This Journey...Potty Training

Thanks to the blogging world, I, a mother of two, am now able to share anything and everything that happens in the Waszajclan household, whether or not people care to know. If you are a mother who has been through this journey called potty training, or a mother who is about to go through it, read on; you just might find yourself nodding your heads.

I will try to keep this short, and to the point. I have to admit, I have been dreading to potty-train my kids. Of all the things a mother looks forward to do for her kids, potty training them is not on my list. It is hard work, and it requires much patience. Worst of all, every child is different, so there was no way to gage how well my child would do.

Well, the day finally came, when Caleb woke up, demanded his diaper to be changed. Although I have attempted many times to toilet train him in the past, I took this demand as a sign that he was truly ready. So..I went cold turkey with him on that day. That was exactly 48 hours ago from the time I am typing these very words, and at this moment, I can say, he is done.

Just like that? Yes! Of course I am going to skip the part where I made him sit on his little potty while Sesame Street was playing on the TV screen in the living room. I am not going to tell you how many pouches of Haribo gummy bears I allowed him to have during the past 48 hours, when he is normally allowed to have only one a day. I am also going to pass the part where I took out a wooden spoon and threatened him to stay on his potty seat. Lastly, I won't tell you the moment when I found both he and his sister were happily engaging themselves in throwing and splashing his toy cars inside his potty.




Of course, there is the big celebration chant after each deed; it is absolutely necessary, if you ask me.

Two days. Done. Well, most likely, done. I know there will be accidents, but if I knew it was this easy for him, I probably would not have been so stressed out. Just look at how excited he is.



Bottom line is--only you can decide when and if your child is ready. Don't rush. Don't look at his age and compare with your other friends who has trained their children when they turned 1. Relax, let your child tell you when he or she is ready. Then it will only take a few days. Maybe less, just like mine.

And So It Begins

If there is one thing I am not looking forward to do, like when I was in college I dreaded going to take my finals, it is toilet training my kids. It's hard to admit, but I have not been looking forward to this day since the day Caleb was born. All the horror stories that I've heard from mothers who have been on the same boat--make me really want to put this task off. I have to look forward to running to find the nearest restroom when I just want to pick up a loaf of bread at Trader Joe's. Or, I have to look forward to staring at a wet spot on his pants and drop everything that I have in my hands to look for a place to change him. Is there such thing as a potty training school? Where you can send your kids there 5 days a week for a week, and they come home acting like normal people?

At first, it can be fun..

Well, the time has come for Caleb. I've been reading books after books, magazines after magazines, online articles after online articles. While I am happy to see that most experts and moms agree, that boys' readiness is usually later than girls', I am less than thrilled to point out that Caleb acquires those signs that tell me he is ready.

I know we are in for the long haul. For the past few days, his Dad and I have been sitting in the bathroom with him, while he tried to do his business. When he showed that he was less than interested to sit on the white, ceramic thing for no more than a minute, we pulled out almost every trick we have left in our pockets. We encouraged, pushed, even threatened. So far, he still prefers to do his business in his there-is-not-a-size-bigger diapers.

I was told when Benny turned two, it took his mother only one week to PT him. At first I was extremely encouraged by such revelation. It was very soon, however, I found out that this is not possible with Caleb. He can be stubborn as a mule at times, and if he feels that he should conduct his daily business in his diapers, no one and nothing can change that.

So, in the end, this can be a month-long process. Maybe longer.

..and then, not so fun..