Wednesday, May 25, 2011

a sufficient excuse for my lack of blogging, or not

My 3-year old son notified me today that it was "the worst day ever!"

I was thinking the same exact thing.

Life - as we have previously known it - has ended.  By 11 a.m. this morning, my 22-month old son had already had three potty-training accidents.  You may wonder, as I am, why I am potty-training him when he, and his vocabulary, are so little.

But, I can truthfully proclaim:  this is his choice.

He has been trying now for three weeks, fighting my insistence that he keep his diaper on, trying to prove to me that he can indeed wear underwear - all the time, notifying me consistently, day and night, when he needs to use the bathroom, but refusing - throughout - to involve his potty (or any toilet for that matter).

It has been very... heavy... and messy.

When he initiated it three weeks ago, I felt a burst of energetic excitement - a real, all-encompassing physical energy - so sudden that I was surprised by it.  I could not be deterred.  Life was put on pause.  I didn't blog for a week.  I could be cheerful despite any number of accidents.  I was completely focused on my little 22-month old.  Everything else took a back seat.  (I later concluded that this energy is a necessary component of an attempting-potty-training-mother's mental health.  It must stem from the sudden discovery that the time and energy spent on diaper changing, the money spent on diapers and wipes, and the "baby stage" in general is ending for you and your child.  It is very exciting for a mom - and terrifying at the same time - no one tells you how absolutely gut-ripping and horrifying potty-training is before you have children.)  My son wore underwear for a few days, on and off.  But after the first day, he refused to sit on his little potty - ever again.  Needless to say, I eventually decided he was still a bit too young.  I suspect that he was not repeating in his mind: "Hmm, I need to keep my underwear dry... so I need to make it in time to the potty."

But his persistence won out.  We are back at it now.  I wish I had stuck with it three weeks ago.  Life is now on pause - again.  And the burst of energy?  It has faded, almost completely.  And I don't know how to get it back.  And without it, yes, I am about to crack.

I blogged about potty-training last year, but I'm not sure if any of that advice will help me this year - with my 22-month old who hardly speaks at all and whose personality consists almost entirely of stubbornness.

2 comments:

Nathan said...

Coffee!!!

Katy said...

Kylie potty-trained herself at 22-months. She just wanted to be a big girl like Carolyn, I guess. It was the easiest thing ever. I've had pretty good success with potty-training, but I have NO advice, since I think every child learns differently and had different things that will help them get it down.

I think the fact that it's his choice is the best thing you have going for you! I imagine that feeds big time into the success of potty-training children.

Good luck!