Dearest Grandparents (and those others of you who may care),
Tristan is proud to announce his first poop in the potty. No, no picture...I was tempted, but I controlled the urge to photograph it. And, no, we are not actively potty training. Let me explain...
Anyone who has potty trained before (I've done it with several children now as I nannied for so long) knows it may be the single hardest thing you can teach a toddler. With Ryan it was a nightmare. We started at 2.5 years old and could not claim victory until almost 4. I still rage when I think of these titles suggesting you can do it in 3 days. Bullshit! There was a lot of crying...both from Ry and myself. Quite a bit of bribery (stickers, candy, MONEY...). Crazy books, props, trays for coloring while on the potty. Uhg...my stomach just turned. So, here is what I've learned, whether you start at 4 months old (as some cultures do) or 5 years old (which I'm tempted by), you and your child BOTH need to be ready and YOU more than him/her. I'm not ready. Tristan is. He wants to potty SOOO badly. When he asks for it, I put him on, mostly without any "product". The other day, however, he and Ryan were in the bath and he said, "Mommy, I makie poopoo." Being that he has pooped IN the tub before, I took this seriously and pulled him out and sat him on the toilet. Success!!! He was VERY proud and, obviously, so were we (and surprised). Anyway, while I know some of you will find me crazy for not seizing the moment and others of you are nodding in total understanding of my fear to take action, I will continue to let his interest grow and his near 'self training' continue before I dive into the training completely. I'm still in mental preparation mode. Tristan's interest suggests he'll be easier to teach...but I'm not banking on it and I would be a fool to do so.
Regardless, we are proud of our little guy! Congrats, Tristan! You're on your way! Make it easy on us and we'll by you a new car, sign over our 401K, buy your first home...whatever you want, kid...whatever it takes...
8 comments:
That's my lil' sweetie pie....
I love the quote - that's a great one!
Good on ya, Tristan. My guess is it mightn't be as challenging this time around - everything is always more intense with the first. In this case, you have Ryan to show him how to roll! ;)
as you know this is something i am very thoughtful about these days. we've set monday (by we, i mean me) as the kick off date. i'll let you know if (when) that changes.
you go tristan! here's to you...on behalf of all the under 2s that soooooooooooooooooo aren't interested and soooooooooooooo aren't speaking up!!! guess who?
i just be mistaken. please tell me betsy is not potty training on monday!!!?????????????????????????????
i'm almost too jealous to congratulate you, but i'm trying to be a better person. congrats!
YEAH TRISTAN!!!!
Betsy good luck, i know nothing about potty training, but 16 months sounds early, but what the hell do i know. Wil is one smart cookie.
D & E, Please believe me when I say I am just insanely lucky with Tristan. And, hey, we haven't actually started in earnest. Who knows what is to actually come.
Way to go, Tristan! Pop Pop is very proud of you.
And Mommy, you need a vacation...WITHOUT the kids!
Love to all,
Pop Pop
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