Potty Training

Shortly after we got back from Mississippi, Ben and I decided to start the potty training with Dexter. We had bought him a bunch of adorable "big boy" underwear and let him look through them and get excited about wearing them. First thing the next morning, we asked Dexter if he wanted to wear big boy underwear and he enthusiastically replied, "yes!" So we let him pick out a pair and we helped him get them on. Then came the periodic asking if he needed to do a pee pee or poo poo and if he wanted to sit on the potty. We asked every ten minutes or so and each time, Dexter replied, "yes!" So we'd get him on the potty and read a book and wait. And wait. And nothing would happen so we'd ask if he wanted to get off the potty and he was just as enthusiastic about that as he was about getting on. About an hour went by (with potty visits every ten minutes or so) and nothing had happened. Ben headed off to work and a few minutes later, I asked Dexter if he had to go potty and he said, "yes!" As he was sitting on the potty, I smelled poop and got so excited.

I said, "Dexter, Mommy smells poo poo - are you pooping in the potty?"

Dexter replied, "no."

"Dexter, are you sure? I think you're pooping in the potty!" In my mind, I was getting more and more excited that he was going in the potty.

"No."

"Dexter, Mommy smells poop. You're going poop in the potty!" I was convinced that Ben and I were genius parents of a genius child and that potty training had taken us less than 2 hours.

"No."

As I looked down, I saw that the poop that I had been smelling was the poop that was all over his legs. He had pooped in this underwear and I had not noticed when I pulled his pants down to try to go on the potty. OK, Ben and I are not genius parents and Dexter knew what he was talking about when he denied that he was pooping on the potty. I guess this means there are many more potty adventures in store for us in the future.