16 September 2010

On Poop

There are a great many things that I never thought I would say in my lifetime...and among them, the following utterance probably ranked right near the top: "Now remember, don't pee on Ni Hao honey. It will make her saaaad."

So began our final journey into a diaper free world last Sunday. It's been almost a year since A bought her own potty, but last week, she also picked her own underpants.

For the record: Ni Hao was the compromise. Even though she doesn't watch Dora the Explorer, she knows who Dora is. I hate Dora. We both agreed on Ni Hao. (And don't talk to me about Dora being the same as Ni Hao. They're not. I don't hate Ni Hao.)

Fortunately, play skool also potty trains. And of course, because she's an angel at play skool, she's a champion potty-goer there too. But at home, especially this weekend, after a week in underpants, we've had more out of the potty than in, or so it seems. She refuses to poop in the potty at all here, although I'm bribing her with sparkly, shiny stickers as of todaytty, so who knows.

Last Monday, I spent 40 minutes in the bathroom waiting for a poop. I showed her how to make the  "I'M POOPING!" face; I sang the pooping song. I applauded poop. And I thought to myself, when I used to say I was in the shit, especially overseas, I never thought that someday it would come to mean this. My, how the toughest do fall...

That was the first, and last, potty poop thus far.

Now, I am so tired of poop. I know we're in the beginning stages, but poop is poop and I have "potty trained" enough puppies in my day to know that I'm so damn done with cleaning up accidents, especially poop. If I never see another poop where it doesn't belong again, it will be too soon. Even my own mother, mother of all mothers, sent me a text on Monday that said, "Potty training is a good form of birth control."

I texted back saying that was true, but it's also a milestone, and almost typed millstone instead.

I know we'll get there. She's great with not peeing on Ni Hao, Yo Gabba Gabba, or her frogs. It's just that I don't like poop. I really don't like poop.

Tips or tricks on potty training you'd like to share?

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

What worked for me with poop was getting to know when they were likely to do it, and planning to have them on or near the potty at that time. If there was poop in the pants when we got to the potty, I made a show of putting the poop in the toilet, so as far as they knew, poop always went in the toilet. (And against "modern wisdom," I didn't pretend that I thought poop in pants was just fine.)

I kept a little bucket of (washable) toys/books next to the potties, and a store of books in the restroom. For a fair stretch of their toddlerhood (sometime between ages 1 and 2), we had storytime in the bathroom, LOL - several times a day. They even drank their sippies of milk in the bathroom since milk generated a desire to go. For a short while I gave small treats - 1 for being clean/dry just before sitting on the pot and 1 for actually going in the pot. I also timed my own bathroom visits to coincide with theirs, so there was no mystery or fear about any of it.

Well, that's about all I've got. Good luck - I'm not a fan of poop either. Looking forward to the day they figure out how to wipe properly so I can move on to more intellectual things. - SKL

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