Potty Training: I Must Have Lost that Chapter in the Parenting Manual

First a warning...I'll be writing about poop in this post, so if that topic bothers you READ. NO. FURTHER! You have been warned. (I promise that it won't be graphic. This post contains no photos).

When we started taking the kiddos to Tutor Time (or TT as we call it in mama and daddy speak), I was a little nervous when a notice came home explaining that Miss S's class was going to be potty-trained together.

Nervous? Why nervous, you ask? 

Why not ecstatic...like "Oh my goodness!! Someone wants to take on this task for me? Yes! Please!"

Because sometimes my mind jumps on the wrong track. Like the track where I'm afraid that somehow something will happen during the course of her potty training attempts at TT where she will be scarred for life. Like she'll be ridiculed for wetting her pants. (I'm thinking too far ahead...like grade school...I mean, 2 year olds are all in the same soggy boat together. I get that. My thoughts aren't always based on logic.) 

We prepped her extra clothes, purchased 2T training pants, and sent her off to TT wearing a diaper covered with a pair of underpants. When she got to school, off came the diaper. And the potty party began.

Since I was taking my second master's class (see September 2013), I decided to wait until after my class finished to fully focus on at-home potty training. My sanity could only handle so much.

Miss S, on the other hand, had different plans. This girl embraced potty training. on. her. own. She was amazing. She would wear pull ups and stay dry all day. She had a few days of dry naps; dry diapers at bedtime. She was enthusiastic. She would stop in the middle of playing and announce, "I need to go potty!" and would run down the short hall to the bathroom. Then, she'd shout, "Mama! I did it!" It seemed too good to be true.

(Side note - I really hope that Miss S doesn't hate me someday for writing about her potty training adventures online. I know she'll hate me when she's older, I just hope not for posts like this one. Some parents don't blog on these topics for that very reason. I, on the other hand, find blog posts like this one very helpful. They make me realize I'm not alone in this adventure of parenthood, which doesn't come with a manual.)

It was too good to be true. 

Overall, she's doing great. Don't get me wrong. We are making progress.  

She's always been plagued by the "poop monster," as we refer to her bowel movements which have a tendency to interrupt nap time (probably at least 40% of the time). It seems that the poop monster doesn't scare her. Me? I live in fear of it showing up when least expected. 

The new poop monster? It's the one that wants nothing to do with the toilet. 

When I'm home with her and notice her poop face (you know the one), I hurry her to her toilet. She's successful and excited and I'm thinking we're one step closer to her initiating the trip to the bathroom for both #1 and #2. Later that day, she (in ninja style. I swear she's part ninja. She can move from one spot to the next silently, stealthily) will have been reading a book quietly and announces that she's pooped. 

At these moments, I have to remind myself that one day she will no longer wear a diaper. One day she will go to the bathroom. In the toilet. Without my encouragement.

Today, it's getting out a new pair of underpants while explaining to her about sitting on the potty when she needs to go. 

And how rewarding it is. 

And exciting. 

Come on, poop monster. It's time for you to get into the potty!

P. S. Any suggestions out there from those of you who have earned your potty-trained-a-toddler badge? Please share your hard-earned wisdom!

P.P.S. If you chuckled, giggled, or LOL while reading this post, please share it with someone else you think might enjoy reading about potty-training adventures. I'd love you for it!