Shorty #2 is almost two and a half and its getting to be potty training time again.  Shorty #1 was late to the Potty Party.  She didn’t dig it.  Personally, I think it took too much time out of her already packed schedule to sit on the potty and wait for nature to um… take its course.  So she rocked pull-ups for months and months.  I tried everything; brand new Princess Panties – loved them until they got wet.  Incentive chart – fun for about the first five minutes.  Incentive chart with toys still in the box waiting for when she had 10 successful potty attempts – yeah, she forgot.  Nothing worked.  Finally one day not long before her 4th birthday she just decided that that was it – she would use the bathroom.  And she did!  That was it.

This suited me perfectly because I am not down with the “accidents”.  Diaper changing is OK.  I guess I’m used to that.  But the poops in the baths, in undies and elsewhere just gives me the creeps.  Shudder.  I have resolved the fact that I am a bit of a germo-phobe and the lack of controlled circumstances surrounding “accidents” creates too many opportunities for hazardous waste issues.  There’s no containment and a toddler with poopy legs will not stand still long enough for sufficient wiping, so you end up chasing said toddler around the house with the wipes, tormented by the fact that poop is now flying everywhere.  Ack!  Nightmare!

So now #2 is expressing interest in the potty and I’m starting to freak out a little.  Everytime we’re out, she says she has to poop and wants to use the public washroom.  Ummm, yeah, well, I think you can IMAGINE how I feel about that.  But what can I do, I need to encourage her enthusiasm even though I know she just wants to check out the facilities, waste a pile of toilet paper and then flush it away.  So in we go, wishing I had haz-mat suits for us, piling the seat with layers of toilet paper and seat covers, indulging her whim and then dutifully scrubbing both our hands on the way out with a last minute dash of hand sanitizer for good measure.

Today we decided that maybe its time to retire the diapers and graduate Shorty #2 to pull-ups so she can be the master of her own domain.  Am I ready for this?  Do we have enough hand sanitizer and antiseptic cleansers for what is sure to come next? I guess I’m headed to the drug store to stock up.  In the meantime, wish us luck and send Purel.