 |
| Little S doing her business. |
My daughter is 2 (almost 27 months old, to be exact) and we decided to officially potty train her this past weekend. I say “officially” because we’ve been very lax about it. I introduced a potty when she was about 18 months old. In my opinion, it’s never too soon, right? Since then, she’s progressed from not wanting to sit on it, to going to the potty before her bath, after naps and when leaving or returning home. It’s been somewhat optional and not very consistent.
That being said, I arbitrarily decided THIS needed to be THE weekend. Why? I have no idea. I’m just over diapers and she seems to be ready. Also, Pull-Ups are crazy expensive. She pees on cue, but doesn’t initiate it. I truly feel that if I’m more consistent, then we could be diaper-free a lot sooner.
After talking to some other moms and doing research, I thought it made sense to try a modified version of Julie Fellom’s Diaper Free Toddlers program. Essentially, we’ve been home since Saturday and I feel like I’ve said, “Let mommy know when it’s time to potty”, at least a thousand times. Maybe more. I’ve considered throwing in the towel multiple times. Then today, just when I thought I was expecting way too much from a 2-year-old, who literally started walking less than a year ago, she goes and does some miraculous things.
First moment of encouragement — she says, “mommy take me.” I’m in the middle of preparing her lunch, of course. I immediately spring into action, “Take you where? Potty?!” As we scramble upstairs to the real toilet with a toddler attachment, because I refuse to clean poop from a portable potty, I’m coaxing her with, “we’re almost there, we’re almost there”. Then I sit her down and VICTORY! I mean, she totally used the bathroom and was so proud of herself. I proceeded to give her a dozen high-fives followed by some fruit snacks.
Serious progress — during this process, you’re encouraged to teach your toddler to pull down their pants. For toddlers, this is extra. I mean, they aren’t that coordinated. I’ve been mentioning it, but it’s just to show her the process. To my surprise, she actually pulled her underwear down (no pants for this training process) and then sat on the portable potty and peed. I was dumbstruck. I still can’t believe it happened. Up until now, she would just sit on the potty and pee…in her underwear.
So, we’ve made it through potty training boot camp. My question is: now what? Come tomorrow, do I put her in a Pull-Up or underwear? I think I’ll just do underwear, then a Pull-Up when we leave the house. Mommy has cabin fever. Ultimately, I think the boot camp helped, but she still has a ways to go. I’m really proud of the progress we’ve made, but it’s tough to be home for so many days in a row. We’re both ready to reintegrate with society and locate every single public restroom. Fun times ahead. Oh, and did I mention that her second year molars are also coming in this week? So, so awesome.
