More Nighttime Drama

Jada is a carefully calibrated creature. She needs her structure, and
bristles when things are out of order. And potty training has been a
pretty significant disturbance to her finely crafted world. It's only
been natural, then, that she's had a harder time getting herself to
sleep at night, crying for various security items or crying for Mama
to sing or just crying for no apparent reason at all. The 3's are
also even more of a time of testing and expressing and tantruming than
the 2's, so as we push her to go potty, this is part of how she's
pushing back.

So says Amy, and I agree with her diagnosis. So while we want to
persevere on the potty training and don't want to communicate that
whining and disobedience are acceptable, we're trying to mix in a
tender approach. Some of Jada's evening rants have been spectacular,
sometimes hard to bear; but usually (not at all always!) we can find
a way to express sympathy instead of frustration and impatience.
After all, it's hard to be a toddler.