Little Boys Grow Up Fast

I have felt like singing the Hallelujah chorus for the past week.  My oldest son has officially decided it's time to use the toilet like a big boy.  I had pretty much given up on the quest to have my oldest potty trained before his younger brother because he was completely disinterested.  But then one day, he woke up and decided that he should use the bathroom!  Very exciting.

I have to say a special thank you to my friend's mom who gave me the best potty training advice ever.  Don't push it.  Just let him potty train when he's ready.  It will go much easier if you just let it happen.  Boy was she right!  And after successfully potty training eight of her own children, she should know.

I've heard horror stories from friends who pushed the potty issue too early.  One friend made her son use the potty every 15 minutes until he stopped having accidents.  Another friend camped out in the bathroom with her twins for a few days and then in the bathroom and the hallway for a few days before she was convinced they were potty trained and ready to run around the house. (Can you imagine a week devoted to potty issues?)  Other friends have recommended fancy baby toilets, underwear, and going cold turkey for potty training a little boy. 

Let me just say that as a nurse, I have cleaned up enough human waste in my life.  I spent an entire week volunteering at a camp for paralyzed children where we bowel trained all the campers! (Yuck!)   I had no intention of re-living any of that at my own house.  So I decided to be patient.  I took the wise mom's advice and let the little boy's brain decide on it's own that he was ready to be a big boy.

Now if I can only get the little guy to wear underwear.  He can easily wear a dry pull-up all day, but he's not convinced he's ready for underwear.  Yesterday, I told him that I wasn't buying any more pull-ups since he didn't need them anymore.  I told him that it was a waste of my money.  But then he got a big grin on his face and said, "but we could use my money. I want to spend my own money on pull-ups." 

He's right.  He has birthday money that we haven't spent yet.  And he really wants to spend it on pull-ups.  I almost considered it.  But then I had a better idea.  Today, we're off on a shopping adventure to see what his birthday money could really buy.  I'm pretty sure he'll forget all about the pull-ups after today.  I guess it's never too early to learn the value of money, right?  I never imagined that we would be having arguments about money when he was only 3, but I'm finding out that little boys grow up fast.