I knew once my hubby came home, he would ditch the whole potty training routine. He's way too "busy" and has too little patience to take Alyssa to the bathroom every 45 minutes. The most he will do is tell her "Let me know when you have to go, Baby, ok?" Ummmm...yeah. Sometimes, when he says things like that, I add "And while you're at it, Alyssa, win the lottery, ok?"

Anyway, I did discover the hypnotic powers of Dora the Explorer! If I put Alyssa's training potty in front of the TV and turn on Dora, Alyssa will sit there, with pants around her ankles, mesmerized. We tried this Saturday night, and when Alyssa finally decided to get up, I helped her pull her pants up, looked in the potty, and... wow! She peed! Albeit, there was just a little bit in the potty, but I cheered and clapped and acted like she DID win the lottery!

Alyssa was very proud of herself, but that didn't stop her from walking around wetting herself and the rug 5 minutes later with the full "flood" of urine. Oh well! No biggie. I made hubby take her to the bathroom to clean her up while I cleaned up the path on the rug. Sigh!

Worse, when Alyssa came back into the room, she wasn't looking where she was walking (do ALL toddlers insist on watching where they've been, instead of where they're going?!?), and fell over the little potty in the room. She didn't hurt herself, but she cried because she couldn't get up, and she was in an awkward position across the potty. I helped her up, gave her some love, and she was fine.

Major breakthrough yesterday, though. We went to a friend's house for lunch and to swim in their pool, which Alyssa loved! We stuck to the pull-ups and the swim diapers for obvious reasons. Well, Alyssa and I were helping our friend put the food away, when Alyssa whined at me and started pulling on her swim diaper. "Do you have to go potty?" I asked. She nodded, so we raced to the bathroom.

As suspected, nothing happened. Alyssa sat on the toilet for a few minutes, then said she was "all done." Sighing, I took her off the toilet and pulled up her swim diaper. A few seconds later, Alyssa was trying to pull the diaper down again. "Do you have to go?" I asked again. She nodded. So back on the toilet she went.

Miracle of miracles, I felt her abdomen tighten as I held her on the toilet! Sure enough, Alyssa had to poop, and she did so in the toilet! "Yay, Alyssa!" I cheered, but she wasn't done yet! Immediately after she pooped, I heard the sound of water on water as Alyssa then peed in the toilet! Wow!

Well of course, I couldn't let this momentous occasion go by without the appropriate pomp and circumstance, but then, our friends are childless, and I wasn't sure how the "ALYSSA POOPED AND PEED ON THE POTTY!" parade would go over. Oh well! I figured Alyssa's self-esteem was worth more than a little embarrassment over a tacky breach in etiquette, so we marched out of the bathroom and proclaimed to my hubby, our friends, and our friends' dog, that Alyssa pooped and peed on the potty like a big girl!

My girlfriend was a sport and cheered. Her husband, who had very little experience around toddlers, wore an expression that made me laugh! It was one of those smiles that said "What do I do with this crazy lady who's jumping up and down over someone pooping?!?" Ha!

On the way home, we stopped at the store and let Alyssa pick out a new toy. Hopefully, now that she knows what she's SUPPOSED to do, we'll have fewer and fewer accidents.

Tags: potty, bathroom, toddler, potty train

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