Once Upon a Potty

Mia decided she was seriously interested in potty training sometime in early March after we had started visiting preschools. (If I had known that would do the trick, I would have started taking her to see preschools sooner.) I got excited a couple of days ago when I realized she had gone about a week without having an accident, but since then she has had an accident each day. I know it's a process, but I was so hopeful that the end was in sight. I don't know how much backsliding is normal, but it has happened a few times. She will be having a lot of success, and then something happens and she seems to lose it for awhile. So here are my records of some potty training milestones... I wonder if mapping them out will help me figure out a pattern if there is one. If you are sensitive about "personal business" you may want to stop reading.

Saturday March 13, pooped on potty for first time

Friday March 19, went all day without potty accidents

Saturday April 10, pooped in potty (not sure why I noted this unless it had been a problem?)

Sunday April 18, earned 2nd pony (This explains April 10--She was working to earn 3 My Little Ponies that we bought for potty training rewards.)

Wednesday April 21, gave suppository (Mia has a history of holding it in, perhaps making it that much harder to go on the potty.)

Sunday April 25, gave Miralax (still having problems, apparently)

Wednesday April 28, earned 3rd pony (pooped in the toilet!)

Thursday April 29, gave Miralax (I think she must have really been trying to go, but not been able to.)

Friday April 30, pooped in Pull-Up (We realized that just getting her to poop was important at the time, and tried not to push her to use the potty since she asked for the Pull-Up.)

Wednesday May 5, pooped in underwear

Thursday May 6, pooped in Pull-Up

Tuesday May 18, pooped in Pull-Up

Friday June 4, earned the My Little Pony Castle (final toy reward for pooping in the potty- and by that point I think I had told her it had to be in the toilet because emptying the potty was just too gross for me to deal with anymore.)

Thursday June 17, last reward (candy) for pooping in potty (At some point during that past 4 weeks she figured out that pooping didn't hurt if you didn't hold it in, and she started doing it in the toilet instead of the potty!!)

I have no idea when we stopped giving candy (M & Ms or Reese's Pieces) for peeing in the potty, but we had quit doing it and then gone back to it since she had some regression due to trying to tackle #2. I just know that we have tried several different incentives. We ended up letting her earn several more My Little Ponies and finally a big reward-- the My Little Pony Castle. I had gotten the castle and ponies at a garage sale for $2 so it wasn't too big of a deal and she was getting so excited when she pooped at got to pick out her pony. The funny thing is she would select the pony by size in correlation to the amount of poop she produced, and she felt that she had to do a fantastic poop to earn that castle. I was so optimistic that she had it under control at that point at least for day-time. I suppose some day it will be over and I will forget all of this and then it will be time to potty train Logan!