Almost Ten Years Later We are a Diaper and Pull Up Free House

While everyone has been potty trained for at least two years, I have still had one in pull ups at night.  It is funny, two of my kids night trained at the same time as they day trained with no problem and two were nowhere near ready for nighttime training for a couple of years.  These two, even when committed to night training had to work really hard to make it a reality.  They are both really heavy sleepers.

Eliza Claire is my last to night train.  We decided about three weeks ago that it was time to wear big girl pants at bedtime.  We've tried before but after a couple of nights of multiple accidents have decided she wasn't ready and we should try again later.  This time she made it the first night with no accidents and then several nights with minor, needing to change her pants but not her bed, accidents.  We told her that if she could go five nights in a row with no accidents she could pick a new toy.  She chose a Playmobil Ghost Pirate Ship as her reward toy. Call it a bribe, call it a reward, call it an incentive, I really don't care.  I was willing to do what was necessary to motivate the girl.  And, at the end of the day the ship cost about the same as six weeks of pull ups, I'm OK with that.

Her siblings have been so cute and supportive.  They cheer and dance for her on mornings she is dry and console her on the mornings she's had an accident.  We have kept this a totally positive, upbeat experience and the whole family has rallied around Eliza Claire.

We did have one day where Rehm was trying to figure out what he needed to work on because he wanted a reward.  I reminded him that he had already gotten a reward for night training.  It actually was a great opportunity to talk about how we don't keep score in this family. As parents we recognize that he and his siblings are each individuals and are treated as such. So just because one child is working toward a reward does not mean we will be buying rewards for all of them at the same time. 

We have been keeping a reward chart on the fridge.  Early last week she had made it three nights with no accidents and was getting excited that she was going to get her pirate ship soon.  Alas, she had four nights of accidents in a row.  Luckily in the three weeks we've been doing this we've only had to do middle of the night sheet changes twice.  And, by we I mean Michael as I usually sleep through those.

It is actually a good thing that she had a set back because I ordered her pirate ship from my favorite online Playmobil source while it was on sale. Due to the bad weather last week, it got stuck in the Dallas area for almost a week.  It should arrive today. As of today, she has had four dry nights in a row.  If she can stay dry tonight she will get her pirate ship first thing in the morning!  Then she will probably spend most of the day in the bath playing with it.

I know we will have a few more set backs along the way, but it sure is nice to finally be completely done with all things diaper related. 

Jenn