My son pees in the bathtub every time I bathe him. A little geyser of water forms on the surface and he laughs when I ask him if he is "Making Water". I am amazed thinking of how we used to empty the tub and start over but now just compromise by rinsing him with water from the sink when he is done.
Supposedly, urine is cleaner than spit. My eye doctor once told me that if my contact lens popped out unexpectedly,and I wasn't anywhere near a bottle of saline or a source of water, that I would be better off rinsing it with my own urine than spitting on it. He then went on to remark how he watched a speaker at an eye doctor convention with that same contact popping out dilemma, and the speaker, of course, chose the spitting option. "Making Water" is just not something that can be done discreetly in public without complicated medical equipment or a diaper.
Speaking of which, just this morning as my son was walking around the living room, he grabbed the front of his diaper and said, "Making Water". I texted this funny anecdote to my husband at work to which he replied, "Time for potty training." To which I replied, "Hahahahahaaha!" in a crazy at-my-wit's-end sort of tone. It's not that I am against potty training at all. It's just that we have faced some setbacks in this area. OK, the word "setbacks" is not really adequate to explain it. We have faced pure stubbornness when we have attempted potty training. Even "pure stubbornness" doesn't seem to do the situation justice. I will just have to describe our attempts to reveal why I laugh like a crazy person, and I know my husband was joking when he suggested potty training.
Training Attempt #1: Pre-bath, naked baby boy, running around the bathroom, bends knees slightly and starts to pee on the floor....Frantic mommy grabs insert bucket from potty chair and shoves it in front of baby. Baby boy stops IN MID-STREAM and shakes his head and says, "No" then runs to corner and finishes peeing.
Training Attempt #2: Post-bath, naked baby boy, squats in the corner of the bathroom and announces with a red face, "Push! Poop!" Frantic mommy suggests he sit on his potty chair or on his cushy seat on the big toilet. Baby boy shakes his head and says, "No." Frantic mommy lifts baby boy to put him on potty chair. He screams and wriggles from her grasp. She tries again, but this time attempts to lay him down to put on a diaper. He screams, twists, and rolls away, and continues to squat in his corner. Finally, after successfully pooping on the floor, when asked why by the parents, baby boy announces happily, "I poop like doggy, woof, woof, pant, pant, pant."
Uggggggg! Notice I switch to third person and refrain from using names when I describe these attempts? It is not because I think the reader will not guess the names of those involved or I am trying to protect the not-so-innocent. It is because I am hoping that these are somehow universal stories, that we are not alone in this...well...are we?
Nevertheless, we will not give up. We will continue to try any method, suggestion, gimmick that anyone feels gracious enough to share, but one piece of wisdom that I know first hand that will always hold true is that you can't push a child to do something if he's not ready. I just hope he's ready soon.
