Guess who used the toilet yesterday?
I'm not talking about:
(that would be weird)
Awesome book called Diaper Free Before 3 where you start as early as 6 months old. If anyone has a kid who will need to be toilet-trained, please read this book. So awesome. Had I known that every scientific study has shown that the earlier you start training, the earlier they finish and the easier it is--it would have saved me the world of AHHHH that has been my life (our lives) for the past few months. After I told her about it, one of my friends got it, started with the potty, and her 13-month-old is doing really well so far. It also has helpful tips for starting with an older child. At any rate, Shaifali woke from her very long nap with a dry diaper, so I thought, "I might as well put her on to see if she'll go." I sat her on the potty, made a whooshing noise in her ear, and there it was! Step one of getting her comfortable with the toilet is in progress! What an easier process this will be.
I'm not talking about:
I'm not talking about:
(that would be weird)I AM talking about:
That was cool thing number one for yesterday.
I used to think poop was funny. Actually, I'm not going to lie: I still do in many ways, just not when I have to wipe it off of various surfaces. The Boy had managed to take the joy out of poop for me for awhile. The dog had done her part too, as she pooped twice in the house in two weeks (where she hadn't done that in years). She's been sent for a spa vacation at my parents' house to get some love and attention so she can stop pooping in protest to her mistreatment.
I feel like the s*%^ really is holy--when it lands in the potty. I'll spare you the details (as usual), dear people, but suffice it to say that we may have had a breakthrough in this toileting process. Not only that, my sweet little funny weirdo is back to his normal self. (Approacheth the fear that it will change back simply because I have written it here.) We had optimal timing in going to wake him from his nap, as he had just started to use his underwear for a receptacle and we were able to get him on the toilet quickly, where--after several minutes--he completed his rather large task. OK, I know that my mom would say, "you're not sparing us the details." Well, sorry. The best part is this: we had the most successful moment when we ate at Sweet Tomatoes last night. We have stopped putting the plastic pants over the cloth underwear, and this seems to be making a huge difference for him. As we were going out, we thought we would put the safety of the plastic on him. We drove 15 minutes to get there, ate and drank water for quite some time, and were thinking it was getting close to time to go. Superdad changed Shaifali in the bathroom, and Mas said something about potty to me. I asked if he needed to go, and he said yes! He ended up going to the bathroom with Superdad, was completely dry(!), and used the toilet successfully! He was still dry when we got home. He stayed dry overnight and successfully used the toilet this morning too.
Not only that, but he has just been delightful. He is funny and loving and joyful and nice. He had been mean to me off and on for a few weeks, and I missed my boy and our relationship. We had the most glorious dinner together. So much so that the people at our neighboring table sarcastically said, "you can tell you just don't enjoy your family at all." Check us out--getting noticed as a happy, loving family. Somehow the dark cloud disappeared, and there is a resurgence of energy and joy here. It was hard at times to believe that "this too shall pass." When I felt I'd turned into Mommy Dearest minus the coat hangers and that my oldest child had turned into a 2-year-old Rosemary's Baby, it was hard! But this, too, did pass. At least for now, there are some darn good times to be had, and we're going to have them.
P.S. I read an article in O Magazine several years ago, and the author said something like, "our lives are chronicled in how we talk about poop. First it's, 'did the dog poop?' Followed by, 'did the baby poop?' Last, in our old age, 'did you poop?'" Oh, how true it is. I might as well call this blog the Poop Chronicles. I hope it entertains even those of you who are still in the did-the-dog-poop stage . . . or those who have already crossed into the did-you-poop stage!
