I promise my next post will be of cute pictures of our trip to St Louis, but I've been mopping up a certain 3 year old's human waste all day, so I feel whiny.
I decided to potty-train Andrew, starting today. I don't know what I was thinking in putting it off. I think subconsciously I might have been hoping he would one day come to me and say, "You know what, Mom? I started using the potty while you were napping." (Also a dream of mine...). Anyway, the kids and I spent the good majority of today holed up in the bathroom. Annnnnd...the boy has yet to go in the potty. Being 8 months pregnant, it seemed like any time he wasn't sitting on the throne, my other son was sitting on my bladder, so I was there instead.
Our trip to St Louis last week was fun, but kind of killed the budget. Mike has been taking care of the finances up until this month, and they got a bit jumbled in my care. Couple this with the frustration of potty-training, my newly acquired cankles, and my general frumpiness today (yeah, still in my pjs)....and poor Mike came home to a hormonally-charged, sweatpants-wearing, sobbing lady surrounded by receipts. Not my finest hour.
There were some highlights, however. Such as when Andrew passed gas and said, "hmmm, sounds like an elephant." Or when I was counting out the cash left over for this month and he tried to take the coins to feed his piggy bank. I told him that to save my sanity, I needed him to leave that alone. He then said, "Yeah, I need Santa." And again grabbed the coins. I forget sometimes that he has no idea what I'm talking about. I sure love that kid. And the girl. And their daddy. And our soon to arrive little guy.
But I do think for all the talk of rewards for the kids being potty-trained, we all fail to mention the fact that the one doing the potty-training definitely earned herself some ice cream. Pretty sure the budget can support that. :)
3 comments:
I have something to tell you that will not be reassuring or helpful to you in any way: Potty training is awful. Really, really it is. It may be terrible at first and then it gets better. It may be easy at first and then gets (much MUCH) worse. It may be terrible the whole dang time.
But eventually, he'll get it.
And in the mean time, you'll probably be frustrated. You'll probably cry. You'll probably yell. You might grab him or spank him or say something awful, and that might make you feel really bad about yourself and then you'll be back to being frustrated or crying again.
But eventually, he'll get it. He will. And... then you'll have to go through it with your next little one.
Just know that potty training isn't picnics and roses and unicorns for anyone. (Well, maybe for SOMEONE. But those someones we want to give a knuckle sandwich.)
Just trust me, you're doing fine.
Now may not be the time to potty train Andrew, especially with a new baby coming. I have heard that if a child has been potty trained for a while and something "new" happens (like a new baby), they may revert back to wanting diapers (or may start acting like a baby again). Now, I'm no expert, this is just what I have heard. Of course, I haven't started Alex yet, and we may have the same issues (without anything new). Good luck mama!!
Believe me, if you weren't 8 months pregnant, potty training wouldn't seem so bad. The sewage backup would drive you to distraction any time though. I'd be crying about that too. The ninth month can make anything seem major. As Jennifer says, one day it will be all over and it will just seem normal for him to be potty trained. As for crying about it -- don't. Even if it takes a while, getting upset will just be hard on you and the kids too. Just try to take it all in stride. You'll be happier. Sorry, I know it's easy for me to say that when it's not me that's experiencing it. But I have been there -- a long time ago. Good luck.
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