Potty and Beyond

Diapers are becoming a thing of the past.  I still use them for naps and when we go out somewhere, but I've no need.  The babies will tell me when they have to use the potty, and if there is an available structure, we'll use it.  If not, they'll hold it because try as I might, I can't convince them to empty their bladder in an unorthodoxed setting.

They're not dry at night, though - far from it.  So that when they turned to me as we were about to put them to bed last night and asked to use the potty, I was more than happy to accommodate them.  And they used them, almost immediately.

Yes, it was a hassle, undressing them from their nighties and stripping them of their diapers, but it was worth it.  Until the games kicked in.

As I bundled them back up and tucked them into bed, I saw the light go off in their heads.  Hey, they thought, you know what stopped this from happening just a few minutes ago?

"Shee shee, again!" Dulce proclaimed, trying to get out of bed, insisting she need the potty again, just 10 seconds after getting off.

I didn't fall for it. We gave them their goodnight kisses and left the room to chants of "shee shee gain, shee shee gain."

Fifteen minutes later, when I went to resettle them, the chant was at full force and had changed to "Go pee pee. Go pee pee."

Still, I resisted. My husband suggested moving their potties into their room overnights, and I was overcome with the image of spilled waste and wet babies in the morning.

Eventually they settled down and went to sleep, and we woke up to the typical wet diapers this morning.  So, when are children ready for night training?  Should I have ignored their playful pleas?

I don't know, but I do know this...the war I was sure I had just won was really just one of the battles along the way.  Perhaps potty training will never end.  It certainly seems that way.

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