By George I think she's got it, well mostly anyway

Three weeks ago we took the big plunge into potty training Maddie. Up to that point we hadn't really put a lot of effort into it. If Maddie wanted to sit on the potty she would, but never did anything. I finally decided I was sick of changing diapers on two kids so it was about time Maddie was potty trained. The first few days were a trial, but it got continually better. This past week she only had 2-3 accidents in 7 days. 

It all started with what I called Potty Training Boot Camp. It was a very intense 3 days of getting Maddie used to using the potty and wearing big girl underwear. On a Friday we said good bye to diapers and hello to underwear. That first day was pretty stressful for both Maddie and me. There were way more accidents than successes, but we did have a few successes so that gave us enough encouragement to keep going. The program said the child would be completely trained by the end of the third day. That didn't happen for us, but the change from Friday to Sunday was pretty dramatic. To go from a kid who wouldn't do anything to one who finally sit and go on the potty was a huge step.

So we used the 3 days as a starting point and kept going from there. We have all come to realize the signs that she needs to go to the potty and get her there in time. In fact, this past week she consistently told us when she needed to use the potty!.Giving her special treats for each success has also helped get her trained too. I'm hoping to start weaning that system because she has had way more candy/sugar in the past 3 weeks than in her whole life.

Maddie still have a little ways to go, but we are so proud of how well she has done!