On our way home from the grocery store today a certain little girl of mine called up to me from her seat "Mom, I wanna poop."
So of course I asked her if she had pooped or needed to poop. There is a difference after all. If she has pooped then she needs a new diaper as soon as I pull in the driveway. If she needs to poop than well, she needs to poop. Wow, I just looked back and I have already typed some form of the word poop 7 times. Anyway. Since we are not really potty training or even working on potty training I went with the she pooped and needs a new diaper option and told her we would get her a new diaper when we got home in less then two minutes.
So we pulled into the garage and headed inside for a new diaper. Once inside she kept asking for her potty so I steered her towards the bathroom thinking that I would get the stinky diaper off and clean her up and let her sit on her potty.
Well, there was no poop in the diaper but when she sat on the potty she sure did pee. She looked up at me smiling and exclaimed "I did it, Mommy. I did it!" With all the pride written all over her face it was obvious to see this is exactly what she had been planning since she first announced to me that she wanted to poop. Even if her verbiage was a little off.
Now I am not naive. I know that Monkey has not magically potty trained herself this afternoon and that it will most likely be a long while before she is free of diapers. I also know that this is the exception and not the rule and that she may not even so much as look in that potty chairs direction for months after tonight.
The thought of having a potty trained daughter, although exciting, is not exactly what is weighing on me tonight as she sleeps.
My little girl is growing up. I know, this is not a new thing but today was filled with little things hitting me over the head over and over again proving that she is not a baby anymore. There were her feet hanging out of her suddenly little crib this morning, the discussion over which shoes she wanted to wear, the imaginative play with her water bottle and the little people toys and her hand, the way she held my hand in the parking lot without complaining, and the way she told me she was ready to go to bed and rest tonight. Then to top it all off there was my little girl loudly proclaiming, in not so many words, that although she had a perfectly good diaper on her cute little tush she was not interested in anything but the potty.
I know she is going to grow up. I know that. I guess the hardest thing is feeling overwhelmingly excited about where she is headed and aching for where she has been. I guess figuring out how to balance those feelings is a part of evolving as a mother because I am pretty sure I will be feeling this same way on her first day of kindergarten, the day she gets her drivers license and her first job, and the day she leaves my little nest to take on the world from her own home. Just to mention a few.
So does anyone have any advice for how to evolve into the mother who handles these changes with ease?
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8 share your thoughts with me:
You know, with my 1st I didn't even think about it because I always knew we would have another. When the 2nd hit milestones, I shifted my focus to the excitement of what was to come rather than the sadness of what once was. After all, there is not a single thing you can do to change it.
I admit I miss the "baby" but having a full conversation with my child, or having the eldest read TO ME, or watching the little one write her name etc is pretty awesome.
Roll with it. Revel in it. Be happy for it all. Cherish it. And most of all, slow down and enjoy it all. Remember it.
Poop is pretty great, isn't it?
Time for #2! :)
Each stage is fun for different reasons but I do miss when my kids were little.
Going pee on the potty is a great first step. Yeah for Monkey!
Oh boy, I think about this all the time. I sure don't know how to be OK with it. I don't know if any mom ever really is. The opposite emotions we can feel all the time, within the very same moment are so exhausting!
(and good for Monkey, peeing on the potty-you never know, maybe she will be one of those fast trainers!)
Yeah for Monkey. Never thought you'd be so excited about a bowel movement or urine before kids did you? But there you are cheering for pee and poo. As to how you handle these changes....be happy you have them. I am thankful each day that Cookie is developing on time, that she's "normal". Cheer her growth, it's exciting and fantastic....and yes, a little sad. Weird to feel happy and sad at the same time. But I guess that's motherhood. Hopefully you will have an easy potty training and no peeing on the furniture like we've had:)
Oh girl, I wish I knew. My little girl is 7 and she breaks my heart everyday when she learns something new.
ps. thanks for the check in last week! You got my butt in gear!
I was just thinking the same thing watching Little One today, however I am a looking forward type of mom and keep looking forward to the next milestone. He pooped and weed yesterday out of his diaper, (not in the potty) and I thought that was pretty cool and today he sat on it without a fight. The small things are so HUGE.
My son is potty training and I realize he is growing up but I also look at it this way - potty training is the first in a long line of milestones we have to look forward to as mothers. We take it in stride and enjoy the ride.
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