Pottty Learning...

"Momma, look! Look! The poopy is comin' out my bum!"

Who knew I'd ever be so happy to hear my 25-month-old daughter, H, say that?

She is, for all intents and purposes, 100% daytime potty learned. It was a roller coaster to get here, but totally worth it. Not only does she poop on the potty (yay! No more scraping poop out of cloth diapers!), but about 50% of the time she also wipes her own ass. Best. Thing. Ever.

H showed interest in the potty at a very early age. Around her first birthday. At about 16 months she was fully potty learned in the sense she would tell me when she had to go and then wait and go on the pot. Unlike now though, she couldn't put herself on the toilet or wipe her own bum. But hey, I was pleased as peaches!

Then baby B was born and all that potty learning went down the drain. (Why do I say "potty learned" instead of "potty trained" you ask? Well...she's a child, not an animal. I don't "train" my children. But that's just me. To each their own. If your little Fido...I mean Phoebe, would rather be trained, that's cool too!) Once there was a new baby, my sweet husband, J, thought sticking H in diapers for a few days until we got adjusted would be no big deal...yeah. Wrong!

So then we spent the next 5 months going back and forth with this potty business. We read books, tried so many different methods. One person suggested the 3 day boot camp method. Yep, didn't work. Another suggested rewards. Psh...she'd do anything for a "prize"...but I can't afford to give her prizes, whether it be a sticker or a piece of chocolate, for the next 50 years every time she pees in the potty, which was her train of thinking.

So I refused to push. J wanted her back on the pot. I said let her do it in her own time. And guess what? I was right! Ha. Of course I was...as soon as Miss H was given all the control again, she gladly went back to using the potty.

Hallelujah!

I'm pretty sure we lucked out with her being so young. I read somewhere once that like 4 is the average age of potty learning. Seems crazy, but kind of makes sense too. I'm pretty sure baby B will be much older when he potty learned than H...he's so different from her. He'd rather eat dirt and lick shoes anyway at 8-months-old...

But, for when the time comes, I'm always open to advice for potty learning (or training...). I hear boys are more difficult than girls...I guess since he's so easy in every other aspect, teaching him where to piss ought to be difficult. It's only fair.

It'll be fun to see how it turns out. This whole parenting process is a learning experience in itself. Why should potty learning be any different?