11/3/08

A Treat and a Trick

Lil StinkerYou know what’s fun? Watching your 2-year-old run around the neighborhood dressed like a skunk because this year, he’s finally old enough to understand the point of Halloween. By the third house, Miles had gotten the idea. He and his friends would tear up the walk and pound on each door and/or ring the doorbell repeatedly in their excitement to yell “Trick or treat!” and collect their loot. And the look on people’s faces when they opened their doors to find a 3-foot tall furry skunk… Hilarious!

You know what’s not fun at all? Watching your 2-year-old like a hawk for 9 hours straight and not leaving the house once because you’re potty training him. Why would I start this onerous task on Halloween, you might ask? Because four consecutive days when school was out and we had no obligations seemed like the perfect block of time to attempt it. Right.

So there I was on Friday morning, making a big deal about Miles’ new “big boy underpants” and how he was now going to go on the potty instead of in a diaper. And for a few hours, this worked. In fact, Miles went to the potty approximately every 18 minutes. And every time he’d leak out a few drops, I’d reward him with a small treat and lavish praise. I think the kid was playing me.

By 5 p.m., I was totally frazzled and had serious cabin fever. While Miles had peed more than a frat boy at a keg party, #2 was elusive. Screw this, I thought. It’s Halloween. So I threw a Pull-Up on him and we headed out to trick-or-treat.

The next day, Dad was on duty. Thank GOD. However, being a little less "vigilant" than I (though he might use a different word), C. did not hover over Miles every second of the day, looking for “warning signs.” In fact, C. cavalierly left Miles downstairs alone while he went off to change his clothes. Well, what do you think happened? Exactly. 9 a.m., and we were already down one clean pair of Cars underwear.

The next day, the accidents happened more frequently. Despite -– or perhaps, because of –- my repeated urgings for Miles to sit on the potty, he responded like most toddlers: by refusing. Not good. “Don’t push or punish” is the mantra of all the potty training literature I’ve crammed into my overtaxed mommy brain.

Then today, Monday, was the worst so far. In a bad mood because Dad’s back at work, there’s no school due to a mysterious “professional day,” and both Miles and I are suffering sugar hangovers from eating our weight in Halloween candy, I lost my patience. I swear, the kid PURPOSELY did a number (both #1 and #2, to be exact) in his pants mere minutes after a successful potty session. WTF?!? Not the way I prefer to start my day. And that was only the first of several accidents, none of which seemed to remotely concern him.

So we’re back to square one. Maybe I don’t have the patience or stamina for potty training. Maybe Miles just isn’t ready. Maybe everyone should just bite me and pass the Reese’s peanut butter cups.

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7 comments:

April said...

I applaude you for the potty training efforts! We have a potty but the novelty has clearly worn off and he doesn't like to sit on it. I ask all the time, but I am just not brave enough yet! My fav line..."maybe everyone should just bite me..." LOVE IT.

Anonymous said...

Your skunk is adorable! :) Good luck with the potty training! My son is 18 months old and crazy as it sounds was using the potty six months ago...but since his sister was born, he no longer uses the potty :( So it's back to the drawing board for me. Oh well!

McMommy said...

Do you know the EXACT same thing happened to me with Matty? So I gave up. And then, a few months down the road...he saw his friend pee on the potty and how we all made a big deal about it...clapping and what not. About two weeks later, he told me "I don't want to wear a diaper. I want to wear big boy undies like (the name of his friend.)"

He was VERY close to his 3rd birthday...which kind of made me feel like a failure of a mother. But now I say--who cares??

Mom2Miles said...

Interesting... I guess it really is true that every child is different. McMommy, I feel sort of like a failure, too, especially when I hear about kids trained at 18 mos. or in one day. But what can you do? I suppose he'll be ready when he's ready.

Kelli @ writing the waves said...

In reading your last comment, I just have to say, there is NO WAY that anyone potty trains their kid in one day. And if they say they did, they are totally lying. There's just no way. Potty training is just hard! I felt like I was on house arrest when I was potty training Abby. I know I should start with Noah, but I am so dreading it. I've also heard that it's easier with boys when they are closer to 3 years old, but I guess it just depends on the kid. I wouldn't feel bad at all about giving it a rest for a bit and revisiting it again later.

Love the skunk costume by the way!

Danielle said...

This post sounds remarkably similar to my own potty posts on my blog! We all go through this; don't sweat it. This was my third time potty training and I still got fried. It's really true that one day they just decide to and before that, you're just up a certain creek without a plunger. All those women who say their kids trained the day they turned two are lying and/or did a lot of laundry.

Kristin said...

I'm starting to think your blog might be my favorite to read (just started). That's probably because I have a 2-year-old too. Thanks for this post... I've been considering trying potty training. I also have a 2-month-old. Your post has helped me to realize I'd be crazy to attempt it right now.

Thanks again!

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