Gena Lashley
Long Day's Journey to the Bathroom
By
Jul 30, 2008 - 10:10:49 AM

As I write this, I am halfway through the first day of potty training.  Not for myself of course, but for my two-year-old child.  I really thought this would be easier than it has been.  I am totally wiped out and it’s only 3 in the afternoon.  I had this all planned; I knew how it would go and was hoping to have the little guy well on his way to being diaper-free by the end of my one week of vacation.  I can, without a doubt, tell you that this has been no fantasy vacation, no tropical breezes or pina colodas; just the potty, the boy, and a fifteen-minute timer (to alert us that once again it was time to go sit on the torture chamber). He would go back to his MeMe’s house and she would be awed by his stellar potty abilities.  I see now that we have no hope of that happening in the next four days. 

We began at 7 a.m. I proudly displayed his new set of big boy underwear and was being very diplomatic in letting him choose which Elmo face would be plastered on his little behind for the rest of the day.  I had my plan worked out like a football coach’s playbook.  He would wear his big boy underwear (which he was totally excited to buy at the store, very promising!).  And to prevent any accidents on my couch, wear a pull-up diaper over top of the underwear.  We then would go to the potty every fifteen minutes (thank goodness it is a rainy day). and if he actually went in the potty he would receive one, ONE piece of sugary goodness as a reward.  
Little did I know that he might not really want to sit on the potty every fifteen minutes. I absolutely do not want to traumatize him, but you do have to start somewhere, usually by sitting on the thing.  The little guy has been so easy about everything else; we just assumed that this would be easy as well.  

When it came time to start our fifteen-minute intervals, he did not and would not sit on the potty.  Instead, he stood in the middle of the bathroom floor screaming and eventually peeing, on the floor, not in the potty.  But hey, it wasn’t in the pull-up!  I then decided to move the potty into my bedroom where he could sit and watch “Sesame Street” at the same time.  So, at last, he is on the plastic throne, watching TV and hopefully emptying his bladder.  I let him get up when he wants too; he’s pretty good about sitting for at least five minutes (thanks to PBS and books).  After several hours of him sitting and then getting up to play, of course waiting for the fifteen minutes he is not on the potty to actually pee, in the pull-up of course (by this point, no more underwear, we have gone through every pair we own) we have success.  He finally peed in the potty! Hooray!  Out comes the candy and he gets his one piece.  I was so excited I almost peed!  However, as I stated earlier, we are only halfway through the day, and he is quietly sleeping upstairs, in a diaper (naptime and pull-ups do not go together).  We shall see how this evening goes, and the day after and the day after and the day after, probably until next year, but hey, who’s counting?

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