Enough is enough

Let's face it, Maggie is a pill. She's the most strong-willed child I know. I am thankful for it for obvious reasons, but it also drives me to the loony bin at times.

The potty training issue is a good example of this madness. We have been working on this for a year now. I have tried bribery, charts, stickers, candy and everything in between. I have even stooped to making her go get her pull ups and wipes and dispose of her dirty diapers herself to no avail. For goodness sakes, we even had an MRI to make sure she could control her urinary and bowel movements. (And, yep, she can.)

Here is a recap of my failed manipulation attempts:

Me: “Maggie, you are almost four years old, don’t you want to go potty like a big girl?”

Maggie: “No, mom, I don’t want to go potty; I like you to change my pull up.”

Me: “Maggie, if you start going potty I will buy you whatever toy you want. Anything you want, Maggie, a Minnie Mouse toy, an American Girl Bitty baby outfit, a tricycle!”

Maggie: “It’s ok, mom, I don’t need any new toys. I’ve got lots of toys.”

Me: “Maggie, I know you how much you love school, but if you don’t go potty by yourself you can’t go to school next year and your teachers would be so sad. Think how sad your friends Hattie and Evelyn will be…”

Maggie: “Ok mom, I don’t have to go to school. I will just stay home with you while Sissy goes to school. We will have fun.”

Last Friday I hit my breaking point when Amazon delivered an obscene amount of diapers, pull ups and wipes. That's it, I told myself, I am no longer going to have two children in diapers. Just not going to do it. Maggie can ruin every rug and piece of furniture I have, I don't care, I am not putting pull ups on her anymore.

So I started my third "official" potty training attempt trying the John Rosemond method:

Me: “Maggie, I just got off with the doctor and he said that now that you are three and a half you can’t use pull ups anymore during the day. You can only use them at night.”

Maggie: “Noooooooo, Mom!!!!” (Sobbed for thirty minutes looking like she lost her favorite toy.)

I know Maggie has a tough life (I'm actually instagramming a typical week of therapy for her because it is so crazy how hard this child works) and I feel bad being so hard on her when she is already working on so many other issues. But I had a revelation: I'm not doing her any favors in life by doing everything for her, including changing her dirty diapers. I've been her nurse for long enough, now it's time to be mom.

(We are going on day 6 of getting rid of the pull ups and she's still not potty trained. Not giving up if it takes me all summer….but you see me at the American Girl store buying something ridiculous now you will know why.)

#determination