Potty Training...Nightmare

Those that have been following this blog know that we have been at this potty training business for a solid two years now.  There has been nothing in my now 5 years of being a mother that has been more trying and left me feeling like an utter failure more than potty training.  Granted, I have not yet gotten to the "heart" of placement for Colin for next year so maybe I will change my mind, but even with all that we have researched and discussed so far with that...potty training is DEFINITELY worse in this moment. 

 

 

Here's a recap:

 

Colin: we started with this when he was around 3 to first expose him to the potty and start discussing it.  He was not communicating anywhere near close to what he is now so we were missing a vital component in having him use the potty.  We had one really rough spot early on where we decided to back off for a bit but once we resumed we have been going ever since.  Through the past two years we have definitely made progress in that he is pretty much a scheduled potty user.  We have really great days where our schedule works and he stays dry all day and even communicates here and there when he has to go but then we have days like today where I feel like we have gone so far backwards.  He does pretty well on the schedule at both schools but if the schedule is slightly disrupted, so is the dry pull-up.  

Kailey: Her old daycare started for her right around the age of 2, maybe even earlier.  By the end of that school year, she was staying pretty dry and we were following through at home.  When the summer came, so did the accidents to the point it got so bad we had to go backwards and put her back in pull-ups (I know, this was probably really bad to do but the accidents were so bad!).  At the end of the summer, I did the 3-day potty training method with both kids and by the end of day 3, Kailey still wouldn't go poopies on the potty, but did really well independently with staying dry and going by herself.  However, even with our consistency, the same thing happened again.  She is so horribly stubborn right now so that half the time I want to cry or scream at her because I just don't get it.  When I ask her why she didn't go on the potty and instead had an accident, she will tell me "because I don't WANT to go on the potty". 

I'll be honest.  I am burnt.  I've been reading another book on potty training that was recommended to me and while there are lots of great valid points, I feel like a failure because the book basically told me I was.  There have been so many things we did wrong with this and it's so frustrating! I KNOW my children will not still be wearing pull-ups at 10, but getting there is a battle.  It's tough because I feel like it doesn't help that I can't be HOME every day to devote to this makes it very challenging.  Colin definitely has his issues as to why he's not there yet but I STILL don't fully understand why he's not doing better because he does get it for the most part.  Kailey is just plain stubborn and totally knows what she's doing.  I have so many great suggestions and at this point, I really need a nice stretch of days to devote.  I think that while I will keep the routine going, I am going to have to wait until I get out of school to do a "boot camp" again. 

THIS. IS. ROUGH!! 

Disclaimer: I chose beautiful, sweet photos of my children to look at while writing a post on a subject that has caused me more angst than ANYTHING else in raising children!