Potty Learning

 This morning I had Mister walking around naked before we got ready to go out grocery shopping. I do this often in the mornings to let it air out I guess since he is in that diaper all night I am sure it feels good to air out a while before having to be in a diaper again. Well while i was flat ironing my hair in the bathroom both kids were watching me no mom can ever go to the bathroom for any reason ever without company. Mister started to pee a little and I know that when a little comes out then stops it means the flood is about to happen so I quickly propped him up on a pink princess potty seat on the toilet. He first had no idea what the heck just happened, that look like hey wasn't I just standing on the floor and now I am sitting up here? Ya I was that fast I didn't want a flooded bathroom floor I had just mopped yesterday afterall. He quickly got over the shock and finsihed his business and seemed so proud when Ladybug started cheering him on saying "YAYAY You go potty, be big boy now!!"  Mister even clapped for himself! Does that mean we are ready to learn to use the potty? Does it mean he is aware of what he even did and why we were so excited for him? I answer both of those with a nope not at all. He is not ready to start potty learning he just simply not fully aware of his bodily functions yet and I do not plan to push him into some kind of training. Let me explain why.
 Potty training to me seems like I should be using newspapers on the floor, treats for doing a good boy, and a rolled up newspaper if you have an accident. Typical of how most people view training a puppy to go outside. Potty training seems harsh, potty training seems like a rigid schedule of making your child sit on the potty to wait and wait. Potty training for me isn't happening here, however potty learning will happen in it's own time.
 Potty Learning in my eyes is showing that pees and poops happen, everybody goes and I want them to learn that people use the potty not diapers for those things. I have read studies stating that a child as young as 18 months doesn't actually have to congnitave ability to control their functions like we do. They are unaware of that feeling, how to "hold it", and how to control it well enough to be officially potty trained. I am also aware of the whole elemination communication deal and while yes they say it's extremely successful *I* just cannot buy into it, it's interesting to me to say the least but not for me. Mister is very unaware of his functions unless he is running around naked and happens to either pee down his leg or poops falls behind him and he wonders where that came from. I am not kidding when I say this child can keep on playing while he poops, he seriously just doesn't notice! Most toddlers will start going into another room or hiding behind something, squat a little and grunt but not Mister not at all...nothing stops him from playing. He goes poop on average 5 times a day, lately here less than but I am not ready to say that he only goes twice a day yet he can still change it up on me. So how do I plan on getting him out of diapers? well it's easy I will wait until he is ready to do so. I will show him (and The Marine will show him) that we go potty on the toilet. We will get excited about it and talk about i and encourage him when he is ready to do so. There is a childs potty chair avaliable for him to sit on as he so chooses and when is he ready he will go and do what he has learned to do.

 My strategy is simple, just wait and he will learn and he will go.

  I am prepared for him being a hardhead because he is, he may learn but refuse and that is fine with me I will not shame him into using the toilet by saying things in the nature of "oh you are so gross for wanting to pee/poop in your pants" At that stage I may try bribes! We will cross that bridge when it comes!

 Ladybug uses the toilet just like any one of us and she did it all on her own. We did teach her and she learned. One weekend when she was 22months old she decided that the potty chair is something she wanted to try out and she did it! She refused diapers at all from that second on, she refused pull-ups as well. They are too diaper like. We went out and bought her undies that weekend and never looked back. Yes she had accidents in the early stages, yes I washed sheets from overnight opps (so we bought a potty chair and nice nightlight for her room and solved the nighttime accidents). She took the lead and she decided when she was ready to go. Do I think Mister will be this easy? Ha HECK NO! he is more stubborn and unwilling but all I can do is stay my course and guide him with love and support...just as we do everything else in our house.