We’re doing great on the potty learning front. Lily has been diaper free since we’ve been back from our trip except for a couple of choice moments. She has an accident every couple of days and night time is still really hard. But she is so determined not to wear diapers that we haven’t had the heart to insist and would rather just change her sheets if need be. Her greatest nemesis is pure joy: when she sees something that makes her very happy, or she’s dancing, or concentrating on something particularly enjoyable, it’s really difficult for her to remember that she’s not able to pee freely. Just last Thursday she wanted to go on one of the trains they have at the mall where you put in gobs of quarters for 30 seconds of noise and random movement and in the midst of me saying, “you can sit on it but I’m not throwing money into that thing” she suddenly clutched at herself and peed all over the place. And wailed. She really doesn’t like peeing on herself.
Pooping is still a challenge and she’d rather put on a diaper, find a quiet corner, put her head down and make it happen. ALONE. Seriously, get away. Tonight she surprised us by announcing that she’d be pooping with Daddy and went marching in to use the little potty while Mark sat pooping on the big one. And she did it! Then she went into the living room, started playing with her sister and suddenly had to run back in to finish the job, glancing down to exclaim, “hey, there’s poop in my runners!” What are runners, you ask? What, isn’t it obvious? Runners are underwear. Right, the connection is so freaking clear. I just heard her making noise in her room and went to check on her. She insisted that she did not have to pee but didn’t resist me at all when I scooped her up from the bed and put her on the potty. She tinkled while resting her head on my shoulder and hugging my neck and when she was done, I popped her back into bed already asleep. Score.
And now I’m going to tell you one of the greatest truths about parenting: before you had kids you couldn’t have cared less about poop or pee that wasn’t your own. Now? Now it is ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT. Bodily fluids are part of your every day discussions. Diapers (or lack thereof) are something you must consider every day as you get ready to leave the house. But you know what? When your child looks up at you from a tiny little potty and gives you a huge grin as you hear her pee hit the plastic… you just feel so proud and so sad and so overwhelmed and like the world will never be the same again. Tonight I am melancholy and morose. But my baby is a big girl and somehow, we haven’t screwed her up.
Yet.
