I washed her hands and even let her play in a sink of bubble water as an added bonus of fun.  She wore a diaper at nap and Im not sure what little demon fairy whispered in her ear while she was sleeping - but when she woke up... ay.  She refused to sit on the potty at all and peed all over my floor all day.  UGH.  But.  It was day 1 and as stressed and frustrated as I was... its sort of what I expected.  I may have had to take a hot soak in the when steven woke up that evening b/c my nerves were shot.  However, when we called her to dinner - she was running to the table and stopped in her tracks and said "uh oh pee pee" and peed on the potty!!  It was a sweet victory.

Day 2:

She went back and forth between willingly sitting on the potty and absolutely refusing.  She didnt pee in the potty all day.  She did pee in my floor a lot and even pooped in the kitchen floor...but she stopped as soon as she saw her droppings bc they freaked her out :/

Day 3:  She didnt seem to care about pee running down her leg, so I decided to put panties on her to save my floor a little bit.  Wet panties bothered her a little...but she still would not pee in the potty.  At one point she sat on the potty for several minutes and then jumped up, went to the kitchen....and peed all over the kitchen chair :/  I let her poop in her panties that morning b/c I could tell that she had been holding her poop for a few days and I didnt want her to get backed up or have belly issues.

After 3 days of not going anywhere, non-stop training.... Annie would still not pee in the potty, so....we decided to throw in the towel.  Annie has always had a strong will.  A tender heart, but very determined.  When she puts her mind to something - there's little stopping her.  So, when she refuses to pee in the potty, there's not much that will change her mind.  No amount of snacks or stickers can sway her.  So, perhaps we will try again in a month or so - or we may have to wait until after Emery is born.  I have a feeling we will be home-bound a lot after she's born (I cant fathom taking two children out in public alone).  Maybe once Annie has time to warm up to E we can try to potty train again.  She got some super cute Frozen panties for her birthday...so maybe those will help!   Considering I'm almost 30 weeks pregnant, it's not super easy getting up and down out of the floor all day and it's KILLING my hips - so maybe it'll be easier for ME when I dont have a tiny human in my body :)  She'll get it... one day...