The Humbled Homemaker: Potty Training Failure {Potty Training at The First Years}

Hi, my name is Erin. I'm a humbled homemaker...and I've failed at potty training my child.

No, really--I have...or least that's how I've felt over the past few years.

You see, my 4-year-old little girl still has frequent pee pee accidents.

For us, potty training has been a...battle. First of all, I think we started too early. Oh, she showed some signs of readiness, but we started right around the time she turned two--because "everyone else was doing it."

(Didn't my mama tell me not to jump off a bridge just because all my friends were as well?)

Image by Michael Bentle

At the time, I was in my 3rd trimester of pregnancy with my second daughter. We made some progress during those short months before her birth.

But once she came...Little Girl regressed--big time. In fact, it was as if we had never started.

Oh, we tried to keep at it. My husband and I tried it all (or so we thought): stickers, chocolate, the 3-Day Method (although I don't think I was as consistent or vigilant with it as this method requires), begging, bribing....You name it!

Image by abbybatchelder

And nothing seemed to work. You see, Little Girl is a fireball. Her will is iron-clad. (I'm praying that God will mold that will into His will for her life...and her fiery personality will burn bright for the Lord one day!)

Basically, she knew this was one area that she has absolute control over. And there wasn't anything Mommy and Daddy could do to make her go.

To top things off, Little Girl is highly sensitive to gluten, eggs and dairy. These foods wreak havoc on her digestive system. Now, I thought something was wrong...but her former pediatrician assured me that undigested food and chronic diarrhea can be "normal."

The constant accidents on the floor were grueling. My husband and I said we should buy stock in carpet cleaner.

Image by abbybatchelder

But when we discovered her food issues (with a new pediatrician) soon after she turned 3, the poop accidents stopped.

But Little Girl turned 4 two weeks ago...and she still has frequent urine accidents. We have an appointment with an urologist in a few weeks--just to rule out any obstructions in her system that may be affecting this.

So if I've had such a hard time potty training my daughter, why in the world did I host this series? Well, you may have noticed that nearly all of the series was guest posts.

Image by din!

I named my blog The Humbled Homemaker because I've been truly humbleD in so many ways.

Potty training is no exception.

And I wanted to learn. I wanted us to learn together--as a community. Because I'm not an expert. I'm not perfect. And so many times--whether intentionally or not--I think we bloggers come across as know-it-alls.

Image by AD-Passion

I'm here to tell you: I'm about as imperfect as it gets. Really.

And I've felt alone in this potty training journey. Could it be that I'm the only mother who's had such a difficult time? Could there be others like me? Other children like mine--who refuse or just don't "get" it until much later than the rest?

Yes! I'm here to tell you, yes! If you've had trouble potty training your children, you're not alone.

Image by SashaW

It's time we mothers put aside all pretensions and pride and tell it like it is: Motherhood is humbling, but it's through things like potty training that God sanctifies us and makes us realize that even in the "dirty" work, we must daily rely on Him alone.

Have you ever felt like a failure as a mother? Are there any other potty training "failures" out there?

Come back next Friday for a review and giveaway of a Grovia cloth trainer from Sew Crafty Baby!

Don't miss a post in this series!