My Love/Hate Relationship with Potty Training!

As you all know by now, potty training has been quite the struggle at our house. In fact, we went through 8 months of working on it with only one success from Gavin. And of course, that whole time, I was a complete wreck - feeling like the worst mom ever because my 3 1/2-year old son was not potty trained (when it felt like every other kid his age was). Not to mention the pressure of preschool starting in the fall, or the fact that he was the only kid in Primary not potty trained!

But now, after what felt like years, Gavin is 100% potty trained (don't ask me how cuz I can't tell you - I guess he just figured it out), and I have been on cloud nine over it! ...Well, at least until lately. I always thought having my child potty trained would give me a lot more freedom and I would be loving life a whole lot more, but I now know I was a bit naive. Here's a look at my love/hate relationship with potty training!

What I LOVE about Potty Training:

1) Of course, NO more changing diapers! Seriously, when your kid is old enough to basically change himself, it gets a bit ridiculous.

2) No more worrying about taking the diaper bag everywhere! You moms who have kids in diapers know what I'm talking about - if you forget the diaper bag, you are seriously praying throughout the entire outing that by divine intervention, your child will not go to the bathroom.

3) No more utter humiliation when somebody sees my 3-year-old's diaper and gives me a look of complete disgust, like I must be the worst, most incompetent mother ever. While this only happened a couple times and they were usually old, senile people, do they seriously think I keep my kid in a diaper because I LOVE changing him?! Yeah, let me tell you, it's the best part of my day - when my child and I get to sit down together and bond over bodily waste. :)

Now, for what I HATE about Potty Training (who knew I would hate anything about it?!):

1) Gavin pulling his pants down in public to show everyone his "big boy underwear!" The stares I get are almost worse than the ones I got when he was in diapers!

2) Gavin telling me in the middle of a grocery trip (with a full cart) that he needs to go potty. Fortunately, this has only happened a couple times and he has held it until we finished, but what's a mom to do when this happens? Again, pray for divine intervention I guess. :)

3) Gavin's obsession with washing his hands. I know you are all thinking I am crazy right now, but don't worry, I am GLAD he washes his hands. I just get irritated with the fact that he washes his hands a whole lot more than just when he goes to the bathroom! It has become his new hobby, I guess... (Just look at that pic.) I find him in the bathroom all the time, just washing his hands. Then, after he washes his hands, he apparently feels the need to wash everything around it since I usually come in to a bathroom covered in soap (i.e. the faucet, the counter, his toys, even the hand towel). Wow, who knew a boy could actually like things clean?!

4) Finding pee all over the bathroom! Sorry if that is a bit too much information for a blog, but it's probably my worst pet peeve with potty training! Ever since Gavin has figured out potty training, he has wanted to stand up like all his friends and daddy do. While I like this method since it doesn't require much help from me, it requires a little more hand-eye coordination than I think my 3-year-old son has! Honestly, I didn't even know he could aim his little thing in the directions I have found pee. So needless to say, I keep Clorox wipes handy in that bathroom. :)

5) Gavin's bizarre obsession with flushing the toilet! When I was reading that potty training book, it said to be careful when introducing your child to flushing the toilet because it might scare him... Seriously? Gavin is obsessed with it! In fact, I told him he could not flush the toilet unless there was something in it, thinking it would keep him from flushing when there was no need to. So what did he do instead? He started putting little pieces of toilet paper in there just for an excuse to flush. And when I told him to stop doing that, he started putting small toys in there! Oh joy...

Needless to say, potty training has been full of surprises I never saw coming. But I have to admit, I will take the things I hate about potty training over changing diapers on a 3 1/2-year-old any day! -Ash