The Potty Training Diaries: Day 6

9:00pm
Well, today was pretty uneventful (thank goodness!)  No potty accidents.  He was wet when he woke up from his nap, but just his underwear.  His bed was dry.  So it must have been just a little oops.  He didn't poop all day, which is a little disconcerting to me.  He used to poop every day at the same time ... like clockwork.  But now he waits until the very.last.moment possible to poop and we just hope he catch him before it becomes a disaster.  So I find myself hovering.  Do you have to poop?  What about now?  Now??  I don't want to put extra pressure on him, but seriously, if I have to deal with poop in underwear again I may just scrap the whole thing and put him back in diapers until he's 5!  Ok, maybe not but seriously, it was bad. 

So that's it.  I think we're in the home stretch and within a day or so I might just declare Brooks potty trained.  But then again, as soon as I do that we'll regress right back to having potty accidents all day.  So maybe no delcarations, but perhaps just a little less hovering.

To combat this otherwise boring potty training update, I'd like to note a few other observations during this process.

• Never have I been more aware of someone else's fluid input and potty output during the day.  It's like I measure it.  Ok, you drank 6oz of juice now, in about an hour there should be about 4oz of pee.  Ok, go!  I know eventually I won't freak out about it as much, but now I am hovering.
• Toddlers do not instinctively know how to pull up their underwear.  Since this potty thing is becoming more routine, I figure it would be wise to teach Brooks how to dress himself.  Well, at least the bottom half of himself.  But whenever it came to pulling up his undies, he'd grab them from the bottom and pull - twisting them into this bunched up mess on his 'you know what'.  So it took a few days, but I'm proud to say he can confidently pull up his underwear "from the top" and cover all necessary parts.  Most of the time.
• Potty training has not reduced my handling of poop and pee.  In fact, it has increased.  Instead of changing Brooks' diaper just two or three times a day, I'm now having to empty the little potty every times he goes.
• Diaper sprayers are useful for more than just spraying off cloth diapers.
• I sometimes just want to skip washing hands after going potty.  I know it's what we're "supposed to do" and yes it does eliminate germs.  But it takes forever for Brooks to wash his hands (push stool in front of sink, turn on water, get hands wet, squirt soap, rub hands together, rinse off, dry hands, move stool over to light switch, turn of light and done)  And that doesn't include the many times of me saying "Don't play in the water.  Just wash your hands.  No, seriously, stop playing in the water!"  And my hands are so chapped from washing them so many times.
• It's a good thing Brooks' pants have adjustable waists.  His pants barely stayed on his skinny little butt while he was wearing diapers.  Now with underwear there's little hope of them staying on at all!  Cinch 'em tighter!