Potty Trained

I think it is safe to say that Alyce is potty trained.  Aside from staying dry which is the technical definition she has taken ownership of her own bodily functions.  When we first started training we'd ask Alyce every half an hour or so if she needed to use the restroom.  If we forgot to ask the chances of her having an accident increased.  In my opinion if you have to badger your child for potty success it is a hollow victory.  Alyce has moved passed that.  She could be sitting playing with toys or outside playing and stops what she is doing, says she has to go potty, walks into the bathroom, and does her business.  All of that without any input or action from Mom or myself.  Depending on the outfit she is wearing she can into and out of her clothes as necessary.  Mom has also gotten her trained to wash her hands every time so we don't even have to remind her of that.

It has been a long road but I can't really say it has been a hard one.  We've worked on it off and on for maybe a year but like most people said it really depends on when the kid is ready and not the parent.  We could have sped up the process by getting Alyce in daycare before school or using cloth based diapers instead of disposable.  But if she would have been trained a 2 1/2 but still required me to drop what I was doing to help undress her I don't think I would have considered that potty trained.

Mom and I couldn't be prouder of her; so proud I'm telling just about anyone who has kids and would appreciate the accomplishment.  Their comments are that it only gets better from here on out.  I can't wait until both kids are trained and we can finally keep the diaper bag at home.