Free at Last!

9 years… 9 LONG years of dirty, stinking diapers. Well, I think the time has finally arrived and I will be free of them… FOREVER!

It’s kind of bittersweet. It means the end of my babies. Those powdery smelling beings with their gummy smiles – they could look sweetly at you one moment then suddenly give a little grunt and gurgle something out the other end. Ahhh… those were the days. Remember them? ;)

Fast forward 3 years and the slightly pungent stuff in their diaper turns into this disgusting, toxic matter with an odor strong enough to clear the room – except yourself. For some reason as the mom we always get stuck with Diaper Doo-Doo Duty. :/

It is no surprise that – as moms – we want to teach the kid how to evacuate their bowels into the toilet as soon as humanly possible. For myself… as a female raising 3 babies of the opposite gender? Potty training was easier said than done. It’s not like I made an intellectual study of how my husband… well, pooped. Puh-leeze! I usually ran the other way. So, even after having 2 older sons and a grown man in my house, I was not very prepared to potty train my 3rd son.

My mother-in-law potty trained our oldest while visiting us in Georgia after the birth of our 2nd son. I took the job she assigned to me during that time seriously – sleeping and nursing. ;)

When our 2nd son was almost 3-years-old, he pretty much trained himself. I was pregnant with our 3rd baby. One day he looked at the stack of newborn micro-mini diapers and decided he was not going to be a baby anymore. The very next day he put on underwear and was trained! A miracle!

My 3rd son turned 3-years-old in October. I thought he was going to be the easiest to train since he had 2 older brothers and his dad to follow. Hardly! I tried the Cheerios trick, bribing with Skittles, and sitting him on the toilet for hours until he went. The stubborn little guy would hold it until the phone rang or I lost patience and left. Then he would put on a Pull-Up and go! (Did I mention he's extremely smart?) :/

Finally, we went to the store to pick out new underwear. He refused to put on any of the “Thomas the Tank Engine,” “Diego,” or “Spiderman” undies that were just fine for his older brothers. (Sigh.)

He is obsessed with Transformers. My instructions with his new unders? "Do not make Bumblebee any yellower." He did. Or, “Optimus Prime will not be happy if you poop or pee on him." Well, poor Prime got pooped on.

After 4 frustrating months of trying to potty train him, I gave up. Apparently… that’s just what he needed – to be in charge of himself. It’s been one week with no accidents!! Free at last, free at last – thank God no more diapers, I'm free at last!! ;)