Unrandom Tuesday Thoughts

Usually, I participate in this meme courtesy of The Unmom. If you don't already, head on over, check it out, and participate. Fun times. However, this particular Tuesday, my thoughts are not random at all and centered around one particular event: potty training. I tried to think of random stuff... which kind of defeats the purpose, so here's my bitch session about the wonderfulness of teaching kids to use the potty.

LB is on day 2 of PT. He still won't go voluntarily, and he'll still watch himself pee all over the place, but at least he knows he gets two M&Ms if he sits on the potty (what? I'm totally not above bribing him at this point).

So far, we've gone through six pairs of underwear and many more towels to clean up. He really does like cleaning up, and says "Uh oh, accident!", then takes the nearest towel to the mess (which, unfortunately, has been my nice kitchen towels... they are now out of reach).

Personally, I'm trying to stay patient and not get too worked up over the messes. After all, he's gotta learn sometime. Copious amounts of rum has helped, though.

I just don't know if I should stick with it. I hear of all these stories from other moms that their kids just wanted to go to the potty- LB lacks the desire to go. So should I stop or keep going? Am I going to associate potty time with a sense of stress and frustation for him? Is this whole experience going to negatively affect him if I push him when he's not ready?

Holy crap, I'm not so sure I want his psychological health to depend on my potty training expertise (or lack thereof).

When I was house training Puppy (and please don't hate me for comparing my kid to my dog), it took a little while, but once I started to see him going, I picked him up and took him outside to his potty place. He got a treat for going. Uhhh, I've been kinda doing the same with LB, except if I pick him up to put him on the potty, he freaks and kicks me and throws a hysterical fit.

So my whole day has been encompassed with PT thoughts, if he's ready, if I'm doing it right, if it's normal for him to say he doesn't have to go, then promptly piss on the floor... It's just frustrating.

But here are a few tips I've learned in these two long days:

*Don't try this when you're PMSing. It's just a bad situation for all involved.

*Don't try this when your husband is on a business trip. Not only do I have to deal with PT, I also have to deal with "Where's Daddy? I want Daddy hugs and kisses!"

*Do stock up on some alcohol. You'll need it at the end (or middle?) of the day.

*If you're a high strung, low patience person, you're gonna have to change. This just can't be done without a HUGE amount of patience.

*SIGH* Anyone want to pick out a hair color for me? I can feel my hair turning gray....