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I was gung-ho with starting to use the potty from birth with baby number 2 and all was going well until we needed to move. Then my darling daughter decided to throw the longest potty strike that has lasted over 6 months. Although not totally abandoning the concept of toilet usage for my young daughter, my daughter is refusing to use the potty even though she knows what it is for.

From Birth my daughter did not like to have a dirty or wet diaper and even for a while she would scream when she needed to have a bowel movement. At about 9 months she would regularly use the toilet for voiding and bowel movements while still having a few wet diapers a day. When she had a wet diaper she would get irritable and let me know.

At 10 months we went on an interview vacation where I used gDiapers with the disposable inserts and was not able to take her to the toilet as often. When we got home she was not as willing to use the toilet and I had more dirty to diapers to change each day. At the same time we decided to take a new job in another town and needed to get our house ready to sell. Because I was focusing on selling the house I didn’t allow her to go without a diaper as much. She also stopped complaining when she had a dirty diaper.

Once the house was ready to sell, I started taking her to the potty again, but she now refused. She would arch her back and stand right back up. I tried several different methods of voiding including 3 different chamber potties, holding her and using a receptacle, but she always had the same reaction. I still tried to being her to the potty 2 or 3 times a day, but she never went in the potty.

At 13 months (month 4 of the strike), She started grunting and making the sign when she was going potty. She also started doing this when others were going potty. However, she still was unwilling to use the potty. When she started signing “potty” also was the same week we were at our new house that did not have a laundry yet, so we were once again in disposables and this time I didn’t bring enough gDiapers, so we purchased some super absorbent diapers. By the end of the week she stopped signing and grunting when she went potty. She still signed and grunted when others went potty.

Now at 15 months (month 6 of the strike) I have her diaperless more often because we are in a warmer area where we can go outside and we have wood floors. I also try to have pants on her because I found she doesn’t like to have wet pants. She is willing to sit on the potty if her sister is also on a potty, but she has only voided on the potty 2 or 3 times in 2 months. If her sister says she has to go potty, she will follow her into the bathroom and try to sit on a potty. The past 2 days have been a bit of a turn around for her as well. She has said “Uth Oh” when she voided in her pants and she even did this once on her way to the bathroom.

I must focus on what my real goal is: To have my daughter using only the potty for the day at least 1 month before our new baby arrives. Although my daughter refuses to use the potty, I have to stay positive about the whole experience. I am confident that my daughter will be day time potty trained before the next baby comes in 5 months. She clearly knows what a bathroom is for and is beginning to respond to where she should be voiding. I am also starting to have my older daughter sit on a potty when I want my younger daughter to use the potty. When we talk about using the potty for ourselves (which I am always in the bathroom because I am pregnant), she will sign potty and grunt or find a potty to sit on. Infant potty training is something I am committed to do and I will continue to practice Infant potty training with her and future children even through difficulties.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Baby. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.