Abort Mission!!

Hayden and I had a talk a few days ago about peeing and pooping in the potty. He nodded, excitedly received the new Elmo underwear I bought him and since then has, every time the urge strikes, gone to the potty, sat down, gotten everything in the potty, wiped himself and then disposed of everything and washed his hands.

Did you believe me? Even for a second?

Unclear why the urge to potty train struck last week while I was pseudo single parenting (poor Jeremy was working overnight and therefor sleeping during the day when he wasn't grumping around the kitchen for something to eat which of course we don't have because that would make me *good* at this whole keeping house thing) but strike it did.


Supplies were procured, pottys were established upstairs and down, requisite trip to the store to pick out "new special underwear" was made. (I always feel a little hesitant to say "big boy" anything to him - "big boy underwear", "big boy bed", "can you be a big boy for me and do x" - I think I'm worried it will give him some kind of "I am a big baby" complex if he doesn't do what I am trying to get him to... tangent. sorry.)

So we proceeded, spending a LOT of time with the god damn potty reading books, etc. We ate a chocolate chip every time success was had. I would say by the end of the week we were maybe 3 for 4 in terms of how often the pee pee made it into the potty. In terms of poop, our stats were markedly worse. But the thing that made me decide to throw in the towel and return to diapers was that my son could have cared less if his underwear was wet or, and it seemed to me especially, if it was filled with poop. SICK!! He seems relatively aware that he needed to pee or poop but this awareness did not spur a "mama, poop" or send him scuttling off to find the potty. He just went for it, denied it if asked, and proceeded to play as if his underwear was not filled with monster turds.

And I SWEAR this is a boy thing. There are lots of girls his age who are potty trained and seem to have completed the task with insight, intelligence, and in touch with their bodyness. At the least girls seem to have less tolerance for underwear filled with urine. What can I say, we are the superior sex. Sorry Hayden - I love you very much, but it's true.

Watch - now our daughter won't be potty trained until she's 6!

So we're back in diapers and everyone is much happier for it. Except, of course, the landfills.....