Step one: Cut a hole in the ....

Ok, we've tried something new. Since everyone I talk to swears that potty training USUALLY finishes by around 3.5yrs old, I'm starting to get desperate. Plus, we have a new baby on the way and there's NO WAY I'm going to be doing triple duty on diapers. And finally, it seems absurd that she's completely and entirely potty trained except for going poop. And even then, she now puts the pull-up on herself, sits on the potty to do the deed, and climbs up on the changing table on her own. It seems illogical to keep this going much longer.

     So today I attempted the "magic pull-up." As soon as she told me she was going to get a pull-up, I told her today was a special day. I then took shears and cut a hole in the bottom of the pull up as shown here. And I kept telling her this was a "magic pull-up" for her to use. She immediately saw through my guise and asked, "is my poo-poo going to go in the potty? NO!!!!!"

     Now I don't understand one bit of why it is terrifying to her that poop goes in the potty. But boy did she school me in the fact that this is a horrific thing. She sat on that potty for all of 5 seconds before she hopped off and told me she didn't want to use the magic pull-up anymore. We then got out the bribes - "you can watch the iPad in the bathroom while you sit on the potty, but only if you are wearing the Magic Pull-up." Nope, that just elicited a fit about how she couldn't watch the iPad in a normal pull-up.

     Then we had to have a fit on the kitchen floor for a while. At which point I decided that perhaps I had made this first hole a little too big. I was very intent on making sure everything fell through to the potty, that I may have been a little over eager in my hole making. So I tried again. Still too big.... but finally, after the 3rd pull-up being mutilated with a hole in the bottom, she finally agreed to put it on and sit on the potty - of course only if the iPad could be there too.

     And the final result was - partial success. Some fell into the potty, while some got stuck. But I could shake it into the potty with her watching, so perhaps that helped. It also proved to her (although probably not  for the last time) that it doesn't hurt, and really doesn't feel any different when it stays in the pull-up or doesn't. Let's hope this is making progress, people.