How dry I am...(now)

I'm depressed. Just when I think I have all the answers, Katie throws me a curve ball. I've spent the entire day today studiously avoiding asking Katie to go potty. I've been a paragon of restraint! I didn't ask when she woke up. I didn't ask before or after breakfast. I do admit I lured her into the bathroom when I needed to go, then said "Katie's turn!" when I was done. (Which, by the way, worked.)

I didn't ask her at the park. I brought her potty along but I was pretty sure she wouldn't need it. I just put it down in the shade and didn't say a word. I didn't ask her when it was time to leave, or before getting in the car. I didn't ask her before she sat down to have lunch.

I didn't ask her before her nap. And that's the one that came back to bite me in the you-know-what.

I thought about it, and I kind of alluded to it before we put on her sleep sack: "Is there anything else we should do before we put on your sack?" She ignored me, so I shrugged and proceeded with the nap routine. I knew perfectly well that she hadn't peed in almost three hours, and that she wasn't going to make it an additional two hours for nap. I'd just changed her sheets from the accident she had overnight, and I knew I'd be taking them right off again after nap. I was ok with all of that.

But I had no way of knowing how it was all going to go down. I figured she'd take a nice nap and wake up wet. Then I'd just start another load of laundry, no biggie. Her mattress is waterproof. But no. Instead she woke up screaming and crying, after 45 minutes of napping. I knew why instantly - she had to go pee! I went into her room and tried to console her. "Oh, I see, you need to go potty!" "NO! NO! NO! NO POTTY! NO!" I saw a small wet spot on her sleep sack, so that meant she'd started to pee and was now holding it. "Let's take off your sack." "NO! NO! SACK ON!! ON!!!!" I walked her up and down the hall once. "KATIE'S ROOM! KATIE'S ROOM!" We went back to her room. This time I didn't ask, I just unzipped her sack and took it off. She screamed and thrashed more than ever. I tried to put her on the little potty in her room. "NO!!! NO!! WALK, MAMA, WALK!!" So I took her back outside into the hall. And then she started to pee, all over me. I quickly ran into the bathroom and sat her on the potty, where she continued to pee. I tried to mop her up. She continued to scream. I brought her back to her room and offered her a choice of undies. She kept on screaming, but chose one. I put them on her (more screaming). I put the sleep sack back on (with the small wet spot, don't judge! I couldn't find the other one). I tried to rock her and soothe her, but she was getting more upset by the second. She even rejected Lambie! The only thing that distracted her was reading her favorite book. Finally she calmed down. I put her in her crib, and thank goodness, she was able to go back to sleep.

And then I went and changed clothes. My only clean shirt and the only jeans that fit me, are now soaked. Lovely. The carpet in the hallway outside Katie's room is also sprinkled with a trail of pee that leads to the potty. But I can't steam clean it because it'll wake Katie up. Good lord.

I seriously do not think I could have done anything differently. I obviously should have insisted that she potty before nap, but insisting only makes her resist more! I'm so frustrated! I thought that dropping my end of the power struggle was going to solve our potty problems. It really galls me that I was so wrong!

Ughhh...oh well, at least I'm in dry clothes now. A load of laundry and some steam cleaning, and we'll move on. Sigh.