All Aboard for the Potty Train

I've known for a while that Kendra was close to being ready to be potty trained. And all her little friends (and more importantly, all their mothers) have been in the throes of potty training for the last several months. But I just. didn't. want. to do. it.

Can I even begin to tell you how much I hate potty training? I mean, seriously. I would much rather just change a diaper than have to stand hovering over the toilet for hours on end giving pep talks about bowel movements, only to have to clean up any big messes that don't make it to the toilet (despite all those pep talks). Even when it goes fairly well, it's still a big hassle and a big mess. And until your child is REALLY well trained, it's nearly impossible to leave the house, AND it makes getting out the door that much harder. So I've become a firm believer in procrastinating this chore as long as possible. And with a new baby in the house and all, I figured no one could accuse me of being too lazy for not getting Kendra out of diapers just yet.

But Kendra had other ideas.

First she began holding it in, only to leak out of her diaper when she did finally go. Craig suggested that since I had a mess to clean up either way, perhaps it was time to try putting her in underwear. I reluctantly agreed to let her use the potty on Saturday. After a few accidents, she got it right once and was very proud of herself. Progress!

But I put her back in diapers the next day. I figured there was no need to worry about this stuff while we're at church. I haul enough junk around in my diaper bag without an extra church outfit, too! But when I picked Kendra up from nursery at the end of the day, her nursery teacher had a surprise for us.

"Do you think you could just put her in a pull-up next week?" this very hard-working volunteer asked, "She had to go to the bathroom twice, and it's a pain getting her diaper off and on."

Yup-- Kendra had managed to go to the bathroom twice without us even knowing. I was too surprised by all this to explain to her teacher that these bathroom trips comprised her second and third time properly using a toilet!

So I guess there's no holding her back now. She did have some accidents yesterday after church, so we're by no means finished. But we are off to a great start* this morning! So rather than fight it any more, I'll instead allow myself to be dreamy-eyed at the idea of having only one child in diapers.



While I'm typing, I have to mention this-- I've often thought that Kendra's birth was something of a metaphor for her personality. When she's ready for something, she is ready, and there's just no stopping her. It's how she learned to walk, too. She refused for months to take a single step, and then, when Grandpa finally convinced her to try it, she was done with crawling forever. It looks like it will be the same thing with diapers.

Kendra was born on President's Day. I can't wait to see where she goes in life!



*In an effort to keep this blog from degenerating too much, I am not going to disclose all the gross details. If you're really that curious, just call me and we can discuss poop to your heart's content. And I will think you're really weird.