The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing…

Potty training has long loomed in the forefront of my mind as something I just didn’t want to do.  Call me lazy, I prefer to think of it as realistic.  I knew my lovely daughter will probably would not be receptive and I don’t particularly enjoy banging my head against hard surfaces, I do enough of that in my day job.  I have heard all the advice and I mean all of it- don’t push, let them pick the time, let them run around like naked heathens, push through it in three days, you shouldn’t ever had introduced diapers as a newborn (which huh?  I don’t get the whole elimination communication thing, seems like a really good way to be covered in baby poop a lot), oh my 18 month old just loves the potty I can’t imagine still using diapers, be prepared to lug around a toilet in the back of your car everywhere you go, you can use public toilets but the automatic flusher may scar them for life. The list goes on and on.  Like many parts of this parenthood gig there seems to be as many ideas and solutions as there are parents.

But there comes a time when every parent has to grit their teeth and wade into the pee soaked trenches.  So we have been easing into it.  And by easing I mean on the weeknights we go without diapers and on the weekends when we are home we go without diapers.  And that is pretty much it for right now.  And you know what?  I think it’s working…

Don’t misunderstand.  I still scrub pee out of my carpets occasionally and I have yet to see her sit down willingly to poop (it is usually a pick up and quickly transfer her to the potty as she is in the process.  But she gets very excited by the prospect of M and M’s for a reward.   I think I may introduce a sticker chart.  Hell we might even go crazy and buy her a big gift as a potty training/giving up your pacifier reward.  We are a long way from being potty “trained” and from what I understand night time training can take a very long time.  But we are on our way and that is good enough for me.