I hesitate to write this because things are going pretty darn well right now and I don't want to jinx them. At the same time, if I don't, I fear it will never get written, due to my, um, procrastination problem. Anywho! We are in the midst of potty training. I would like to say, for the record, that potty training is like being a brand new mommy. Gone are the days my almost 3 year old (gulp! when did that happen?) playing happily by herself while I read through UsWeekly online. Oh no, not anymore. I am hyper aware of every.little.move she makes, much like when I had a brand new baby. "Is she squirmy? Does she need to go potty? Is she doing her "gotta poop" dance? Did she finish all that juice?" These replace the "Is she breathing? Is it normal to sleep that much? Did she get enough to eat?" And much like a new mommy, my hyper awareness is largely unwarranted. After asking every ten minutes for a hour, Lily turned to me, gave me "the look" and said "MOM! I will TELL you when I need to go potty." Sigh. She is old enough to tell me, and I do trust that she knows her own body. Let it go mommy, let it go. I mean really, the worst that can happen is an accident. I think potty training at home is a non issue now. She's got it down.
However, again much like a newborn, my potty training child needs a lot of assistance. I had been lulled into this false sense of "not quite so needed" lately. Lily can do a lot of things on her own - climb into her car seat, get out toys, feed herself, climb in and out of bed, etc. What she can't do is pull her pants up and down or climb onto the potty seat of the big potty. She needs assistance washing her hands. At let me tell you, it is much more of a process than just changing a diaper. While I believe she is pretty well potty trained at home, she is far from independent in her endeavor!
She is doing well staying dry at naptime. I do put her in a pull up, but she hasn't wet it. Night time is going pretty well also. She did have two nights where she was dry all night, which shocked the pants off me since she is a super heavy wetter at night. But I am not so concerned about night time right now. As I said, she isn't really independent in her potty use, and I like my sleep. She is, however, using the potty as a stalling technique at bed time. We go right before bed, but sure enough just when I get settled on the couch with my cup of tea and have the DVR all cued up, over the monitor I hear the little plea "Mommy, I have to go potty!" And so the ten minute ordeal begins. She also gets me up a little earlier each morning, having to use the potty. Don't get me wrong - I am stoked at the prospect of not having stinky diapers in my trash and not having to buy diapers. It is just that potty training is really cramping my lazy style (NOT a bad thing!)
And then there is the out and about aspect of it. In a restaurant the other day we visited the bathroom three times. THREE! We were there, like, an hour. But when she pulls on my sleeve and tells me she has to go, we go. Again, and again, and again. She is still in a pull up away from the house, but it pretty much stays dry. We did have a couple successful ten-minute-never-got-out-of-the-car trips yesterday. I am getting braver. We may make the hour trip to my mom's later this morning in big girl panties. Or maybe not.
Lily is so proud of herself, and I am really proud of her too! She cheers me on when I use the bathroom. She cheers on her stuffed animals when they "go potty". She got really upset the other day when we tried to put her in a diaper for bedtime. She isn't a baby anymore! She is a big girl now!
Sob. Yes Lily, you are a big girl, but you will ALWAYS be my baby!
