Leaning In
Ollie, you are currently undergoing potty training. And you're kind of kicking ass at it.
A month ago, I was told by the daycare director that Ollie was going to be moving up into the more age-appropriate preschool class on June 9th. I panicked and told her that he wasn't potty trained yet, to which she basically replied that if he wasn't in underwear before he went into the next class, he never would be.
Well, she didn't say that exactly, she just said that it takes longer and is more difficult if he's not trained before he enters preschool.
So. I had a little inward freak-out (OMG), and calmly (because I didn't want her to notice the pee beginning to shade the front of my jeans), asked her how I should go about it in such little time. She laughed and said:" Well, just rip it off like a Band-Aid and stick him in underwear!"
Me - "What do you mean?"
Her - "Put him in underwear tomorrow and go from there. We've had a lot of success with that tactic."
Me - "I'm sorry. What do you mean?"
Her - "Uhhh..."
Me - "Like, like, put him in underwear tomorrow?!? And just, you know, see what happens?!?"
Her - "Yep! Exactly. He's gone on the potty before, he knows how to do it. Actually, parents tend to be more nervous about it than the kiddos."
Uhhh...yeah, ya' think? Because Ollie's not the one potentially sopping up puddles of pee off the leather sofa or picking poop corn out of the threads of his underwear.
Ollie and I went to the store and picked out some new undies. I told Doug what the director said and we both agreed on the plan.
The next day, we kept him in his overnight diaper as long as we possibly could, made him try on the potty, explained what we were all embarking on, slapped some thick undies on him and wished the teacher luck. That first day, he had 8 accidents and 1 success. We were, of course, expecting this and it helped us to make the one success such a huge deal. However, the teachers hadn't spoken to each other and weren't aware of the plan, so when I picked him up he was in pull-ups. Grrr. The second day, he had 6 accidents and 2 successes. The third day he pooped on the potty and had 1 accident. It was amazing. He did so well that everyone was thrilled! Daycare gave him stickers and daytrips to see his friends in preschool, and we were giving him new underwear, prizes, M&Ms, stickers, calling Grandmas and Grandpas, cousins and Aunts, doing the potty dance...he must have felt like such a superstar!
O to his teacher: I just PEED!
Teacher: Hooray, Ollie! Do you want a sticker?
O: Nah...just a high five.
Too cool for school, duh.
And we, as parents, we were superstars too, I have to say. I was speaking with the daycare director about his progress and mentioned that he had peed on an unfamiliar potty when we went to Home Depot on the second night. She gaped at me. "You took him to a store?" Immediately, I was on alert - "Yes, why? Is that bad?" She goes, "No way! A lot of parents don't leave the house in the first 2 weeks because they're too scared! Way to go!" PHEW.
It's been a relatively easy road, which was surprising, because after watching my sister struggle with her daughter and hearing such terrible stories from other parents, we were terrified. I think we were ready for it, though, because of the all the horror stories. We just believed that success would happen when it happened, that we'd have to clean up lots of piss and shit and that was just the way it would go.
There was one time, however, that I about threw in the towel. We were at Target, just Ollie and I, and we had quite a lot on our list. I had forgotten to bring a pair of undies and shorts, so Murphy was already on my tail. It seemed as though very time we made it to the back of the store, Ollie would yell out, "Mama! I have to go potty!" So I'd drop whatever was in my hand on the floor, slap him down in the cart and race to the bathrooms in the front of the store, urgently whispering, "Hold it, Ollie! Hold it for Mama!" This happened 3 times. The third time he peed all over himself and had to sit in dirty pee pants while I finished shopping. I'm not a lazy shopper, either, I try to get in and get out. I have no idea WHAT he drank just before that trip.
Now he's doing well. He forgets, of course, and then RUNS to the potty.
O: I'm peeing Daddy!
Daddy picks him and rushes to the potty.
O: Daddy! Runnnnnn!
And he's pooping in his underwear again. I'm ready for that to stop. Yesterday I had to clean poop out of the netting of his swimsuit. Which I never, ever expected my gag reflex to handle in a million years.
Doug too. Holy crap (tee hee), the other day he actually pulled a giant turd out of Oliver's butt to save his underwear. Like, he reached into Oliver's pants before the kid squashed it up against his scrotum. How's that for a superstar? That's MY baby daddy.
Ollie is standing up to pee, too. Out.Of.The.Blue. Wants to be a big kid after starting preschool, I imagine. Taking some getting used to on all sides. I mean, you gotta give it to him, he's leaning in. It's kind of adorable watching him. But he does forget to pick up all parts of the seat and his little penis just barely makes it over the edge. He's a fabulous aimer, when he's not trying to paint the underside of the toilet seat. He dribbles, of course, but not because he's not thinking about shaking it, but because he's opening the little hole and peering into it. And we have to remind him to wash his hands before he sticks his thumb in his mouth or pats our faces. Urph.
Grateful Mama, right here though. This could be so much worse, and it's turning out to be so easy! Ollie knows he's a big kid now, and is really proud of himself. We're insanely proud of him! And if we have to Clorox the bathroom a couple of times a day until he really gets the hang of it, so be it.
Good job, Ollie! You're so grown up! Way to go, Kid!
A month ago, I was told by the daycare director that Ollie was going to be moving up into the more age-appropriate preschool class on June 9th. I panicked and told her that he wasn't potty trained yet, to which she basically replied that if he wasn't in underwear before he went into the next class, he never would be.
Well, she didn't say that exactly, she just said that it takes longer and is more difficult if he's not trained before he enters preschool.
So. I had a little inward freak-out (OMG), and calmly (because I didn't want her to notice the pee beginning to shade the front of my jeans), asked her how I should go about it in such little time. She laughed and said:" Well, just rip it off like a Band-Aid and stick him in underwear!"
Me - "What do you mean?"
Her - "Put him in underwear tomorrow and go from there. We've had a lot of success with that tactic."
Me - "I'm sorry. What do you mean?"
Her - "Uhhh..."
Me - "Like, like, put him in underwear tomorrow?!? And just, you know, see what happens?!?"
Her - "Yep! Exactly. He's gone on the potty before, he knows how to do it. Actually, parents tend to be more nervous about it than the kiddos."
Uhhh...yeah, ya' think? Because Ollie's not the one potentially sopping up puddles of pee off the leather sofa or picking poop corn out of the threads of his underwear.
Ollie and I went to the store and picked out some new undies. I told Doug what the director said and we both agreed on the plan.
The next day, we kept him in his overnight diaper as long as we possibly could, made him try on the potty, explained what we were all embarking on, slapped some thick undies on him and wished the teacher luck. That first day, he had 8 accidents and 1 success. We were, of course, expecting this and it helped us to make the one success such a huge deal. However, the teachers hadn't spoken to each other and weren't aware of the plan, so when I picked him up he was in pull-ups. Grrr. The second day, he had 6 accidents and 2 successes. The third day he pooped on the potty and had 1 accident. It was amazing. He did so well that everyone was thrilled! Daycare gave him stickers and daytrips to see his friends in preschool, and we were giving him new underwear, prizes, M&Ms, stickers, calling Grandmas and Grandpas, cousins and Aunts, doing the potty dance...he must have felt like such a superstar!
O to his teacher: I just PEED!
Teacher: Hooray, Ollie! Do you want a sticker?
O: Nah...just a high five.
Too cool for school, duh.
And we, as parents, we were superstars too, I have to say. I was speaking with the daycare director about his progress and mentioned that he had peed on an unfamiliar potty when we went to Home Depot on the second night. She gaped at me. "You took him to a store?" Immediately, I was on alert - "Yes, why? Is that bad?" She goes, "No way! A lot of parents don't leave the house in the first 2 weeks because they're too scared! Way to go!" PHEW.
It's been a relatively easy road, which was surprising, because after watching my sister struggle with her daughter and hearing such terrible stories from other parents, we were terrified. I think we were ready for it, though, because of the all the horror stories. We just believed that success would happen when it happened, that we'd have to clean up lots of piss and shit and that was just the way it would go.
There was one time, however, that I about threw in the towel. We were at Target, just Ollie and I, and we had quite a lot on our list. I had forgotten to bring a pair of undies and shorts, so Murphy was already on my tail. It seemed as though very time we made it to the back of the store, Ollie would yell out, "Mama! I have to go potty!" So I'd drop whatever was in my hand on the floor, slap him down in the cart and race to the bathrooms in the front of the store, urgently whispering, "Hold it, Ollie! Hold it for Mama!" This happened 3 times. The third time he peed all over himself and had to sit in dirty pee pants while I finished shopping. I'm not a lazy shopper, either, I try to get in and get out. I have no idea WHAT he drank just before that trip.
Now he's doing well. He forgets, of course, and then RUNS to the potty.
O: I'm peeing Daddy!
Daddy picks him and rushes to the potty.
O: Daddy! Runnnnnn!
And he's pooping in his underwear again. I'm ready for that to stop. Yesterday I had to clean poop out of the netting of his swimsuit. Which I never, ever expected my gag reflex to handle in a million years.
Doug too. Holy crap (tee hee), the other day he actually pulled a giant turd out of Oliver's butt to save his underwear. Like, he reached into Oliver's pants before the kid squashed it up against his scrotum. How's that for a superstar? That's MY baby daddy.
Ollie is standing up to pee, too. Out.Of.The.Blue. Wants to be a big kid after starting preschool, I imagine. Taking some getting used to on all sides. I mean, you gotta give it to him, he's leaning in. It's kind of adorable watching him. But he does forget to pick up all parts of the seat and his little penis just barely makes it over the edge. He's a fabulous aimer, when he's not trying to paint the underside of the toilet seat. He dribbles, of course, but not because he's not thinking about shaking it, but because he's opening the little hole and peering into it. And we have to remind him to wash his hands before he sticks his thumb in his mouth or pats our faces. Urph.
Grateful Mama, right here though. This could be so much worse, and it's turning out to be so easy! Ollie knows he's a big kid now, and is really proud of himself. We're insanely proud of him! And if we have to Clorox the bathroom a couple of times a day until he really gets the hang of it, so be it.
Good job, Ollie! You're so grown up! Way to go, Kid!
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