Warning -this post is all about toddlers and pee pee and underpants. This may be very boring for the non-toddler mom and non-grandparent segment of readers.
So for a few months I have been starting the agonizing over-analyzing of the right of passage known as potty training. We have had a little stand alone potty for a year or so and for a few months we have also had a small potty topper for the big commode, all in preparation for the potty training to come. From time to time we ask if Jackson wants to sit on the potty and which potty he would like to sit on. And he has occasionally sat on one or the other for about 2.5 seconds with no attempts to actually potty in them going on.
But since he can't go back to pre-school in September in diapers because he will be in the 3's and 4's class. And since I am thinking of signing him up for a kinderdance camp this summer and they surely don't change diapers there, Jackson boy needs to be potty trained this summer. It is that time. And he has shown much more interest and more signs of readiness in the last few weeks. He wants to be changed immediately when he is dirty and often when he is wet. And when he sits on the potty, I feel like he is really trying to go. He says "it isn't coming." So I think he really wants to do it, he just hasn't quite got the motor control down yet. there.
But last night after his bath he wanted to run around naked as a jaybird and we couldn't coax him into his clothes for half an hour. And as he stood naked dancing in the living room I happened to catch him beginning to pee. I said, "Uh huh, Jackson. No peeing on the carpet." And miraculously, he stopped midstream, having only peed a little bit. So I said, "Come on, let's got to the potty, quick!" We ran down the hall and he sat down naked on his little potty and said once again "It isn't coming, mommy." So I turned on the faucet in the sink so he could hear the water and he peed in the potty for the first time ever! And he was so excited and he got lots of praise and since we read the potty book all the time he knew that now he got to pour it into the big potty and flush it like a big boy! Yay!
Today I keep asking if he wants to go pee pee on the potty and he tried once this morning, but couldn't go. But this afternoon, he peed again and was so excited. So am I.
And a little relieved (uh, no pun intended)since he will turn 3 in July and 3 seems to be the 'your kid can't do fun things if he is still in diapers' cut off age. Course my pedi says even 3 1/2 isn't unusual or worrisome for boys to potty train. But I sure am tired of changing diapers and I don't want him to be left out of the 1/2 day camps this summer because of it. I have been a little worried that because he is so small, his motor control is going to make him unable to go and not go when he wants to. And I don't think he will be able to pull up and down his own pants for a while. Some schools require that at 3 they not only be potty trained, but be able to do it all themselves. Jackson is only just now 26 pounds. He is so tiny, I worry about that. But we can work on it and see if his size affects his motor control as much as I worry it will.
Today we went to Target and bought some underpants for the boy. Which was harder than it should have been. We were at Kohl's first and they didn't have any in toddler sizes. They had tons starting at 4T. And even target didn't have much to choose from. Seems that people do the "Pull Up" diaper thing now so much that there isn't much call for toddler underpants. And when people do put underpants on a 3 year old, they are probably not a 26 pound 3 year old like mine so they can use the 4T from the boy section. And I couldn't find any actual training underpants - the old-style cotton padded crotch kind. I guess those are rare in the "Pull up" world now too. My sister handed me down 4 or five pairs of them. Not sure if I will need more. But I guess a trip to Babies R Us will be in order if it turns out we like them and want more. I bet they will have some. But we did get some Sesame Street underpants and Cars underpants. So we shall see what Mr. Jackson thinks about underpants vs. diapers. I hope he loves them and never wants to wear a diaper again.
I am optimistic that potty training will not be as hard as I have heard about. I have not pushed it thus far because all I have read indicates that starting too early does not often equal an early-trained kiddo. They say that if your kid isn't ready, you will spend months of hard work and not be done any sooner than if you simply waited. Meaning you will probably be done at the child's pace whether you start early or not. So I am trying not to stress about it. Course now I feel a clock is ticking somewhere. September is not that far away.
I am also grateful that I so far have not had any competitive, negative experiences with other moms. I read a fellow toddler mom's blog (Hi Julie) and she recently was called out by a mom at a play group for not having her barely 2 year old daughter potty trained. She didn't beat the woman about the head, surprisingly. She handled it with class. But I am grateful that I haven't met that woman or any like her. I might not have been so nice. Especially since I have barely begun training my almost 3 year old and I so do not believe in the soccer mom competitive bullshit. Julie's Stella is fine just the way she is and it is wonderful that this other lady has a daughter that was ready to potty train really early. Doesn't mean shit in the broad scheme of things (pun intended).
In conclusion: Yay Jackson for starting to potty train! Yay Julie and Stella for going at their own pace and not punching the snotty lady at the park.
3 comments:
Henry can't get his pants off too well either. Most of his pants have an elastic waist band which really helps but he still cant get it.
What I wanna know is how and when do boys start peeing standing up? And what do you do in public, hold them over the toilet? These are the things about potty training a boy that boggle my mind. Henry likes to use his potty but won't poop in it. That is like the final frontier or something.
I wish you and Jackson luck!
Good luck! And thanks for the encouragement. I have mellowed out a bit with having a child, but there was definitely a time when I would have let that woman have it (verbally only of course) :)
I never thought about you not being able to find the padded potty training underwear, but it's true, most people do the pull up method. I was always vehemently against pull-ups, but that's just me. I work right by Burlington Coat Factory and they may have some of those undies you need, so if you decide you need more, I can always stop by and look. We bought a house and moved even closer to you and David, so we need to get together!
Gosh, I remember potty training Michael, but I sure don't remember when it was that he started standing up to pee. I think maybe he began to learn that when he was outside playing and decided he needed to pee and of course, as boys do, did it right there outside.
Potty training is like learning to read. Each child does it at their own pace and only when they are ready. Regardless of any pre-school's rules!
Good luck and just be patient. There will be alot of setbacks and you will get frustrated. Just remember, he won't be wearing diapers forever, this too shall pass!
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