My little enigma

So potty trainnig. Yikes.

I think I need to document this because people always ask for potty training assistance and I've got a weird one this time. I don't want to forget the details later, especially because she broke out in hives today and I'm trying to figure out if its from the stress of potty training....But seriously, BORING potty training post, please don't read it unless you are neck deep in it yourself.

Day 1 (Monday)

• Annika is dry for hours in her underwear at home and kept going while we were out in public & she's wearing a diaper. Finally in the evening she goes a teeny bit, stops it and then we put her on the potty and she goes. BUT, she is sort of crying & whimpering the whole time, definitely anxious about the whole thing. All of us cheer, make a fuss, give her a few m&ms and then continue with our evening.

Day 2 (Tuesday)

• Same thing, Annika keeps going in her diaper when we put it on to take Saben to preschool, pick him up, etc. She wears underwear at home, stays dry and practices sitting on the potty. Starts saying she doesn't want to go pee on the potty.
• In the evening, same thing as the day before, we put the underwear on and finally after 3+ hours, after dinner, she starts, stops, sits on the potty and goes. Once again, she is in tears, whining and not really very happy about it. We cheer, give her & Saben chocolate cookies and web chat with grandma & grandpa to share the news. Everytime we mention it, she hides down in chair, like she is embarrassed.
• That night annika doesn't fall asleep until after 9pm. She is very restless and I decide to skip her nap the next day. She wakes up at 3 am for the first time in 5 days, but goes back down easily.

Day 3 (Wednesday)

• Decide to not have Annika sit on the potty constantly today because the last two times she went, she initiated it herself. Sitting needlessly on the potty seemed to sort of stress her out because she couldn't go.
• Plan to stay home most of the day & practice more. Watch Potty Elmo in the morning. Keep telling Annika to stay upstairs (off of the new carpet) while in her underwear, but at some point she follows Saben down while I am busy and she pees all over our new carpet. (within two minutes of going down, no warning at all this time) I am super frustrated that she disobeyed and went downstairs and probably let some anger show. Try to get her to sit on the potty while I clean it up, but she refuses, I get even more frustrated. Still, only a couple harsher statements, primarily related to her refusal to do what I ask.
• Two hours later, Annika pees & poops in her underwear with no warning. Handle it well this time, but once again she refuses to sit on the potty while I get it cleaned up. Still, not a huge deal, clean, try to be encouraging to her. Decide letting her initiate sitting on the toilet may not be the best strategy after all. Puzzled by her lack of awareness that she seemed to have the previous to days.
• From now on Anika doesn't want to sit on the potty, says she doesn't want to pee in it. We practice sitting on it when I am pretty sure she doesn't have to go and she is fine if we read stories or do something fun.
• Go out in a pull-up, when she pees, she starts crying and looks scared - just like when she was on the potty. She seems to think it is going to "fall out" like when she has underwear on.
• Skip Annika's nap and she begs for a nap at 3:30pm. (this has only happened once or twice before) I let her go to sleep, she crashes and sleeps till 4:30pm. Wake her up and carry her upstairs, she falls asleep in my arms for another 20 minutes. She is very tired, even though she's gotten very good sleep for the last 4 days other than being awake late the night before.
• Wears a pull-up the rest of the night & we don't push going in the potty
• Annika wakes up TWICE in the night. She hasn't done this for over a week and never did it before this December.

Day 4

• Annika wakes up with HIVES all over her body. She has never ever had hives before. They stick around most of the morning, disappear and then reappear when she gets upset. She hasn't eaten anything new or had new lotions...nothing.

WHAT ON EARTH???? Is it related to her anxiety over potty training? Is the night waking related? Why did I even think to potty train her now when she had just gotten over the sleep issues from a couple weeks ago? Is it better to quit or just keep pushing? Does it even have anything to do with potty training, or are the sleeping & hives related to something else? Could she be sick? Is it my fault???? Ha ha. ha.

ARGH.