Well, a week has passed since Punky's glorious first day of consistent potty use. I'm happy, and honestly a bit surprised, to say things are going well.
Last Sunday, she had one not-so-accidental accident where she chose to go behind the recliner and pee on the living room floor rather than use the potty. My mom was on her way up at the time and Punky was so excited. I think perhaps she was afraid she'd miss Grammy's arrival if she went into the bathroom. Her dad and I were not amused with her choice and she faced a lecture from both of us.
Yes, of course we understand that accidents will happen, but this hardly qualified as one. I wanted to make sure she fully understood that it is not acceptable to deliberately pee anywhere but in the potty. I mean, pee is bad enough, but I really don't want to clean shit off the carpet. Just the thought of it makes me gag. It seems like the lecture, plus two minutes in the time-out chair, worked because she has not done it again.
On Monday, she had one real accident while we were at the playground. I have to take the blame for this one. She was still new to the steady potty routine and I should not have taken her to the playground in big girl undies, especially since we just had dinner and she sucked down a huge cup of apple juice. The sun was setting and it got chilly quickly. Even if she tried to hold it, there is no public bathroom at the playground and we probably wouldn't have made it home in time. I should've had her in a pull-up. Lesson learned.
While I'm thoroughly enjoying this new diaper-free world, it's not without drawbacks. Her timing is the biggest. For whatever reason, her bladder always sends the "I have to pee right now!" signal to Punky just as I am about to eat dinner. I don't think I've gotten through an entire meal all week without having to take her to the potty.
On the way back from the hospital on Tuesday, we stopped at a restaurant for supper. One minute after the waitress brought our food, Punky said, "Mommy! I need to use the potty! Now!" Sensing the urgency, I immediately jumped up, grabbed her hand, and we raced clear across the dining area to the bathroom. On our way back to our table, she told everyone she saw that she peed in the potty.
I swear, we weren't seated a full thirty seconds when she said, "Mommy! I need to go to the potty again! Now!" And again, I only managed to eat one more bite of my now lukewarm food. Since her dad was at least half way through his meal, he rose to the challenge for the second mad dash to the bathroom. This time she did more than just pee, and she proudly told everyone all about it again on the return trip. I'm sure they enjoyed that announcement in the middle of dinner. Thankfully the restaurant was rather empty.
Another drawback is that her potty routine actually takes more time, and happens more frequently, than a diaper change. She insists on being naked from the waist down despite me telling her a hundred times that it's okay to keep her pants on her ankles. It won't affect her pee one bit. Apparently she's not convinced.
Then, it usually takes a few minutes of sitting on the potty before anything happens. She asks me for some privacy so I stand in the hall and twiddle my thumbs while she recites the alphabet, sings a song, flushes just for the hell of it, and spins all the toilet paper into a pile on the floor. Finally I hear a tinkle.
Then comes the wiping, flushing, hand washing, and putting her clothes back on for the tenth time that day. Next on the list is the sticker reward. Once she finally decides which one she wants, it takes a few minutes for her to find the perfect spot for it on her potty paper. I use this time to re-roll the toilet paper.
Sometimes, start to finish, these potty episodes take twenty minutes or more. And the real kicker? Ten minutes later she has to go again! She's having trouble understanding that it's possible to do both things on the potty in one sitting. So, just like it happened at the restaurant, shortly after we run the whole routine for a tiny tinkle, we need to repeat all the steps for the other number. But it's still better than stinky diapers.
If the above doesn't constitute enough potty trips in one day, it can almost double if she has gas. Farts are really confusing. She can't tell the difference in how it feels yet, so for now it results in an emergency dash to the the bathroom for just a little toot. Although these false alarms are time-consuming, it's definitely better than her ignoring the feeling and taking the chance. Did I mention how much I do not want to clean shit off the carpet? I thought so.
Today we went to a friend's birthday party at a children's activity center and I took my purse. Just my purse. Only my purse. As in, no more lugging that damn diaper bag around everywhere we go. I felt a bit naked and unprepared, yet it was so liberating at the same time.
Punky wore a pull-up to the party because I thought she might be too distracted to stop and pee, but as it turned out she stopped not once but twice during the party to use the bathroom. I was so impressed that a huge room stuffed with every toy and activity imaginable for kids wasn't even enough to derail her potty progress. It clinched it for me and I'm totally calling it:
Punky is potty trained!
No comments:
Post a Comment