Exhilaration and Exhaustion

Well, we are at the end of week two of potty training and Eddie is doing amazingly well. We are so excited about how fast he caught on and the support we’ve had through this process. In the past week, he has only had one accident and that was due to our negligence.

We take him to the bathroom every 1 ½ – 2 hours and he knows that is when he should do his business. However, sometimes we get distracted and forget to take him. We are hoping our absence of mind may eventually result in him deciding to ask to use the bathroom. It would be nice to see a slip-up on our part turn into something great like self-initiation.

Again we expected Eddie to be successful and he has been. We now find ourselves asking, “Should we have pursued this sooner?” and “What else can Eddie do?” I’m not going to pretend that this process has been easy, but it has been well worth it. We are exhausted from the overall routine of this endeavor and from this new task at hand.

Honestly, it simply is easier to have a child in diapers. Not only are we complicating Eddie’s life, but also our own, by removing diapers. We are adding multiple trips to the bathroom in our daily routine that simply can’t be put off. I really believe that is why we have waited so long to pursue the task. It has me wondering what type of “boot camp” we can embark on next. Eddie’s “to-do” list is quite long but tackling it one obstacle at a time is not so overwhelming.

So, even with the total exhaustion that comes with Eddie waking up bright and early and now taking him to the bathroom instead of continuing to sleep, we are truly exhilarated. Eddie has impressed us and we feel invigorated with another job well done by him. Successes like these are what motivate us to keep teaching him and helping him grow towards independence.