Potty training

I think it was about a month ago that we started potty training in earnest. I thought Hope would pick it right up after a few intense days of learning, but it has taken a little more time. I'm not sure at what point you go from "training" to "trained," but she's close!

A couple of days before we got serious about it, I started talking to her about what potty training means and how we were going to do it. I was pleased (and amused) when she woke up on potty training Day 1 saying, "Today I ride the potty train?!"

And so it has stuck - we've been riding the potty train lo these last three or four weeks :)

It's been several days since Hope has had an accident of any kind, and it's been a long time since she had an accident in the house. She's most prone to slip up in the car for some reason. Maybe she doesn't feel the urgency when she's sitting? Maybe it's the feeling of being strapped in? Maybe it's habit? Not sure, but I'm very glad that we can wash the car seat cover!

I don't expect her to night potty train right away, although I know some kids do. She's surprising me by waking up some nights and asking to go to the potty, but that doesn't mean she's waking up dry. Everyone tells me it's a good sign that she's got the sensation part down, but remind me of that when it's 3am and all I can think is how I only have a few more weeks of uninterrupted sleep left before baby boy arrives!

No, that's not entirely true. It's rare enough for Hope to wake at night now that I sort of enjoy those little visits with her. If she wakes, lately she asks to go rock in the rocking chair (in the nursery ... her bedroom until a few weeks ago). Again, we won't necessarily be able to go in there once the baby is here, and I've explained that to her, but that makes it a little bittersweet to take her in and rock in there now. My baby isn't a baby anymore, but she's really not going to be a baby once there's a 'real' baby to tiptoe around.

So potty training has been an experience. She's doing great, and the fun of watching her excitement about it compensates for the frustration of accidents. And, unexpectedly, it has resulted in some special late-night moments to soak up my ~only~ child for the last few weeks until she's my ~oldest~ child.