BIG GIRL!

We've been using the phrase "BIG GIRL" a ton lately!

BIG GIRL toddler bed!

Before the twins were born I made a list of transitions we needed to do with Charlotte. We are slowly but surely doing them one at a time- trying not to overwhelm our very overwhelm-able toddler. She is doing great with all these big changes in her life. I sometimes think that we don't give kids' enough credit. Their lives change drastically so often.

We moved her into her very cute BIG GIRL BED right after Thanksgiving. She'd been climbing into her crib on her own for awhile but not climbing out. The first week I gave her a choice between her bed or crib. She chose bed for naps then crib for the night. After that I had Charlotte help me put in the bumper, tell Abby what a nice crib it was, and then moved Charlotte to her bed. She seemed really good with that. After a couple of nights she didn't even ask about it at all.

She will usually get up and knock on the inside of her door for us to come get her when she wakes up. If we take too long she will come find us. She will play in her room once in a while but usually she goes to sleep just as easy as she did in the crib. Let's hope she keeps it up! This was a much easier transition than I thought it would be. The first night I had all three kids in the same room and the twins in separate cribs they slept through the night. Since then they have done it quite often- and rarely wake up from the other one crying. I should have moved them sooner!

BIG GIRL potty chart and BIG GIRL "pity" panties

Oh yes we did! The week after Christmas while Matt was still off, but after all the trips and craziness, we potty trained Charlotte. The night before as I'm getting her chart, treats, reminders ready I felt like I was preparing for some sort of parenting final exam. You hear so many horror stories about potty training, I put in some serious preparation before I was ready for this one. She did really well for the most part.

Here's how it went:

Day 1: Intense training via Toilet Training in Less than a Day method, 3- #1 accidents, One tramatic screaming #2 experience

Day 2: 1-#1 accident

Day3:1-#1 accident

Day 4: No accidents. Finally went #2 again. Again very tramatic. First outing in panties! We were both going a little crazy after being home 4 days straight.

Day 5: No accidents.

Day 6: Pull-up at church (I wussed out because I had to teach that day). She used the potty twice at church and kept her pull-up dry. No accidents

Day 7: One "didn't quite make it." Another tramatic #2 experience.

Day 9: First #2 accident "I sorry mama! Poop panties!"

You get the idea. Basically she was totally ready to pee potty train with almost no issues, but she is still very worried about going #2 and has been holding it in for 3 days. I'm hoping this will get easier over time and she won't be psychologically scarred from the experience. I kind of knew it was going to be like this based on her personality and behavior even with a diaper. I'm open for any advice.

She filled out her first chart in a week and we went to the AZ Museum for Youth as her prize since she's always dying to get out of the house. Now we're working on her "#2 For the Zoo Chart." I take full credit for the rhyming name. She is very motivated by this type of bribery but she still can't get over her fear and just go. I'm pretty sure she's going to be in kindergarten before this thing is filled out.

It's so nice not to have to change her. She can totally do the whole thing by herself. Sometimes she still wants help or an audience to clap for her but she's really into telling me "Mommy leave! Charlotte do it!" and then she will with just a couple reminders of "Wash hands! Flush!" She's basically totally independent at home except #2. We were still doing a diaper for naps and bedtime, but now it's just at night.

It is such a relief to have at least made it this far, especially after months of putting it off because I couldn't handle doing one more thing. Way to go Charlotte (and mom and dad too)!