The long and messy road......

Having had two kids in the last five years I like to think of myself as an experienced mother by now. I’ve been through all those ‘firsts’ twice such as first smile, first solid food, first steps, first words etc etc. So when I decided to start potty training my youngest girl, Georgia (age 2.5yrs) I assumed that it would be easier than the first time and we’d nail it in no time at all. Indeed the first indications were fantastic; on her first day she was brilliant and used the toilet and potty most of the day!! However, what I am realising with each wee and poo filled day is that when it comes to little people of the toddler variety, there are no hard and fast rules and one should never, ever underestimate the power of their determination!! Georgia has so far made a conscious decision not to use the potty. We are slowing realising that no amount of bribery, encouragement or gentle persuasion will force her to do it. She has the physical ability to do it and can hold on for hours. It has become painfully apparent to me that until she decides she wants to use the potty, we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. We either quit altogether and try again in a few weeks (which goes against my nature) or accept the stress and mess and hope that it clicks into place at some point? So, what to do????

 

I feel once again like that new mother who is just trying to find a way forward using intuition and searching google for answers in equal measure. I plan on asking all my mummy friends for advice and no doubt they will all have a different take on this which is based on their own joyful experiences of the potty training conundrum. One thing is for certain though, no one child can be compared to another on this subject and they will each do it in their own way, in their own time.

 

No doubt I’ll read this post in a few months time and smile to myself at the memories. I will probably be dishing out advice to friends going through it conveniently forgetting how bloody hard it all was. Wish me luck on this journey, I fear it is a long and bumpy (not to mention messy) road to travel before we get there!!!