Potty Talk

Our next guest post is a former DC Metro Mom Nancy, who is also a huge Washington Capitals fan. Her post is about one of my least favorite topics, potty training.
Editor's note: I just have to add that this post can not come at a more timely time. Michael has stopped using the potty on vacation. Vacation potty training regression can happen, right? right?
During the past several months, our lovely hostess Jodi and I have both been struggling to achieve a common goal: potty training our little ones. Both Michael and Rosie have been fairly successful — so it looks like our days of Pull-Ups are numbered. Maybe I can finally toss that stinky Diaper Genie. YES!!!
It's amazing how intensely you can live and breathe (though most thankfully not taste) the whole potty training experience when you're going through it.
Seriously, it got to the point in our house where we were having several conversations about the potty each day: grandparents would call and ask about the potty, day care providers would provide a status of Rosie's toileting habits, and even Mimi (Rosie's big sister) would be giving bathroom pep talks. It's funny that potty talk is pretty much taboo in society — EXCEPT of course if you have a family member who is learning "to go" on a schedule. Then you're talking about poop, pee-pee, body parts, wiping, and all that fun stuff.
(And sometimes you have to congratulate your preschooler enthusiastically on her recent, ahem, success while your coworkers are gathered in your office for that 10 AM meeting. That's always fun.)
An interesting side effect of potty training is that I could write a detailed report on practically any restroom in the DC metro area. I've seen all kinds of bathrooms in the past several months, ranging from the best (cleaner than my kitchen on an average Friday morning) to the most deplorable (clogged toilets and unmentionable filth). With a potty training youngster, that old adage rings true: when you gotta go, YOU GOTTA GO. Making liberal use of hand sanitizer and paper towels if needed, of course.
(I seriously do think us moms with potty training kids could perform an important public service. Perhaps a review site like Yelp, but with ratings for public restrooms. Ratings factors could include toilet height, stall size — i.e., whether there's adequate room for those camper-sized strollers, and the presence of those evil auto-flush toilets.)
Although all aspects of potty training should be old hat to me by now — my 6 year old has been potty trained for years — I forgot the significance of Motivational Underwear until we started working with Rosie. We're not big on character clothing in my household, for the most part. However, we've found that our girls are highly motivated not to have accidents when they're wearing Dora the Explorer or Disney Princess panties.
(The downside? The girls LOVE to show off their character panties to random people in the grocery store and post office.)
Speaking of that switch to big kid underwear, it's tricky to properly dress your youngster during potty training. No overalls, no long dresses, and no items with tricky fasteners (a.k.a., anything more complex than simple elastic at the waist). I've been tempted to keep her in pajamas all day at times. And without the added bulk of the diaper, all the pants that previously fit Rosie fell to her ankles the first time she wore them with underwear. I had to salvage some size 2T bottoms from the donation pile for the summer — they're a bit short, but at least she won't be mooning all the other kids at day care.
Such a lot of work, this potty training. It's almost enough to make me sentimental for the days of diapers.
(Nah. Maybe not.)