(Previously written post)
We’re in week four of potty training (end of June) and there’s been mostly progress, but enough setbacks/accidents to make me start doubting my decision to try this now.
Today, Syd said the cutest thing about her poop (“Cute” and “poop” in the same sentence? This is why I’m blogging about this and not posting on Facebook.). She looked into the potty after she stood up and said “turtle!” That particular poop did indeed look like a turtle swimming in some “water” (her pee). It’s fascinating what kids think of or associate, that I would never think as an adult. Looking at it more closely, though, I did have to admit that there was more than a passing resemblance of her poop to a turtle.
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It’s now been almost two months since we started training, and Syd’s doing well overall. I’ve come to realize that because she’s still quite young, our journey so far has taken the form of “two steps forward, one step back.” The beginning was bumpy, as I would get my hopes up and convince myself that we were *this close* to completing training, only to be greeted with multiple accidents several days in a row. And I fully acknowledge that I did not handle them in the most graceful or patient manner. Now, however, after some really good weeks followed by some not-so-good weeks, I’m more realistic about my expectations. I put less pressure on both of us to show immediate success, and this has been a very helpful change in direction for both of us – much more healthy and helpful, I like to think.
We’ve moved from the child-directed approach (waiting for Syd to let us know when she has to use the potty) to a more proactive strategy (gentle reminders and incentives for trying to potty every 2-3 hours), and while the new approach isn’t the most compatible with Syd’s independent spirit, it’s alleviating a lot of the stress and frustration – for both of us – that come with accidents. In due time, we’ll be able to shift back to following Sydney’s lead, as her development continues to grow, and I take great comfort in that. Plus, I’m putting a *lot* of confidence in that saying – “no one goes off to college in diapers.” I mean, it’s totally true, right??