Flush with fear
If there was any doubt in my mind that Ladybug is ready to start potty training, it disappeared the other day with the diaper-removing incident in her crib. (Read “A Day in the Life, Part 2.")
Fact is, Ladybug has been showing signs of potty-training readiness for several months now. She’ll follow me into the bathroom, take toilet paper and pretend she’s just finished peeing. She has a great interest in her potty, even if it is only to put the bowl on her head like a hat and to drape the sponge seat over her shoulder like a pocketbook. And the latest addition to her vocabulary is the word “poopy,” accompanied by a tugging at her diaper.
But I’ve been putting potty training off. When I was working, I said it was because I didn’t have the time to dedicate to teaching her how to use the potty. Now that I’m home, I realize it’s because I don’t have the courage.
It’s not some unconscious effort on my part to hang on to the baby years. I’m almost ready for them to be over. Instead, I’m just intimidated by the idea. I mean, I’ve helped change 3,822 diapers. How can you break someone of the habit of going to the bathroom on themselves when they’ve done it that many times?
I keep telling myself it can be done. If we were able to get two cats to use a litter box, surely we can get one little girl to use a potty.
Now if I can just find the nerve.
To share your thoughts and read other comments, click HERE.
Fact is, Ladybug has been showing signs of potty-training readiness for several months now. She’ll follow me into the bathroom, take toilet paper and pretend she’s just finished peeing. She has a great interest in her potty, even if it is only to put the bowl on her head like a hat and to drape the sponge seat over her shoulder like a pocketbook. And the latest addition to her vocabulary is the word “poopy,” accompanied by a tugging at her diaper.
But I’ve been putting potty training off. When I was working, I said it was because I didn’t have the time to dedicate to teaching her how to use the potty. Now that I’m home, I realize it’s because I don’t have the courage.
It’s not some unconscious effort on my part to hang on to the baby years. I’m almost ready for them to be over. Instead, I’m just intimidated by the idea. I mean, I’ve helped change 3,822 diapers. How can you break someone of the habit of going to the bathroom on themselves when they’ve done it that many times?
I keep telling myself it can be done. If we were able to get two cats to use a litter box, surely we can get one little girl to use a potty.
Now if I can just find the nerve.
To share your thoughts and read other comments, click HERE.
posted by Michelle Mahfoufi at 8:50 AM
Michelle recently gave up her career to be a full-time stay-at-home mom to a toddler. At least that's the plan ....
6 Comments:
If she is showing the signs and seems ready you need to go buy about 15 pair of panties and go for it!!! Remember to have patience. Good luck!!
Patience, yes, and consistency!! Consistency is key. With J, we went through about 13 pairs of panties in the first day of training. The second day, about 6, and it just went down from there. She absolutely hated the thought of messing herself w/her panties on. Good luck. Sounds like she's really ready to give it a shot.
kks
I was a weiney too. ( I did NOT want pee stained/smelling carpet.)And I waited. We had an easier time than some of my friends did. It was easier to talk to her and get a verbal conversation going about what was going on and how we use the potty. She was almost 3 before we officially started trying. I talked it up for weeks though. We sat on it from time to time. I put one upstairs and one down. I put one in the bathroom where I potty. She wore pullups ..but they felt too much like diapers and then we tried those plastic liners and for some reason I think those felt too much like diapers too. We had to go panties cold turkey. But after she was potty trained we did use pullups for long trips in case she fell asleep and had an accident. (I didn't want pee in my car either.)
My mom said wait until your kids are ready and I read in a parenting magazine that it's ok to wait until your ready. I mean your in this too. And you have to be devoted to it. I mean part of me felt shame when some friends 2 year old was potty trained but part of me gloated because she had a lot of accidents. To this day my daughter has very few accidents. (Now watch, she's gonna start having accidents all the time and I'm gonna want to kick myself for gloating.):)
I'm so totally clueless on this topic that I'm assuming when you all say "panties" you're talking about real underwear. That idea hadn't even entered my mind. We were going to start with the pull up, feel and learn kind for all the reasons Ginger stated. But it's not the first time I've heard moms say they don't really work that well. We'll give everything a shot. I'm bringing in the carpet steamer from the shed this afternoon ...
I think that pullups are a waste of time ,yes they do keep things from smelling and getting wet but come on we have to stand up as parents and deal with the fact that our babies can't stay babies. Put big kids panties are underwear and take them every 15 minutes then they will learn but pullups are not cheap and they teach nothing to them beside Hey I can wet on myself. Try panties they will not like to be wet maybe a couple of times. I think about what they did 50 years ago not pullups . You will be glad stuck with panties!!
After raising his eyebrows at the thought, my husband agreed that panties sound like the best first attempt at potty training. Oh boy ...
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