"But mommy, Arin wanna pee in the potty!"
Ugh, potty training. Part of me wants to be super lazy and just have my sons in diapers from now until eternity. I know that it sounds a little mean, but hey, give me a break. When we first began this potty training adventure, all was well. I call it an adventure, although at times it is more like a nightmare.
Take the other morning for example. Adin comes up to our bedroom to wake me up. He is naked. I know from this that it is going to be a long day. So I go down to their bedroom and not only is Adin naked, but so is the baby. It's going to be a really long day. Now Adin knows what to do when he has to go to the bathroom, but Arin does not. I'm going to let you all use your imagination as to the state of the crib. I sighed, and grabbed the baby and continued down yet another flight of stairs. When I tried to put clothes on the baby, Adin looks at me and says, "But mommy, Arin wanna pee in the potty!" Ahhhh, I was at a loss for words at first. Then I had to look at my three year old and try and explain to him that the baby does not know how to pee in the potty. I did think that it was kind of sweet though, he wants his baby brother to be like him. But oh, the mess. And of course, it is now a regular thing, if I leave the room, the baby ends up naked. I have even tried to duct taping the babies diaper on him. Seriously. But no, my 3 year old is smarter than that. He immediately figured out how to take the tape off. So now I am clueless as to what to do about Arin and the diaper sitch.
I thought that I might look around the Internet to see if I can find something to help me out. I found many mothers suggesting taping the infants diaper on. (See, it’s not just me.) I was shocked to see people out there actually potty training kids as young as 8 months old. It’s called infant potty training and to me it is just insanity. There a lot of steps to do this. One of the first is to switch to cloth diapers. After you do that, you start just holding your kid over the toilet until they go to the bathroom. When they do eventually go, you make a specific sound or say a specific word. This will help your baby identify what their body is doing. The more I read, the more I learned that this would take a LOT of time. Granted, I am a stay at home mom, but I am also a full time student, wife, housekeeper, teacher, doctor, therapist, you get the point. I barely have time to brush my hair every day, let alone spend a lot of time holding Arin over the toilet waiting for him to pee. “Many families who learn about this method a little late end up potty training two children at once, a baby and a toddler” (Boucke, Laurie). Where in the H-E-double hockey sticks do they get all that extra time?
Adin did do very good today with just big boy underwear on, he only had one accident. But as far as keeping the diaper on the baby? For now, I’m still at a loss. Suggestions would be great… :]
Take the other morning for example. Adin comes up to our bedroom to wake me up. He is naked. I know from this that it is going to be a long day. So I go down to their bedroom and not only is Adin naked, but so is the baby. It's going to be a really long day. Now Adin knows what to do when he has to go to the bathroom, but Arin does not. I'm going to let you all use your imagination as to the state of the crib. I sighed, and grabbed the baby and continued down yet another flight of stairs. When I tried to put clothes on the baby, Adin looks at me and says, "But mommy, Arin wanna pee in the potty!" Ahhhh, I was at a loss for words at first. Then I had to look at my three year old and try and explain to him that the baby does not know how to pee in the potty. I did think that it was kind of sweet though, he wants his baby brother to be like him. But oh, the mess. And of course, it is now a regular thing, if I leave the room, the baby ends up naked. I have even tried to duct taping the babies diaper on him. Seriously. But no, my 3 year old is smarter than that. He immediately figured out how to take the tape off. So now I am clueless as to what to do about Arin and the diaper sitch.
I thought that I might look around the Internet to see if I can find something to help me out. I found many mothers suggesting taping the infants diaper on. (See, it’s not just me.) I was shocked to see people out there actually potty training kids as young as 8 months old. It’s called infant potty training and to me it is just insanity. There a lot of steps to do this. One of the first is to switch to cloth diapers. After you do that, you start just holding your kid over the toilet until they go to the bathroom. When they do eventually go, you make a specific sound or say a specific word. This will help your baby identify what their body is doing. The more I read, the more I learned that this would take a LOT of time. Granted, I am a stay at home mom, but I am also a full time student, wife, housekeeper, teacher, doctor, therapist, you get the point. I barely have time to brush my hair every day, let alone spend a lot of time holding Arin over the toilet waiting for him to pee. “Many families who learn about this method a little late end up potty training two children at once, a baby and a toddler” (Boucke, Laurie). Where in the H-E-double hockey sticks do they get all that extra time?
Adin did do very good today with just big boy underwear on, he only had one accident. But as far as keeping the diaper on the baby? For now, I’m still at a loss. Suggestions would be great… :]
A suggestion to integrate the experiences with the academic. Maybe reconsider the use of the exclamation point (I tend to over use this one, too). Let your wonderful, descriptive writing tell the emotional story. You have a knack for it...and sometimes subtle punctuation can have the opposite effect.
Good choice of using this experience as a post, I could only imagine the rest to come. I know you could express your feelings more or maybe your other son’s. I know many parents recommend baby books, I don’t know if you have also tried that approach. Continue doing a great job with your children and with school.