Potty Talk

Diapers - one of the last vestiges of babyhood to be left behind. We're done with cribs. We're done with 'baby' toys. Jason still uses a tray, but that's mainly because he's not big enough to reach the table yet in his seat. Bibs are used only occasionally now, depending on the meal. I've taken the gate down at the top of the stairs, keeping it close by only to contain Sarah and Jason when I need to keep them up there with me. What I'd REALLY like to see go are the diapers. Pull-ups. Whatever. (Baby wipes, I love you, I will always keep you around, you with your magic stain-removing powers!) We have been buying diapers for over 8 years now, and I'd really like to be done with that.

Evie was pretty easy, once she got it in her mind to do it. She showed zero interest in the potty until 2 months before her 3rd birthday, and then when she made up her mind it was done in 3 weeks.

William took a bit longer (which is the biggest understatement of the year.) I don't think William showed any interest EVER. From shortly before his 3rd birthday until he was 4 & started preschool we struggled with him. He knew what to do, he just didn't want to do it & he always seemed surprised when he'd have an accident. I won't share with you those horrors, those are just for me.

We're working on the potty again with Sarah. She wasn't really interested (at all) this past fall & with the birthdays/holidays/fall craziness, we decided to give it a rest until the new year. The new year's here, and she's still not interested. WHY kids are just fine walking around in a soggy bag I will never get. I hear stories & witness friends' kids graduating to underwear at 2-1/2 & think surely I'm not doing something right. Are you supposed to really push it when they're fighting you every inch of the way?

So we've been working with Sarah; sometimes she cooperates, sometimes not; Matt is much better at getting her to try than I am, probably because she is more like me than either of us realized until just recently - you want to watch a contest of wills, come visit my house & watch me do battle with Sarah :) She's gotten herself to the bathroom twice this past week on her own, so progress is slow. One happy benefit of all this, though, is Jason.

Jason is doing AWESOME. If you remember, he turned 2 in November. Jason is my proof that my first three ARE different from other kids, and it's not ME, it's THEM. Hah! Jason's very much interested in the potty, and he's doing a great job with the whole process. Matt will tell you that's because Jason is the most like him. Probably :) Anyway, I'm hopeful that at least he will be done with diapers by his 3rd birthday, at which point Sarah will be 4; surely she will be done with them by then too! It would be heaven if they could both be finished by the summer, but I'm not getting my hopes up - day by day here. So my hiney-wiping sentence will hopefully be up within the next 10-1/2 months - ok who am I kidding, the wiping goes on long after the diapers are gone - but you get the idea. Then I can allocate that $80 a month towards preschool :)

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And since it doesn't feel like a blog post without a picture, here's a flashback photo for you that my dad sent me - he's been scanning old pictures & slides & this one really struck me (and not just because of our hideous haircuts, thank you very much, Mom!) This is a photo of me and my sisters from the summer of 1976 at our grandparents' beach house. I'm 6 years old; NOW tell me which child of mine most resembles me??!

If you can't tell, I'm the one on the left :)

Have a great week! Harried Mom out.

Comments

  1. Omagosh, I see you in all of the kids, but I really think you look like...Jason, today. Tomorrow I will say Sarah. :) They do tend to decide when they want to go. It's a pain for mommy, though.

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  2. The joys of raising lots of kids...you get to encounter a lot of poop!

    I've always trained them in summer (just because I'm lazy) . In summer the little ones tend to run around naked and train themselves.

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  3. I always thought you looked JUST like Sarah, but I can see Jason now too. And I agree 100% about the stain erasing powers of wipes!! And when does the butt-wiping end? I need to post about this to get some advice....

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  4. I have to agree, that each child is so different when it comes to the potty. My nephew was 4ish, Sierra was close to 2 1/2, and Kenners {don't ask me how!} was about 21 months. It'll be interesting to see where Kam falls. Anyway, it's NOT you, it's them! :) Wow, that is a great picture! I still think you look like Sarah, but I definitely see William in there too. Of course Evie looks exactly like her daddy ;)

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  5. My first was easy easy easy... she was potty trained by 2 maybe a little before... she just got it! My second who just turned 2 has absolutely NO desire to try. She wants to wear panties at times but doesn't "get it" that you don't pee in them. Ohhh man she is my patience tester! :)

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  6. Great picture! You and Sarah could be twins!!

    I struggled with Erick for months....then one day....he was ready and he's not completely potty trained.

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  7. Cute pic!!! Baby wipes are genius aren't they? They really do get stains out of most everything.... I use them everyday for something! Good luck with the training. Madison was trained at 18 months and then regressed BAD! She just trained for real this fall a year later!

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  8. Oh the potty training and diapers. I can honestly say that is one thing I do not miss! Good luck!

    I saw on FB where you are shredding! How's that going? Can I add you to my sidebar so we can encourage one another?

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  9. We are going through our "lasts" at the moment too. Last cot, last day time nap, last babycarseat etc. Some things are harder to let go of....like cute little shoes...but potty training isn't one of them ;)

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  10. Hi Jen, thanks for visiting on behalf of JMac. Your youngest daughter is definitely "little mommy". I've just finished with diapers recently, oh what a relief. Hope you are done soon, too. Eight years is a long time in diaperland.

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  11. My pedi told me when my first was ready to be potty trained to not force it and they will one day do it on their own- he was right with both. M was easy but J was a pain- he took forever and I decided not to fight it. Eventually, he got it on his own and there was no turning back. Easier said than done though!!

    Now with another baby at home,I am not looking forward to this stage at all!!!!

    ~Becca

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  12. One of our wonderful old babysitters came by for a visit this weekend and she & I reminisced about the summer Number Three was born and she spent most of her time handing out red Smarties (like M&M's) to Number Two when he went number one or two on the potty. Those were the good old days.

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  13. What a cute picture Jen!!! I love it! Good luck with the potty training! It's weird but I can hardly remember any of the potty training with my kids. And it's only been a couple of years with Ella. Maybe that's similar to the one where you forget about labor... Hmmm..

    Hope you are having a great day friend!

    XOXO
    Jen

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  14. Don't hate me, but Ethan's showing interest and he's not yet two. He doesn't use the potty consistently—several times a week—but he's starting to show signs of disliking being in a soiled diaper. He says "wat wat" (wet) or "eeeew" (well, you know). I'm taking that as a good sign.

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  15. hate to break the news to you, but once you get potty training down, look out for a boys inability to thoroughly wipe his ass. ever.

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  16. Potty training is so tough and full of emotion. Funny how fast we forget:)

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