Its My Potty and I'll Go When I Want To

Lincoln was basically potty trained before he was 18 months old. Well...at least we had a system. He would pull on his diaper and say "body body" and I would rip off his diaper as quickly as possible, hold him over the toilet and he would relieve himself. Then he learned the favorite word of two-year olds everywhere, "NO" and decided that it was more fun to control the flow so to speak and we have been diaper bound until about 3 weeks ago. Sure we tried to encourage the activity, but we didn't push it.

He is leading the way and is a joy to support. He has intertwined self guided weaning with the independent toileting so that cinches it. He may look like his Daddy, but with those multi-tasking skills he's definitely my kid! Plus he has my smile;)

He was apparently dealing with some big concepts coming into this process and he let me in when he said, "I want to potty in my diaper so I stay a baby and keep my mommy." I almost burst into tears. Instead I hugged him, held him close and said, "Oh Sweetie, you will always be Mommy's baby. Even when you are a big big boy, you will also be my baby. Even when you are a grown man, you will also be my baby. If you potty in your diaper or potty in the potty you are still my baby. Mommy will always be your Mommy and will always be here for you, even if we are not right by each other." He smiled and hugged me and said, "well, OK, i think so."

I acknowledged that he was doing so many things now that he couldn't do when he was a baby and together we came up with a list that included things like: dressing himself, putting on his own jacket, building train tracks all by himself, helping with laundry, helping in the yard, reading to himself, getting his own water and ice to drink in an open cup, and not nursing very often. He said, "yeah" with a sweet half southern half New York lilt and smiled.

From that moment on he's asked to wear underwear and there have been fewer and fewer requests to "Nay Nay" (nurse) and when he does ask, he literally takes one rather loud slurp from each side and says, "I'm all done" or "just one drip, yummy yummy for my tummy" and smiles.

What a beautiful process. I feel so blessed to share it with him and to watch him lead the way.

Everybody has a body

We were at the pool this weekend and Lincoln was fascinated by the two life guards. They were both really nice girls from one of the local high schools, athletic, in bikinis, but that's not the point. The point is:

L: "She has a body Mommy. And a naval." (Said plenty loud, of course.)

Now, what most people think is that he means a whole body, like head, shoulders, knees and toes kind of thing. That helps me in a public situation, but what I know is that he means she has a bottom and a "bajina." This is of course a mind blowing discovery. A body AND a naval. Who are these creatures? Surely only the people in his immediate presence at home have these things in common. Ahhhh, not so. These new beings, these Life Guards have all their parts too. WOW!

L: "Do they potty in the potty?"

M: "Yes, I'm pretty sure they do."

L: "Hi!" Shouted to one of the Life Guards.

LG: "Hi, Lincoln." They make a point of knowing everyone by name, at least the kids.

L: "You have a naval." Thank goodness the 'body' part of the previous conversation was left out.

LG: "Yes, I do. That's so funny. He doesn't say bellybutton."

M: "No, he knows the real words for most things. We just always did that."

LG: "Hey Lincoln, do you want to meet some of the other people here at the pool? They all have navels too."

L: "Yes, please."

So I proceed to swim around the edge of the pool while Lincoln walks around it with his new friend the Life Guard, being introduced to most of the people working there and her friends from school who were fortunate, or unfortunate, enough to have visited her at work this day. And yes, they all showed their navels. Such good sports!

Potty time funnies

Watching my 2 year old discover the human form is priceless.  Potty time is the most amusing...

L: "Mommy is big."

M:  "Yes, I am."  ( I sure hope he means in relation to him;)

L: "Lincoln is small, but I not little any more."

M:  "That's right.  You're growing."

L:  "I your little boy?  I your big boy?  I a boy.  I have a penis.  Mommy doesn't have a penis."

M: "No, I don't."

L: "Mommy has a bujina."

M: "Yes, I do."

L:  "Does the kitty have a bujina?"

M:  "No, the kitty is a boy, so the kitty has a penis."

L:  "That right.  The kitty a boy.  The kitty has a penis.  See him potty?"

M: "Let's give him some privacy."

L:  "Lincoln give privacy.  Mommy go away. Close da door."

M:  "OK.  Let me know if you need any help.  I'll be right outside."

Door closes.  There is much singing of The Wheels On The Bus.  

L:  "Mommy?"

M:  "Yes."

L:  "What I doing in here?"

Ahhh two year olds.