A new danger

We’re at a new stage in our potty training – the point at which River seems to know when he’s done. He can’t stand up and walk yet though, so he leans forward until he gets on his stomach and crawls away. Problem is, in the process of leaning forward, the potty tips over.

This happened the other day and some pee spilled onto the wooden floor. I wiped it up quickly and hoped the landlord would forgive us. Today, I again left the room while River went potty. When I came back, he was in the leaning forward position. He seemed to know something was wrong because he just stayed there, not moving, as though thinking – I know I made a mistake, now what do I do?

Unfortunately, this time there were two big turds that also ended up on the floor. Lesson to parents – no more using potty time as time to get stuff done. Remain near and assist River in departure from seat when finished.

EC Update

We are now in our fourth month of practicing elimination communication and so far, so good. All our doubtful family members became convinced upon seeing the first poop or pee on signal and when we visit, they help out enthusiastically. Both babysitters have been fine with it. (As an aside, if you plan to use cloth diapers or EC’ing, just be sure to ask a potential sitter during the initial interview if they are OK with using cloth/helping to practice EC. So far, no has said no when we asked, even when unfamiliar with these methods. As long as they know upfront that this is what we do and what we expect, and that we’ll help show them the ropes, they’ve been fine with taking it on. It seems the only places where it could be a problem is in institutional daycares).

I’ve heard that one difficulty people have in potty training toddlers is that the toddler is so interested in playing that s/he doesn’t want to have to stop to go potty. River has been combining playing and pottying well. We used to hand him a toy or a remote control while he was on the pot. Now he’s able to scoot around, while still on his potty. This morning, he scooted over to his Leap Frog Activity Table and played happily with it while taking a poop.

Another interesting development is that he seems to know that he’s pooping and does not want me to remove him before he’s done. Today I lifted him up, saw a poop, and thought he was done. When I tried to take him off the potty though, he began to fuss. This was the second time this had happened and when I left him on the last time, he pooped some more. So I put him back on and waited a while longer.

Unlike changing a diaper, where an adult has to be there all the time, I’m no longer sitting next to River when he’s on the potty. Ever since he was sitting up well, I’ve been able to go do things – get a bottle or a meal ready, pick things up, prepare items to leave, check email – for a few minutes while he does his business.

When I came back, there was in fact more poop. I guess I understand his fussing. I think if anyone was offered a choice between pooping in their pants and pooping in a toilet, they would probably pick the latter. I find the fact that River is expressing this preference at age nine months really wonderful.