Potty Drama

So as I posted on my xanga, ellie and i have decided to begin potty training...again. It's round 2. She was so excited to wear big kid underwear, but soiled 3 of them before the hour was over. She did amuse me for half an hour on the potty and fell asleep and managed to pee a little bit. I was so happy. Who knew pee would make me happy?

I'm wondering if this kid will ever become potty trained. Ellie has a hard time letting go of objects or ideas once she's connected with it. I doubt she will want to change the comforts and constants in her life such as going potty without her diaper. She likes to feel secure and takes time for her to adjust to new places and people.

I threw out all the tricks up my sleeve yesterday to help her potty train. I'm out of sleeves. So as I'm waiting for her to take initiative to make in the potty, a lot of questions come to me. Should she be in diapers or pull-ups or underwear? I think ellie feels so-so about diapers...she didn't want to wear them unless she had to. She likes the pull-ups because they look more like underwear but doesn't get her wet like underwear, which is the dilemma. She likes underwear even more, but gets upset when she's wet. I don't want her to experience a lot of failures before she's ready to experience some success, but again, the pull-ups don't help her feel when she's wet so she can't tell the discomfort of walking around in wet panties.

Is it true? Is it true that toddlers will just use the potty when they are ready? Will they do it without any prompting? I've heard of stories when it's happened..."just one day he went to the bathroom and used his potty." then i hear, "she needed a lot of encouragement." and then my neighbor's kid (Gavin), his grandmother said she put toys that he was only allowed to play with when he sat on the potty and after a while, he would just go.

I wish I could remember how I was potty trained.

Does anyone have any advice? All suggestions are welcomed.