So I have waited a week to blog about this, because if there is one thing every mother knows, it is that as soon as you say ANYTHING about ANYTHING, the opposite is bound to happen - the winning streak will break and you will find yourself back at square one - if not behind square one.
I have been rolling up the rugs and taking Madoc's diaper away for a day every other month for the last five months - just to test the waters to see if she was "ready yet?" This is not easy, because the rug in our living room is very large and very heavy. So after the first and second time, I've had to look deep inside to find inner strength and motivation to race after Madoc's little bumpkins trying to catch a poo.
And so a week ago, I did it again. And, as usual, she held it in as long as possible, and then held it in another two hours just to see if I would call the doctor in desperation. But just before that point, her bladder had to let it out, and I was lucky enough to get most of it in the potty. She was scared stiff of what happened, but absolutely refused to put her diaper back on. And so the next 24 hours involved her running back to the toilet, sitting with nothing coming out, becoming visibly more uncomfortable, like she was getting sick (started sweating!) but not letting me put her diaper back on.
And so I did something that I told myself I would never, ever, do. Not in a million years. Not for anything. I told her, in a moment of desperation as I saw her eyes turning yellow, that I would give her one marshmallow if she put pee pee in the potty.
And the rest, my friends, is history. The next day there was not a single accident. Nor the next day, or the next day. One afternoon she had two accidents, but I think that was more about the fact Jojo wasn't asking her every 15-minutes if she had to use the potty.
Oh, and we went through a lot of marshmallows, because Chase got one every time, too, for being such a supportive sister.
And now we carry her little potty everywhere we go. It works well here, especially because most public toilets are either holes in the ground or so filthy I wouldn't use it if it was the last potty on earth. But then again, that's what I said about bribing my daughter with candy.
