Tess has caught on to the use of the potty. It’s really, really, really cute. I mean, who wouldn’t think that a nearly-5-month-baby on the potty is cute? Especially when it turns out that one doesn’t have to change poopy diapers nearly as often? There’s a whole lot of cute in not changing poopy diapers. But even so, it’s just funny and cute to see her being held on the potty.
I won’t be providing pictures of her on the potty, because I just don’t think that’s a good plan. Take my word for it, though.
Now, in the elimination communication literature, authors assure you that you can decide your level of commitment to having your child on the potty. You can catch (their word) one or two diapers’ worth a day, or try to catch them all. Or you can even do one or two times a week. You can do nighttime e.c., or you can skip the nighttime.
Turns out, though, that it’s not entirely up to you. You see, that cutey pants little baby that I’m putting on the potty actually, well, LIKES going on the potty BETTER than going in her diaper. Especially poop. She doesn’t mind the odd wet diaper here or there, although she does seem to prefer the potty, even for those. But she really, really, really does not like to poop in her diaper any more.
Okay, at this point I have to say: I don’t blame her. I don’t want to poop in my pants, either. Ever since I discovered, many years ago, how to go in the potty, I’ve been hooked, too! I mean, I tried to convince my parents that I preferred my diaper when potty-training began, but since I got the hang of it, I haven’t looked back. It seems to be true for most people. So I am not anywhere close to saying that I blame Tess.
The thing that makes this tricky is that she prefers to go in the potty when she needs to go in the middle of the night. Hah! “You can decide if you want to do nighttime E.C.” Well, no, I can’t. Because let me tell you, I did decide. I don’t want to do nighttime e.c. I want to sleep peacefully through until morning, half-waking occasionally to feed the baby. Never stirring from my warm, cozy bed. (Preferably until well after 8 a.m., but that only happens on Saturday morning and isn’t Tess’s fault at all – turns out Michael has to work and I have to get food for the rest of the family.)
Tess, though, does want to do nighttime e.c. She decided this two nights ago. I had NO IDEA why she was awake. I couldn’t figure out why she wouldn’t go back to sleep…for an hour. She wasn’t upset, but she wasn’t sleeping, either. Now, 2 a.m. isn’t the my best time for thinking. I think it might have something to do with the fact that…it’s 2 a.m. I’ve been asleep. However, I finally thought, “Maybe she needs to go potty.” Lazy person that I am, I asked Michael to take her.
He came back to say that she’d peed, pooped, and spit up. She went right back to sleep.
Last night, she got us up at 12:30 to pee. She got me up at 4:00 to poop, although, since I was totally out of it at that point, I didn’t realize that’s why she was awake. So it took me half an hour to figure it out. When I finally did, I took her to the potty and she pooped. Back in bed, she went right back to sleep. Both times, her diaper was dry.
If this goes on, I may wonder why I started e.c. I might wish I hadn’t. I might think I’d rather change all those poopy diapers and just sleep through. But it’s not really my choice any more. Tess has discovered that she prefers the potty, and I don’t see her going back.
The truth is, though, that I’m glad I did it, even with interrupted sleep. The transition to underwear with Simeon was a breeze, and I can’t say that about Hannah or Naomi. It won’t be that long before Tess won’t need to poop multiple times a day, so she’ll stop getting us up for that. Even if she pooped in her diaper, though, I’d have to change her, and there’s always the chance of a blowout – um, yuck! – in the bed.
Besides, babies aren’t babies for very long. All the other kids sleep through the night most of the time with only occasional wakeups for bathroom breaks.
So I guess my thinking should be, “This too shall pass.” And when one is discussing potty issues, it’s certainly true.
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