Clapping for Poop

I had decided that I was going to start working on potty training for Mia over the past month or so and it was not going well.

I read info on the internet, in books, etc, trying to decide the best way to go about it. I felt bad because she is two and still in diapers... and I thought back to Josie when she was that age. Josie was always very advanced at most things (walking, talking, colors, numbers, letters, all that) and I remember her being in pullups at two... BUT she wasn't actully potty trained until she was three.

I remember speaking to Josie's daycare provider when she was three, asking for their help in potty training her while she was there. I remember being embarassed that she was 3 and not potty trained yet.

Then they told me that three is actually about the right age for it...any time before that, you are really just training the parents to take the kid to the bathroom every 30 minutes to an hour, "in case" they need to go... that is not really THE CHILD deciding they need to go to the bathroom, that's the mommy guessing they MIGHT... At three, they have a better understanding of the process and can be potty trained in a matter of days. I was skeptical, but I decided to try it.

The first day, I sent her to daycare in big girl panties (and a few extra pairs of pants and stuff). She had an accident that day, but only once. The next day, big girl panties again and NO ACCIDENTS! It took less than a week for her to be accident free all day, and only one accident at night before she was accident free at night. (And, fyi, I also found out that she was one of the first ones in her daycare class to really be truly potty trained, so I didn't feel so bad in the end. And I guess girls catch onto the potty training thing faster than boys...)

SO ANYWAYS, remembering that, I decided that for now, I would just work on getting Mia to tell me "as soon as she goes to the bathroom", and then we will work up to the "telling me BEFORE she goes" part...

This has been hard, but I think she is finally getting the idea. She used to go "Number Two" and just keep it to herself. Just sit around and marinate in it until someone noticed that she stunk to high heaven...

Now, she comes and tells me "Mommy I poop"... and I clap!! "Yea for Mia! Thank you for telling me!!! You are such a good girl!!!" :) She grins, SO very proud of herself, and claps for herself too.

(I really think that she will be able to start telling me a little ahead of time within the next couple of months. I will just let her do it on her own time table instead of trying to push her...)

But now, it has become such a habit, that I caught myself clapping for Blake over the weekend, and I even clapped for Josie last night... /sigh... "Good job, kids! Show that poop who's boss!" "That's right, you wipe your butt and flush TOO!! That's my girl!"

I've reached a new low - I clap and cheer for poop. I swear I used to be cool....