Diaper Ditch and Dash

CJ showing her "Potty Power" and Pull-ups!

If children came with directions I think it would make things a whole lot easier. For instance, my oldest daughter CJ's directions would read something like: Hi Mom, I will get constipated really easily so I will spend the first few months of life crying until you figure this out. And by the way, at around 15 months I will be ready to potty train. If I wake up screaming like someone is hurting me or I am desperately ill...it is just a night terror. The best thing you can do is leave me alone. Keeping me challenged will be  your biggest challenge. And a word of warning... I never forget anything, so be careful what you say.  Love you forever! CJ


Instead like detectives we just have to try and figure it out. Trial and error, try this and that, until we land on a solution. This solution may work for a phase, or indefinitely...you don't know definitely until it doesn't work anymore. One thing is for certain... just because it worked on child #1 doesn't mean it will help you at all with child #2 and so on. Every kid is a whole new ball game.

The girls hanging out during CJ's potty-training days.

My oldest daughter was completely potty trained by two. So naturally this was my goal with Rose. Who doesn't want to see the end to diapers? Between my health problems, and surgery etc. and her obvious lack of interest... we postponed. Then she turned two and she started whipping off her diaper every time she dirtied it. Not that long ago she threw her diaper at me as she ran by shouting "Diaper Change" on her way to play. Potty Training?  How about now?

So I began the exhausting cycle of putting her on and off the potty with her cloth training pants. On one hand she seems very aware of when she goes, but not until after the fact.
One day she was showing signs that she needed to poop (she was walking around like a cowboy) I kept putting her back on the potty, hoping for a success story. In the end, immediately after some unfruitful potty time, she ran into the kitchen and said, "Watch out mommy; here it comes!" And she was right. Well, at least it was one less diaper to wash, and that's why we have a steam mop!

She is getting more aware, but still just doesn't seem ready. But playing find-the-diaper wasn't on my list of fun games. It was a regular Easter egg hunt... and what I kept finding around the house were not delightful drops of chocolate! In response to this phase we did switch to Pull-ups (the diaper's more-expensive cousin) and still encourage potty time.

Rose in training November 2010

Then I read in the January  2011 edition of Parents magazine a statistic that would have been useful last year! Most children are not ready to potty train before 27 months. (My first child had misled me as to what was a normal time to train.) Apparently, for most children, if you try to train before 2 1/2 you just have more puddles to clean up. Another key tip they mentioned was that while your child may have all the signs of potty readiness BUT they may not be ready to train (in other words... ready to cooperate.)
I had already put potty training Rose on my list of summer projects. Now this new information further confirms it. Time to focus on the issue at hand... trying to keep her from playing with the light sockets.

If I had a guess at what Rose's directions would say it would be something like:  Dear Mommy, I will nurse exclusively until I am 1. Don't even try to give me baby food; that stuff is bland. After a year I will eat only what you eat, and make sure it has lots of garlic. By the way, I will nurse until I am two, and don't even think about trying to get me potty-trained before I am three. Best of luck, Mommy, and please buy me a helmet and parachute because I like to climb and jump off of things! Always your baby, Rose.