How Do You Know?

I might have mentioned this in a previous post, but a couple of weeks before MC turned 2, I decided it was time to start potty training. She had given a few of the typical "cues" so I went with it. Being the overachieving person I am, I decided the best way to get her excited about this new venture was to have a "potty party". It.was.awesome. No lie. I was super excited when my little angel woke up and saw all of her potty surprises. Of course I had grand visions of this going off without a hitch - I planned a flippin' party for crying out loud. How could this not work?!

While MC had no fear of doing her business in the potty, she would never tell us when she needed to go - therefore, I was tossing pee pee panties into the wash all day. After FOUR DAYS of not leaving the house I was losing my mind and decided it was time to give it up. I was baffled as to why my brainiac child couldn't grasp this concept. I thought "Ok. She's not even two yet. We have time."

The last few weeks she has been giving me a some cues again and I decided maybe it was a good time to start things back up. She is out of school this week so it was really perfect timing. And this time I had M&M's. It was a sure thing. Again, I pulled out the cotton and plastic panties and we went on our way. Again, Mags had no issues doing her business in the potty. However, would still ALSO do her business in her panties. I looked at my baby who can count to 30, recite two different prayers, say the alphabet and each letter's sound, and do an entire 24 piece puzzle on her own with questioning eyes. (Ok, maybe it was more like frustrated eyes). I asked her why she still wanted to pee pee in her panties and her response was to look back at me and say "huh?". Oh boy.

That night after our first day of training I was a mess. I was SOOO stressed out. I kept asking Adam, "How do you know when to keep going and when to give it up? How do you know if they are READY??"

Apparently God decided to help me out a little. He was probably tired of all my complaining and wanted to give me a sign he was SURE I would understand....

The next morning when MC woke up I said "ok Mags, do you want to wear panties or a diaper?" She got all excited and said "panties!!!". Great. A step forward. I said, "well, that's great, but remember that if you want to wear big girl panties, you have to use the potty. Let's go try before we put them on." That was it. We had mass hysteria. That child flipped out like I told her there was no Santa or something. She was screaming and flailing all over the floor - "NOOOOO! No use the potty momma!!!!!!!! I don't want to go pee pee in the potty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" Alrighty then. Point taken. A simple "no thanks" would've sufficed.

That's how the cookie crumbles. For all of you moms wanting to jump on the potty training train, you might often ask "How do you know when its time?" or "How do you know when to stop?". I learned the easy way with a little help from The Man. If your kiddo turns into a hysterically screaming psycho child who you may or may not consider placing in a padded room, its probably not time.