Discoveries and confirmations over the weekend.

[saffronhare]

1. My capacity for sleep continues to astound me. I really, really love to get me some good sleep.
2. Imperfection is survivable, and even has a comfy little place on the bell curve of experiences.
3. Apparently, I have pretty clavicles. I am inordinately pleased with this, even if nobody else thought it was funny that I cross-dressed as a Hellenic-type person who liked fairies.
4. It will not, in fact, kill me to mostly let people live with the inconsistencies that keep their lives comfortable and their consciousnesses untroubled. Even better when that person I sometimes let be is my very own self.
5. All your lacquer sweet & sour sauce are belong to me! (No, I didn't *actually* use a straw.)
6. Auditioning is still the sweet, hot rush that I remember (heat and humidity notwithstanding).
7. Princess Sticky is more likely to begin changing her own diapers than to give in to potty training pressures -- bribes or otherwise. In fact, she's already changing her own diapers at least 50% of the time. (sigh)

Comments

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

As it would happen, I did think the fairy thing was pretty damn funny. I just chose not to poke you with it.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

You're too kind. (grin)

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

5. So much the better. It can all be yours, as far as I am concerned.

7. I'm sure she'll start using the potty as soon as, oh say, you start buying diapers that are slightly too small for her. She can, she just doesn't want to.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Conversely, with twixxa, we just made an ordeal out of it. Everytime she had an accident (and by that I mean both times, because there were only two), we stripped her down, made her wash the floor, the cabinets, the walls, take a bath, wash her hair, brush her teeth, change clothes--anything we could think of to draw it out longer. After twice, she figured it was way more convenient just to go pee.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

::sputter:: That's pretty damn funny.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

::cue resigned sigh:: "Oh, Rachel."

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

5. I feel no shame about this. Thankyouverymuch. :)

7. You're right. It's just not something she judges to be in her best interests yet, and we haven't upped the stakes sufficiently to make her change her mind. But the time is coming: she has to be pottytrained to start preschool. Superdad suggested purchasing uber-pretty princess panties, and uber-ugly uncomfortable diapers. I hope we're able to find an agreeable motivation. Seems a shame to crush her spirit so early in the game, you know?

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

The deal with twixxa was that she got this diaper-rashy yeast infection that wouldn't heal properly. The doctor told her no more diapers. We put her in panties and dealt with the above aftermath. Twice, I tell you, was all it took. Maybe she won't be motivated as long as there are diapers as an option.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

That's a possibility, of course. But it puts a great burden on the at-home parent, and I've been very pleased with how we managed the transition for the other two girls in that there were really no accidents (because I really hate cleaning them up -- clothes, sheets, etc.). Might have to go there, but I don't hold the majority vote.

[capriciouslass.livejournal.com]

One of the things we did with the OCP was to buy some pretty colored panties and some plain white ones. She had to wear the plain ones if she had an accident in the pretty ones. That worked, somewhat, but paying her worked better. She's always been well motivated by money.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

See, I can respect that. Where we've been stalling out is in discerning and exploiting her motivation. Thus far, she is unimpressed. (sigh)

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

Maybe you should ask her?

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Filled with teh useful, you are. (grin) We'll give it a try.

[fionnabhar.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking 1) it wouldn't surprise me one bit if she's thought it through and has ideas, or 2) something she has a say in might be just the ticket even she hasn't already made a plan. In the case of 3) this is a stupid idea, what have you lost?

[featherynscale.livejournal.com]

In the case of 3) this is a stupid idea, what have you lost?

Well... other than setting the precedent that if she holds out long enough you'll cave and ask for ransom demands.... She's a pointy one, that one.

[matchgirl42.livejournal.com]

The uber-pretty princess panties worked well for my goddessdaughter, big motivation points, but then she started walking buck-naked into the living room after changing/bath time to show them off to everyone, *then* put them on.

Now she puts them on in her room/the bathroom, but she walks out in just them so she can still show them off, and if she happens to be in a skirt, she'll be quick to pull the skirt off to show them off.

Win some, lose some.

Potty woes

[lilia-blackbear.livejournal.com]

Sir Dynamo was quite adamant that he would not poop in the potty (peeing was no problem at all... come on, it's cool for boys) because he was not going to grow up... but I luckily found out that he was afraid to grow up because he thought (as he had been told by his sperm-donor) that when he grew up, he would have to leave the house. I corrected the very wrong notion that he had to leave when he grew up, and he started pooping in the potty. I love toddler logic.

[zylch.livejournal.com]

On the one hand I find the whole predicament pretty funny, probably because I'm out of the situation and so don't have to deal with the more unpleasant details of it. And I have to admit that a decent-sized corner of me is proud of the Princess for sticking it out and not being lured away by promises of wealth, fame, power, or M&Ms. You gotta admit, that's a lot of integrity for a three-year-old. But as you say, soon this is going to conflict with preschool, not to mention the budget drain of buying diapers that you shouldn't need anymore.

I have no idea whether you've tried this before, but have you presented it as a challenge of "Bet you can't?" I'm not quite sure how it would be presented in this situation, but I'm thinking a lateral attack rather than head-on would be better, since there's already been so much made of the potty-training thing and I'm guessing you don't want to teach her how to manipulate you to get her way. So rather than saying "Bet you can't use the potty *every* time for a week," something along the lines of "Bet you can't do X," where X = something that would require her to be potty trained. That is perhaps not very well explained, but I think it gets the gist across.

One other possibility (and this idea makes me giggle for more than 15 seconds, so be forewarned). From what I've read, she seems to have no inclination to prefer the prettiness and grown-up-ness of big girl panties to the comfort and convenience of a diaper, so trying to entice her with the "priviledge" of panties just doesn't work, yes? Have you considered switching it about and making her earn the "priviledge" of wearing diapers by having her do some minor but onerous chore each time she needs one? Can't think of any ideas off the top of my head, but something that's just enough for her to say to herself "Well, the comfort and convenience isn't worth it if I have to do that."