It is the absolute pits!
Okay... envision this.... one overtired little boy who is crying on the bed because he wants to be rocked off...
Now... add to that a little girl... who for the past three days has been learning all about potty training.
I looked for signs.... she was telling us when she had finished doing business in her diaper, she was calling weeing or poo both "poopy time" and frankly I was sick of changing diapers on a 2&1/2 year old. I also want to get her ready for Preschool and diapers are so expensive here in NZ that I wanted to stop spending money on those as well (for her).
So we do what all the sites say, buy her a little potty (scored one of trademe for $2 and it has a removable seat so you dump the stuff straight in the real toilet), take her out to choose undies. Tell her the diapers are gone and she is a big girl.
Well to be honest we had tried this a couple of other times so she knew what undies were. But my girl is a super clean freak. She hates to have even the tiniest bit of dirt on her. So the she hates being wet. I got her to do poopy the first night in the potty. I was so so proud of her and totally grossed out otherwise. Then the next day into undies in the morning and then begins the holding. I mean she would be dancing around all day. She would not make it to the potty and wet her undies.
Thats okay... Accidents happen... all the books say it.
But no poopy yesterday.
Today she is starting to freak out and I know it is because she is dying to go but is afraid to use the potty.... she will cry out for it, put her on and she freezes - wee or poo.
So I am getting worried because it is like 48hrs since a bowel motion (poopy) and I know that ain't good for the systems. This is like 8:30pm at night and she is holding her girl bits and just totally unsettled. I offer her a diaper but she has even freaked out about those now, doesn't like feeling wet. I take her to our home, we had been hanging with the grandparents before this.
Sooo... I remember that when I delivered little Joe and the nurse wanted me to go to the loo I was pretty dang afraid and the only thing that would work was to have the shower running....
Bingo...
Take her in, strip her down (so I don't have to deal with clothes getting wet) then sit her down and turn on the shower. Oh she was freaking out, she was screaming and I was doing all I could to not go into hysteria myself (oh by the way [insert here] the top bit of my post about a screaming little man). I am telling her it is OK, she is awesome, she can do this and finally nature takes over and she goes and goes and goes and goes (wee wee). It didn't all make it in the potty because it was coming so fast, their was so much and it all came [oh and I don't know if any other mother feels this way, but when it is your kids excrement all over you it does it not phase you? I dunno if its because I changed their nappies this long so its all the same...hmm I don't know]
I was so happy about that and I could see she was feeling better. So I give her a shower but I know that the Number #2 is looming and so I remember a tip from my MIL. Pump the legs. Pumping the legs can get the bowels moving. So I do this, she doesn't like it so I take it, it is working. Sure enough she looks at me and I run her to the potty. Like I said potty training is the pits. I won't go into detail about this session but needless to say - poor thing. BUT she did it in the potty! AGAIN. I just keep telling myself that the more times she does it the easier it gets [and all the books say it too and if they are lying I will hunt them down :)]
Well she is her happy little self now... watching Peter Pan.
Seriously this experience is one of those motherhood ones I could do without for sure..... Gosh.
Toilet training (for me) is not an easy experience.
I know it is a worthwhile experience but it is a tough one.
Okay that is all,
Just needed to get that off my chest.
