progress (maybe?)

With the arrival of February came the realization that Malcolm's actually been working at the whole toilet training thing for a full month.

So, although, last time I said I wouldn't talk toilet training around these parts, I feel the need for a brief update.

I think we've made some progress.

Maybe?

Hopefully?

I mean, Malcolm knew what to do from Day 1 on this little adventure ...  It literally only took one accident in his real underpants for him to realize that he needed to let us know when it "was time."

Just one.

So, the kid gets it.

He understands the feeling of having to go.

He knows how to make it to his little potty, pull down his pants, and do it.

He hasn't, to date, had an accident outside of our home.

The (only) issue is whether or not he feels like following through ...  Or cutting his losses and just making a mess of himself.

It's completely up to him.

On his whim.

And it's killing me!

Call me a control freak, but when it comes to loved ones, especially my children, I have an major drive to do whatever it takes to keep those close to me (Malcolm, in this case) happy.

So, when Malcolm was an infant, it meant keeping his belly full and his bottom dry ...

When he became mobile, it meant keeping him safe during his many explorations ...

When he was a toddler, it meant helping him learn to communicate his needs and wants.

And now that he is a three-year-old, it means teaching him the skills he'll need to go off to pre-school on his own (away from me!) this coming fall. 

I always thought that once a child was "trained" and understood the concept of using the toilet (with the exception of regression during times of stress), that the "teaching" part was over. 

Success! 

Job well done!

On to the next milestone!

But, at least for us, this process has been much more than that.

Yes, at its most basic, it's learning to use the toilet ...

But it's also a lesson in trust ... For me and my son.

Me trusting him that he'll let me know when he has to go (and not nagging him constantly throughout the day) ...  And him trusting me that I'll still be there no matter what (even if he does have a messy accident).

So, while I appreciate the conversations where he just chatters on an on while sitting on the toilet, and I like having to fold all the tiny underpants that make it through the wash each week ...  I'm so ready to feel like the "training" portion is over.

I'm not sure when it will hit me that we are done, and he is good to go ...

Maybe when there have been no day time accidents for longer than a month? 

Or two?

After all of this, I truly hope I get a (lengthy) break before Miss Pearl is ready to drop the diapers on her end ...