Checking in on the big girl.

It’s nearly been two weeks since that auspicious day when Mayana gave up her beloved dummy and became a big girl.
I am SO proud of her! She cried for her dummy at the afternoon sleep time of that Monday, and has only asked for it once since then. I just pretended like I didn’t know what she was talking about, and she just shrugged and cuddled Stella instead. I honestly cannot believe how EASY it was for her to get rid of the dummy (she seemed so dependent on it), and I’m so glad we made the decision to go cold-turkey with it.
Maysi got to go shopping for some big girl presents when she threw her dummies away (that was the deal). This is what she chose:

A big girl Tinkerbelle cup; a Wiggles toothbrush, and a big girl book about going to the toilet (are you sensing a theme here?).
Our next step in this journey to Big Girl is to get past this toilet training hurdle. Mayana has been partly toilet trained for some time now, but she just hasn’t clicked over to no more nappies. Admittedly we may not have been committed enough to it, but we’re really trying to get more on top of it. When you do put her in “Nudey-bums” (her self-concocted word for undies), she is usually quite good, but you do have to be reminding and asking her a lot (which I know is completely normal). I think having Easter away and slacking off a bit and just using nappies because it was easier has taken us a few steps backward. But we’re ready to jump right forward… so we’re trying this:

This chart is blu-tacked to the bathroom wall, and every time she goes to the toilet she gets a star (two for number twos!). When she lands on a balloon, she gets a lucky-dip prize. The prizes include stickers, a colouring book, a reading book, a pair of slippers and a matchbox car – only she doesn’t know what’s in Mummy’s Special Present Bag of course.
So far, it has been quite a motivating tool. We are up to seven stars, and I think once she’s been able to pick out that first present her motivation will probably increase quite significantly. I am very much looking forward to not buying anymore nappies, and to not changing anymore of her increasingly stinky nappies. So cross your fingers for us that something clicks soon! (And that Pete can stay committed to putting her on the toilet every half hour through the day while I’m at work…)
Also, I would love to put my potty prize chart up as a free printable (minus the Mayana of course), if anyone could give me any hints on where I can host the PDF file?
I’d love to hear some of your toilet training stories and tricks!!

EDITED: You can download a PDF of my potty prize charts HERE

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