Adventures in Pottytraining
Is there anything in parenthood more stressful than potty training? Ok, I'm sure there are things that are a lot more stressful, but it has to be in the top ten, at least during the toddler years.
We cloth diapered Emy up until about 2 months ago when the diapers were starting to just get too small and leaving marks on her hips and legs. I wasn't really in a hurry to potty train her because she's my BABY, and I don't want her to grow up so fast. Sigh.
After spending the last two months buying disposables, however, I am READY for this child to get potty trained! (WHY are diapers so expensive?? They just get thrown away for crying out loud!) Now, if I could just convince Emy that it's time to potty train....
We spent the weekend working really hard at this task. She got to pick out which of her big girl undies she wanted to wear SEVERAL times (because you know, sometimes a girl feels like princesses, sometimes she feels like Elmo, and sometimes she feels like having a big, old tractor on her butt). We went to the grocery store and picked out treats for completing the BIG JOB. Yes, I am so desperate for her to potty train that I would have even bought OREOS if that was what it took. We spent 15 minutes in the fruit snack section trying to decide between Doc McStuffins, Scooby Doo, and Disney Princesses. This is serious stuff, you know. Picking the wrong shape of alleged fruit-flavored rubber could make or break the whole process!!! She finally decided after a long debate that Doc McStuffins was the choice for her. THANK GOODNESS.
We returned home, and we had a long discussion about how if she peed on her princess panties, Cinderella would cry and nobody wants to see her cry because it isn't pretty. We set a timer for 15 minutes and continued to run to the bathroom every time it went off. I think I got more of a workout taking her potty all day than I did from my torturous leg day workout!
About 2 hours into day 1, I hear from under the kitchen table, "Mama....I poop." Ugh. Ok. This is just a minor setback, this is just a minor setback, OMG. IT'S EVERYWHERE!!! Bath time!
I AM proud to say that that was our one and only accident that day. However, she no longer believes that her princesses will cry if she poops or pees on them. That kid is too smart.
DAY 2. Here we go again. Today, we skipped the timers. That was too crazy. Emy woke up dry, and immediately went potty on the big girl potty. Today's choice was Elmo "boomers." Every 30-45 minutes, we ran to the potty. I don't even know what part of the day the big job finally came, but Daddy put her on the potty, and she told him "GET OUT! I NEED PIVACY!!!" So, out he went. A couple of minutes later, she started yelling, "MAMA! MAMA!! GET IN HERE!" I went into the bathroom, and she yelled, "I DID IT! I POOPED!!!" and threw her little hands in the air. You would have sworn she won the fruit snack lottery or something! Commence making a BIG DEAL about poop! We ran and grabbed the fruit snacks, and then proceeded to run around the house high-fiving with the whole family.
The rest of day 2 went forward with no accidents at all! I hate to jinx us, but we might be on to something here! She wanted to wear her big girl undies to daycare today, so I'm interested to see how her day goes for her there! Wish us luck!
We spent the weekend working really hard at this task. She got to pick out which of her big girl undies she wanted to wear SEVERAL times (because you know, sometimes a girl feels like princesses, sometimes she feels like Elmo, and sometimes she feels like having a big, old tractor on her butt). We went to the grocery store and picked out treats for completing the BIG JOB. Yes, I am so desperate for her to potty train that I would have even bought OREOS if that was what it took. We spent 15 minutes in the fruit snack section trying to decide between Doc McStuffins, Scooby Doo, and Disney Princesses. This is serious stuff, you know. Picking the wrong shape of alleged fruit-flavored rubber could make or break the whole process!!! She finally decided after a long debate that Doc McStuffins was the choice for her. THANK GOODNESS.
We returned home, and we had a long discussion about how if she peed on her princess panties, Cinderella would cry and nobody wants to see her cry because it isn't pretty. We set a timer for 15 minutes and continued to run to the bathroom every time it went off. I think I got more of a workout taking her potty all day than I did from my torturous leg day workout!
About 2 hours into day 1, I hear from under the kitchen table, "Mama....I poop." Ugh. Ok. This is just a minor setback, this is just a minor setback, OMG. IT'S EVERYWHERE!!! Bath time!
I AM proud to say that that was our one and only accident that day. However, she no longer believes that her princesses will cry if she poops or pees on them. That kid is too smart.
DAY 2. Here we go again. Today, we skipped the timers. That was too crazy. Emy woke up dry, and immediately went potty on the big girl potty. Today's choice was Elmo "boomers." Every 30-45 minutes, we ran to the potty. I don't even know what part of the day the big job finally came, but Daddy put her on the potty, and she told him "GET OUT! I NEED PIVACY!!!" So, out he went. A couple of minutes later, she started yelling, "MAMA! MAMA!! GET IN HERE!" I went into the bathroom, and she yelled, "I DID IT! I POOPED!!!" and threw her little hands in the air. You would have sworn she won the fruit snack lottery or something! Commence making a BIG DEAL about poop! We ran and grabbed the fruit snacks, and then proceeded to run around the house high-fiving with the whole family.
The rest of day 2 went forward with no accidents at all! I hate to jinx us, but we might be on to something here! She wanted to wear her big girl undies to daycare today, so I'm interested to see how her day goes for her there! Wish us luck!
Who Signed Me Up for This Stress???!!
I'm pretty positive motherhood is the most stressful thing I have ever done, and I've done a lot of crazy, stressful things.
The weather has been absolutely horrible here the last few days. It was warm enough that we got rain and fog on Sunday. If you've ever spent a winter in Minnesota, you know the weather is moody and volatile and this isn't a good thing. Of course, Sunday night the temperature RAPIDLY dropped which caused super slippery, bad road conditions. Well, we live on top of a very big hill in the country, and there seem to be a lot of people who drive down our road who don't know how to drive and having my older two children standing at the end of my driveway was the last thing I thought would be a good idea. So, I loaded them in the car and off to school we went! It was easier to leave the house 15 minutes early than it was to fret about their safety while they waited for the bus.
These are the kind of decisions we make on the fly all the time as parents. We make sacrifices for our children without them even asking for it or realizing that we're doing it. We stay up late cuddling them when they're sick or have had bad dreams, we wake up early to rush them off to this event or that practice, we give up some of our favorite foods because it's easier than listening to them scream about it or gag (and really, who needs mac & cheese anyway?), we leave high paying jobs so that we can raise them ourselves and be the parents we are meant to be.
And you know what? It's the most rewarding thing you will ever do. The first time they look at your face and you at theirs, you will be wrapped around that tiny, newborn finger. The first time they say "I wuff you, mama," or come to you for comfort when they get hurt because only your kisses are magic, you will melt. You will spend the rest of your life loving those little beings so much that sometimes your chest literally hurts, and you won't want it any other way.
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