... Is give y'all a pic of Dexy Doodle riding her pink Schwinn trike in the backyard last weekend. It was such a lovely warm afternoon. We pretty much HAD to be outside. I can guarantee you, there won't be as many of those kind of days in Seattle. LOL.
Her potty training is going GREAT by the way. I mean, stellar & amazing great. She's not just going pee-pee in her potty, she has even been pooping in her potty (without prompting, at school AND at home). I know, I know, you are thrilled to death that I'm sharing this information with you. Welcome to MY world. Moms live and breathe this stuff. Don't like it? Bugger off & come back another day. Meanwhile, I'm just so effing grateful to have one of the easiest breeziest kids on the face of the planet. At least when it comes to this kind of stuff.
Knock wood she stays that way until she's 30, (or I'm dead, whichever comes first).
Crazy, crazy, crazy! We move to Seattle in TWO weeks. So of course I'm up to my eyebrows in stress, errands, cleaning, packing, donating, doctors, lawyers, address changes, realtors, movers, etc. and just can't handle one more thing to add to my "pile"... and yes, sometimes I think this blog *IS* a pile. Of what, I have no idea. You're welcome to be as creative & crude as you like, really, I don't mind.
So last year, Dexy started showing an interest in potty training. I got SO excited b/c she wasn't even two yet... Yeah, yeah. I was really naïve.
In any case, her interest ended before it really began. We've spent the last year talking about the potty, reading books about the potty (e.g. "Everybody Poops" & "Once Upon a Potty"), practicing with her "big girl" cotton training underwear on warm days, running around nekkid, etc.
She peed in her potty all of twice, maybe three times max. While I didn't exactly give up, (I knew that eventually she'd get there), I also just sort of let it go. Besides, her pediatrician, my friends w/ older kids, and all the books I was now reading on the subject, said I'd be very optimistic to expect successful potty training before the age of three.
But there's been a real shift in nearly all areas of my life during the past month or so. Potty training is certainly no exception. We also got an offer on my parents house, but more on that later! Dex suddenly started asking me to read her "Poopy" books every night. She wanted to run around the house nekkid as often as possible. She didn't want to be in her diaper after she went poop in it and would ASK me to change her.
Then, on Tuesday evening, we came home & while I was fixing her dinner I decided to let her run around in her cotton training undies. Of course she peed in them. But this time, she was TOTALLY grossed out by it. While I was getting her bath ready, she just sat down on her potty & announced, "I went pee pee Mama!" ... I've heard this a zillion & one times before, but sure enough, this time there was pee in the potty!
Of course, we did the "Pee Pee Dance" ... We sang & took the little pot to the toilet & dumped the contents in. She got to flush ("bye bye pee pee"). There were lots of hugs and kisses. She was SO proud! She eagerly took her bath & chattered about her potty the whole time. When she got out of the tub, she wanted to go potty again. So she did, twice more! The next morning, she wanted to do it right after I took her diaper off. She went three more times before I took her to school. And several more times last night before bedtime. Hooray! Could it be we were on our way? Hell yeah, I'm striking while this iron is hot mes bébés!
I took a 1/2 dozen cotton undies & several extra pairs of pants, socks, etc. to her pre-school. I told her teacher, "It's time!"... I'm going to get a sticker chart or something special to mark her progress here at home. I moved all her "toileting" supplies from her bedside to the bathroom. I'm jumping into this potty training adventure w/ enthusiasm. A life free of diaper bags, diapers & diaper wipes is coming. Frankly, I can't wait!
Ok all you Moms & Dads out there in parenting land ... I have so many questions for you! Please leave comments on how YOU potty trained your little ones, especially your daughters.
Did you use stickers? M&M's? Praise only? When did you switch from the potty chair to an adult sized toilet? Did you use diapers or pull-ups at night? For how long? What did you do w/ episodes of regression? How did you handle long car rides or traveling by plane? How did you keep their beds & car seats dry? Anything else you think this novice mama should know?
I need your opinions, suggestions & most of all your sage parental wisdom! I'm new at this, remember?
