Potty Training Phobia
Who’s afraid of the big bad potty, the big bad potty, the big bad potty or however that ditty goes? Me, that’s who. I’m staring down the long end of a potty-training bootcamp – planned for Labor Day weekend – and I’m shaking in my capris. I’ve set plenty of unfulfilled potty-training deadlines since my daughter was 18 months old. They came, they went, I wistfully waved them goodbye.
When I was pregnant with my second, my fantasy, I mean goal, was to get my toddler out of diapers before the end of my maternity leave. One potty-training book later, and a little pregnancy-induced sciatic pain coupled with hemorrhoids and I chucked that goal out the window. Then I decided to link a diaper D-day with a major milestone – my youngster’s birthday. My thinking went like this, “If I can knock one out of diapers, and both will be done with formula and bottles, life will get that much easier (not to mention the freed up cash flow).” My baby’s first birthday is next weekend. I don’t even have the cake ordered much less a diaper-free toddler.
This coming weekend is different though. There’s a feeling of finality about this deadline. Maybe it’s the pink training pants that have sat for weeks unopened in my laundry room. Perhaps it’s that my daughter has been going on her plastic potty at least once a day and I fear that not acting on her current eagerness will lead to fleeting interest and much mama drama down the road.
I’m certainly not looking forward to wiping pee-dribbled legs or cleaning up poop-filled panties. Being tethered to a toilet is not my idea of a fun holiday weekend. But, as a fan of self-help books, I’m trying to keep my mind’s eye focused on the positives and they are this:
- I will rejoice in my daughter’s triumphant shouts of “I DID IT!”
- Then, awash in M&M afterglow, my daughter will smile with contentment and I’ll feel a lion’s share of mommy pride all the way down to my toes.
- And finally, we’ll declare her new panties the most beautiful things ever and banish diapers to sleep times.
So there, I’m really, really committed this time and you can hold me to it. Bring on the potty training tips, the stories, and commiserate girlfriend because this mama could use the lift!
Kristi is a crazed mom of two girls – a smarty pants toddler and a grinning baby – only 18 months apart. Crash-coursing it through motherhood, she shares her “cheat sheet” of helpful discoveries, and a few emotional exploits, with newbie moms on her blog Mommy Crib Notes.
