I think potty training by far tops my list of "Things I Dread About Parenting." Ever since we found out we were pregnant with a boy, the one thought that always made my stomach ache was that of having to potty train a child.
Ugh! Even in this very moment I'm still a bit anxious and full of dismay that we have finally reached this point in our journey of parenthood. Is it really so wrong to just send our kids to high school still wearing diapers?! I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I find it quite convenient that no matter where we are, whether grocery shopping or on a long road trip, when the boy's gotta go, he can literally just go! I mean, how nice for him! He never has to wait in line for his turn at the latrine. He never gets "toilet blocked" and is never forced to "hold it." Diapers really aren't all that terrible, right?! It's just too bad that someone, somewhere, at some time decided to invent the flushing toilet and now I'm in this predicament where I have to teach my sweet little boy how to use it properly. Ugh. I'll say it again... UGH!
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| I'm distraught, whereas Levi is obviously pumped, excited, and ready to Do This! |
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| Because sometimes potty training can be dangerous - Safety first! |
Well, today is the day our experience with potty training began. I actually had it written in and scheduled on the calender for this weekend since both Moises and I had it off together. We were supposed to start yesterday, but since Levi was still pretty sick we didn't think it was fair to stress him out when he was feeling so poorly. However when he woke up this morning feeling much better, we decided training was a go.
I was blessed by a friend who gave me a short tutorial about potty training, written by a women who potty trained all 5 of her children in three days. Her methods seemed simple enough; No more diapers, period. You simply focus on your child, learn to recognize their signs and cues of needing to potty, rush them to the bathroom each time they portray said sign and cues, give treats, loves, hugs, high fives and lots and lots of positive praise, expect a few accidents here and there, and then
viola! Three days later we should have a fully potty trained 26 month old little boy. =) Okay, sure thing lady, here goes nothing!
4 hours and 17 minutes have passed since we said goodbye to Levi's diapers. We've had two accidents and not a single drop of pee has actually made it in the potty chair yet.
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| C'mon now! Who wouldn't want to go potty on such a cool little chair!? It even plays music when you go! Nice! |
And I suppose I'm actually okay with that. I think he needs to have a few accidents in order to understand what I'm trying to teach him. So now he's in his third pair of dry undies and is currently taking a nap. Um, did you catch that?? Yeah. That's right. I just put him down for nap in underwear. No diaper. Just underwear. He is currently in his brand new big boy bed, napping, in his barrier-free, monkey print big boy undies. As if he's really going to wake up dry.
Ugh! Three days, huh? It's just 3 days. (Can you hear me trying to motivate myself? Can you hear me deep breathing and reminding myself to stay positive and maintain my patience?) I know Levi will survive and succeed at this milestone, but I think I'm still trying to convince myself that I will survive it. =)
Well, the washing machine is empty and ready for a load of bed linens after nap. I'm currently drinking a cup of afternoon coffee, staring at the video monitor (you know, just in case he wakes up and presents with one of his signs or cues of readiness), and gearing up for Day 1-Round 2 of this 3 day potty training marathon. Wish us luck!!
