"Well, we've been stuck at home for three days now and Ruben has peed on the potty a lot. However, he's also peed other places a lot. And we've sat on the potty a lot without any success. We've read countless books and the bathroom smells horribly like urine but seriously, what is the point of cleaning a bathroom while you're potty training a two year old boy. It is not as if it is going to stay clean. I've been peed on once myself, and I've done a buttload of laundry. He only has 10 pairs of undies and I'm pretty sure I have to do laundry every day to keep up. I think I'll just put the kid back in diapers and try again in a few months. I just don't have the energy to put myself through any more days like this. I've been in public looking more disheveled than I have ever let myself be. I wrote a note to Karl declaring that I was 'unfit for adult interaction during potty training.' I'm pretty sure Ruben will never pee on the potty. He'll go off to college wearing diapers for sure."
Things really felt that bad. By one week into potty training, I'm at least able to go out in public without full on panic attacks about how frequently my son is peeing on the floor. Truthfully, he's only had two accidents in public. Once at the church picnic, so at least we were outside. The other time was at the library and it was not a convenient pee accident. I'll leave it at that. An unfortunate side of potty training has been Ruben's regression in the speech and language department. In fact, he has thrown some of the largest tantrums I have ever witnessed from any child (even those kids in the grocery store whose parents you feel so sorry for). Something doesn't go his way and while he's able now to control his bladder, he is unable to control his emotions. This high pitched scream echoes around the neighborhood (because of course the window are open) for what seems like eternity. There is no reasoning with him because I'm pretty sure he can't hear me over the yelling. If I try to physically restrain him, the screams actually get louder even though I thought that wasn't possible. I tried ignoring, time out, whispering, yelling, reasoning, bribing. Seriously folks, if I would have been at the grocery store, you would have looked at me with so much condescension. The funny part was that the tantrums ended as abruptly as they began. Not one lasted more than 5 minutes but those short minutes drained a day's worth of energy from already frazzled parents.
But that was last week. Now this is how I feel.
"Gosh, that wasn't that bad. Last night he even wore undies to bed and had no trouble staying dry through the night. It is slightly embarrassing that he has chosen the code word "poop" to mean he has to go potty. I mean so far he's used it mostly at home, but soon I'm sure we'll be somewhere (like church) and he'll feel the urge and so comfortably yell out "POOP!!" By the way, he can only yell this word with an intense sense of urgency. But only one accident in the last four days. Not too shabby."
It is amazing how much difference two weeks can make. I've always said that potty training is mostly about training the parents to respond to the kid and just a little about teaching the kid to actually go on the potty. There are so many exciting things in life to distract a two year old from his own bodily urges. By next week I'm sure I'll have completely forgotten how hard these last two weeks have been. We'll carry on until the next stage surprises us with its complexity. (I might add as well that the bathroom has still not been cleaned. I'm looking for another good excuse)
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