Potty Training 2.0

Today I'd adequately recovered (emotionally) to let Calliope have some diaper free time, which seems almost normal now, after three days of total diaper-free time.

But for some reason, it doesn't seem stressful anymore. I'm pretty sure, after observing her patterns, that she won't poop on the floor. And she seems to go an impressively long time between pees... unless she pees on the floor, in which case it stops as soon as I grab her and try to transfer her to the potty (with one exception, where she was able to start going again after a momentary pause). And thus will have to pee again shortly thereafter.

So I don't think she will necessarily successfully use the potty while diaper free (only happened twice, I think, in three days... ten minutes apart, separated by nursing, or maybe three times, total), but it feels weird to keep her wrapped in a diaper all the time after investing all that energy into teaching her about the potty. And it's pretty cute to see her climb onto the potty. Though she's happy to do that with clothes on, also. The other night, I came back from washing my hands to find her sitting on the potty, "reading," wearing both her pajamas and her sleep sack.

Regardless of what happens, I'm feeling very low pressure about it. I need to re-read Potty Training Before Three to review her method.

Last night as I was cleaning her face and hands in the high chair, she started to cry, "Pah-Ee! Pah-Ee!" (that's  "potty" for the uninitiated.) She'd never done this before. I whisked her out of her high chair and rushed to her potty. Where she had a little gas. And then pooped in her diaper maybe twenty minutes later.

But I recently read that knowing the difference between gas and poop is a learned skill (though I don't remember what age we learn this). So perhaps she was feeling gas, or perhaps she was feeling that poop that didn't come for another twenty minutes. Either way, I'm confident that she was feeling something, and more importantly, communicated that to me.

Which makes me feel like those three days were not totally wasted. And makes me want to continue.

Another semi-success... After her nap today, I left her without pants or diaper because I was getting in the shower and thought she might want to join me. Afterwards, I was getting dressed and let her wander off (I've gotten much more zen, suddenly, with the idea of mysterious puddles and pee on the carpet... her pee is pretty dilute so I'm cautiously hopeful it won't stain). Anyway, I was getting dressed in my bedroom when I heard a sharp cry of distress, that "I need help!" cry that doesn't make your heart pound but does make you come quickly. I came into the living room and found an anxious Calliope, crouched on one of her new toddler chairs, hands full with an old cell phone in one and Baby Annie, the potty training doll, in the other. On the surface of the chair, underneath her, was a puddle.

"Pee!" squeaked Calliope.

I rushed to rescue her -- she couldn't figure out how to move with both hands full -- and quickly determined that the pee in question was not from Calliope, but from Baby Annie, who was feeling a little waterlogged, still, after her bath a couple of days ago.

So I was very pleased that Calliope was aware of the puddle, and also that it was, sort of, pee.

So I gently chided her, "Oh Baby Annie, pee pee goes on the potty. Next time you'll get it."