Poopie talk Fridays

I thought I'd give one (hopefully!) last potty training update.

Four weeks ago on Monday, darling daughter and I started on our potty training journey with the three-day potty training method. A month after starting potty training, I'm proud to say that we are about 95 per cent trained (knock on wood).

Now, I hope the potty training gods don't look upon this post and spite me for being cocky enough to say that we are almost at the end of the training journey. For the last week and a half, darling daughter has been pooping in the potty like a little champ. After initiating positive peer pressure, naming every kid to her who she knows who poops in the potty, both dear husband and I then introduced the "push, push, push" mantra. Push, push, push, we tell her. Push that poop out! We sound like a pair of labour and delivery nurses cheering on a patient. But you got to do what you have to do to encourage potty training.

It seems to be working. Now when she is trying to do her business, she says "push, push, push." Plus, the special surprises (otherwise known as Smarties) help as an incentive for potty usage.

The reason I say 95 per cent and not 100 per cent is because of the use of Pullups. Last week I gathered up enough courage to try out disposable training pants. Darling daughter was sick and no one was getting any sleep until I got her to wear Pullups. They were a security blanket of sorts, allowing her to sleep past 4 a.m. in her own bed. Having a tossing, kicking toddler in your bed at 4 a.m. is not a lot of fun as no one gets sleep.

For the most part, darling daughter is dry in the mornings. Last night when we got her up at 11 p.m. for her nightly pee and Pullup change she didn't have them on for very long. About an hour later she was demanding the Pullup off and wanting underwear instead.

So this is where we are in our potty training journey. There have been a lot of hard work, tears, poopie messes, coaxing and poopie talk. It is a work in progress and hopefully we will soon be done.

Poopie talk

Dear readers,

I'm sure you are very tired of all this poop and potty training talk. I assure you, so am I. However, all things about poop and related to poop has become my life. Today, I ruined a batch of muffins because I forgot to add the sugar to the batter. It wasn't due to lack of sleep. It was because I was distracted by darling daughter's insistent poopie dance. So I thought I'd wrap up the week with some poopie talk.

I'm still waging a quiet war with darling daughter in over her reluctance to poop on the potty. There is a phrase my mom would often quote to me when I was older: poop or get off the pot. Basically I've used this as my mantra all week. Since last Sunday, we haven't had a successful poop-meet-potty encounter. I have been able to resist the urge in not buying disposable training pants, but it has been hard. No one wants to clean up poop. And toddler poop is quite disgusting.

With the new poop or get off the pot mindset, I've decided to use another arsenal in my toolbox in getting darling daughter to poop: positive peer pressure. I suddenly got the idea after attending a playdate earlier in the week. Darling daughter is enamoured with one particular girl. Loves her. Loves to play with her. So afterwards when darling daughter was singing her praises on the car ride home, I suddenly said, "Did you know that A knows how to poop in the potty?" (A true fact). This piqued darling daughter's interest. I didn't stop there. I continued. "Did you know that C knows how to poop in the potty? Did you know that M knows how to poop in the potty? Did you know that K knows how to poop in the potty?" I mentally went down the list of all the big kids darling daughter has encountered in the last two months and told her that they poop in the potty. Basically my message was, if all the kids are doing it, you can too!

The peer pressure tactic could be working. Several times a day, I take time to engage in some poopie talk with darling daughter. We talk about where it comes from and the fact it is yucky and it needs to go in the potty. We also discuss how big girls wear underwear and big girls use the potty. We talk about how A uses the potty, as well as C, K and M. Daddy uses the potty. Mommy uses the potty. Everyone uses the potty. For good measure, I even told her that Calliou uses the potty, too.

So today when she was doing the insistent potty dance, I brought down the potty into the living room and urged her to use the potty. "No want to. No want to. No want to," was the response I got. I quietly reminded her that A poops in the potty and her mommy gets her a special treat. And if she could do it, she could too. Plus, she'd get a special treat, just like A. It could have been the fact that she couldn't hold it in any longer or that peer pressure is working, but we finally had a successful poop-meets-potty encounter. Thank God! A happy poop-free toddler makes me happy.

Oh, poop!

Must. Resist. The. Urge.

Must. Resist. The. Urge.

Must. Resist. The. Urge.

I've been repeating these four words for the last three days. Must resist the urge is my new mantra. The four words suddenly popped into my tired, weary head when I found myself staring at disposable training pants at Shoppers Drug Mart on Saturday afternoon. At that point, we had no pooping success in our potty training journey. In fact, I had a crabby two year old who needed to poop but refused to do it in the potty.

I had went to Shoppers for solace. About two hours before, darling daughter had a huge poop explosion at nap time. Right before the poop hit the fan, dear husband disappeared to run an errand. Let's just say it took two baths and a Calliou book to calm darling daughter down. All the while, I was quietly cursing dear husband, who has yet to clean up one poopie accident. I know sh!t happens, but why does it always fall at my feet (literally) to clean up?

Lots has happened since contemplating buying disposable training pants. (Should I get Life brand? Or should I get Pullups? Damn, these things are expensive!) To make a long story short, darling daughter has pooped twice in the potty, but it has been a big production. She has been cranky, asking to go potty, but refusing to do her business. This process has last for hours until the urge is too big for her to contain and she does her business. After Saturday's big poop celebration, I thought we'd be on easy street. She'd see how easy it is to poop in the potty and continue to do so. Nope. Things have remained the same: she does poopie avoidance dance for hours until it gets too much.

I am of two minds here: Screw it and get the Pullups and use them at nap time. Or remain the course and hope that the poopie avoidance dance starts to dissipate. The three day potty training method I used specifically says that Pullups or training pants of any kind are a big no, no. Another issue we've been force to deal with through this whole potty training journey is sleep. I don't mind cleaning up pee or poop. But what I do mind is that my child seems to be cranky and it could be due to interrupted sleep. Nap time and bedtime cleanups are a sleep disruptor.

We've been diaper-less for a week now. It is quite the accomplishment. But we still aren't fully potty trained and the poop department is still a work in progress. Maybe it is time to screw the three-day potty training method and get disposable training pants. Maybe darling daughter isn't psychologically ready for pooping in the potty. I don't know. All I know that we may be teetering on the edge of a power struggle that may be detrimental to potty training. I may give into the urge any time soon.

So where do we go from here?

We are nearing the end of day three of the three-day potty training method, and a question just popped into my head: so where do we go from here?


According to the guide, darling daughter is suppose to be potty trained by the time she wakes up tomorrow morning, but I've got my doubts. Going number two is a work in progress. Today she went, but I caught it just as she was doing it in her underwear and I hustled her to the bathroom. I guess we are making some progress from yesterday's big blow out, but we do have a ways to go (ie: having number two meeting contact with potty basin while sitting on said potty).


Once again, she woke up dry. Not some much so at nap time. We had a pee blowout. There have several false alarms today. "Potty. Have to go potty" doesn't always result in actual pottying. I think darling daughter likes the rush of me hustling her upstairs in my arms. (To say the least my legs and knees are sore from all the running I've done the last three days).


I must say that we've come a long way since Monday morning. We have two dry nights and one dry nap time. We have had several instances where she has told me she has to go potty and has actually peed. The diapers are in a grocery bag, waiting to be given to a fellow mommy friend. But I don't think we are fully potty trained. I think it be awhile before we hit that milestone. Until then, I'll be taking an extra set of clothes with me everywhere we go and have towels on hand to mop up messes.

The big blowout

It was bound to happen. You can't hold it in forever.

Today is day two of the three-day potty method that has now become my life. At this point I'm a frazzled mess. My arms are sore from bolting up the stairs to catch accidents as they happen. I'm tired from being up so early in trying to get darling daughter to release her morning pee. (The kid held it in from 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., and amazingly wouldn't let it go. I had to tell her in order for her to have some juice at breakfast she had to let go of the liquid she had inside her). I'm exhausted from telling darling daughter, "Tell mommy if you have to go pee, okay?" for the thousand time. And I'm tired from being in the house all day with no adult interaction.

While things have been going relatively okay in the pee department (there have been accidents, but it is all a part of the learning process), movement on number two has been slow. I know she has been holding it in. Today at lunchtime there was absolutely no sign of number two. I knew if I slapped a diaper on her butt she'd likely do her business, but I was (and am) still determined to wait it out. You can't hold it in forever.

Despite waking dry from yesterday's nap and this morning, she had a massive blowout today's nap. There was poop, there was tears, there was pee and there was a mess. However, there was movement. Hallelujah! After telling darling daughter it wasn't the end of the world and these things happen, the tears stopped flowing. We both agree that the next time we'd try our best to get it in the potty. (However, this remains to be seen). I hope by her going in her underwear, she'll now realize that (a) it is okay to poop without a diaper (b) pooping in underwear doesn't feel nice and (c) pooping in the potty is much better than pooping in underwear.

Tomorrow is the last day of this three-day potty training method. Although the author of this method claims your child will be potty trained at the end of the three days if you follow her method to a T, I realize that we will likely have a while to go, especially in the poop department.

Potty training, day one

Right now, I'm waiting for darling daughter to finish her lunch. I'm trying to prolong it as long as I can as it is a nice break for me. Today, we have launched into a new era: potty training, specifically a three-day potty training course. I'm not too sure if it is going to work, but I'm going to give it a try. I have no doubt that darling daughter will easily potty train (here's hoping), but the issue is with me. From what I have learned, potty training takes consistency. I'm not big fan of consistency. Hence my slowness in introducing a sippy cup (did that after she was a year old) and using the baby bath tub (just gave that up last week). While dear husband has been enthusiastic about introducing darling daughter to the potty, I've got the attitude of why-can't-you-go-in-your-diaper?

When I learned about the possibility of potty training your child in three days, I thought I had nothing to lose as I know I will fall flat in the consistency department if we decided to take a more laid back approach to toilet training. I've been dreading potty training. Although I'm about three to four hours into the process, I'm exhausted. During the three days, you sequester yourself in your house with your child and be your child's shadow. Earlier this morning, I briefly thought about slapping a diaper back onto darling daughter's bottom and calling it a day. (This approach also requires you to get rid of all your diapers and not rely on pullups or training pants). I've already got a load of laundry for tonight and I'm tired of wiping pee off the floor.

Here's hoping this works. I'll keep you posted.