July 2, 2017

Dear Baby,

In the whirlwind of new Baby and all that has come with it in the past two weeks I have neglected to document something pretty important for you. Without any rhyme or reason, you began to actively pee in your potty and I nearly peed in my pants with excitement (ok, I definitely peed in my pants because another fun fact about a vaginal birth is that you basically have 1 second of time between having to pee and then just peeing. Or if you sneeze, you pee. It’s super sexy). 

We have a grand total of 4 potty pees and 1 potty poo. It’s amazing. 

I don’t know much about potty training because it hasn’t come up in general parenting conversation among my mom friends (because none of our kids are that age) but what I have heard about it scares the fuck out of me. I think the most popular method is to basically freak your kid out about shitting or peeing themselves to the point that they are scared not to use the potty. There’s some clever name for the technique and I want nothing to do with it. 

I figured that the first step to not scaring you would be to introduce a potty early. That way, you would have had it around for so long that it would just be a normal thing. At first, you couldn’t have cared less. You ignored the potty. Fine. Then you began to put your dolls on the potty. Finally you sat on it yourself. A gradual introduction. 

The second step to me is letting you do whatever the fuck you want. Want to pee in that potty? Cool. Not so much? Also cool. I highly doubt that you will be the last kid we know to potty train so I’m making sure your process is stress free and fun. There will be no scaring you into bathroom submission in this house. 

Because in this house I believe in letting you feel confident and comfortable with everything. I can’t force my will on you with big steps. I have to trust you to show me when you are ready so that I can just help you along. It’s how I felt about sleep and how I continue to feel about any developmental milestone. 

So are we excited that you are taking steps towards bathroom independence? Totally! But more because I’m proud that we have made you comfortable and secure enough to try something new and unknown. I would keep you in diapers for as long as you needed but I’m so happy that you are willing to take risks and go outside your comfort zone. It is an awesome quality. 

That tinkle sound is the sound of my baby girl playing with her independence and confidence and it sounds like the most beautiful music to my ears. 

xo

Mom