Just like I wrote last year . . . . Same 20 pounds, by the way. Still here. 2013 New Year's Resolution Fail, as the kids might say.
But you'd be wrong about that assumption.
Oh sure, like everyone else in the Western world, the new year has brought a renewed resolve to get back into shape, but honestly, what more can I say on the subject that I haven't said already on this blog. Who wants to be boring and repetitive?
(By the way, The Personal Trainer has been texting me trying to set up training sessions for the new year. Trying to drum up some New Year's Resolution business, no doubt. I've been diligently ignoring her. But I need to at least respond to say, count me out.)
No, when I say, "trained," I mean trained.
Potty trained.
Without going into the specifics of all the, er, movements involved in this project, I am happy to report that our post-Christmas efforts at potty training with The Boy have met with great success and he is sporting undies 24-7, except for naps and bedtime (when we use pull-ups).
We've had a few accidents, which is to be expected, and some of those have been a result of his parents not being quick enough to get him to the potty when he has asked to go. He's great at asking to go. (Sometimes, he asks to go, I am convinced, just to get out of certain situations. And, hey, I used to hang out in a toilet stall and read a book in the sorority house in order to get some alone-time, so he's just taking after his mom in that regard.)
So I have some advice to the un-potty-trained parents out there:
- Do not start before age 2, unless your child is really potty-precocious. In fact, don't start until at least age 2.5. I know you're tired of changing diapers and that your hands have aged 10 years in the past two due to over-washing, but just wait a few more months. I mean, don't even buy the training potty and put it in your bathroom. They're just not ready yet, and you will save yourself many, many months of frustration. I say this as a person who has been sitting her son on the potty chair for a year. Honestly, it was pointless to even try until about a month ago.
- When you do try to potty train your kid at around age 2.5, if the kid is just oblivious to his/her wetness or poop, put the training pants and the potty chair away and wait a few more months. He or she is still not ready and unless you like being covered in urine and/or poop, you're just going to have a long-drawn-out mess. You will find that if you allow your kid to mature just a little bit more -- both physically and emotionally -- it will go so much easier.
- Keep in mind, too, that the average age for an American boy to be fully potty trained is 38 months. For American girls, it's 36 months. So if you're starting at age two -- 24 months -- you're expecting a lot from your little person.
- Potty rewards work. Find what works for your child. The Boy has a friend who would do it for gummy bears. Another for M&Ms. Our guy: Hot Wheels and Cars cars. Maybe you might choose some special kind of undies (Disney Princess? Toy Story?) your kid would love to wear.
- Be prepared for accidents when you go out and about. Maybe, for the first few days/weeks, you want to use pull-ups when you go to the grocery store with the kid, just in case.
- Carry two changes of clothes in the car with you. Include socks.
- Find a friend with older kids and do not be afraid to ask questions! He/She has been there and will have ideas that work.
As I was discussing recently with a dear friend of mine, a mom of three (two adorable boys and a beautiful college freshman girl), no one graduates high school un-potty-trained and, well, they don't have a space for "age at toilet training" on any college entrance exam we've seen. So this is really not something we need to stress about. It will happen with the child is ready, not when you are ready.
So, saying bye-bye to diapers means, alas, saying good-bye to the last vestige of babyhood for my sweet little man. He announced to friends today, "I"m a big boy! I have undies!" It was adorable, and bittersweet. Not my baby anymore, my adorable, funny big boy. (But, you know, my shoulder will be so happy not to have that diaper bag digging into it anymore.) Congratulations, Little Man.
