Challenging Opportunity

It's a new day, with new opportunities and challenges to behold and face.

Hallelujah!

My son, Isaiah, has been potty training for about a month, now, and I have to say that it is more discipline on my part than his. He is fourteen months old and has been slowly progressing with his understanding of what the "potty chair" is and what "pee pee" and "poo poo" are. Every week, he adds at least one or two more "poo's" or "pee's" to his daily routine. Of course, that excites and encourages me to keep going (very important for us mommy's to be uplifted in our daily endeavors, especially when they can become difficult and overwhelming).

What has been the hardest thing about beginning potty training with a thirteen month year old? For me it was the "me" in the equation. It has never been Isaiah because, as a baby, he is naturally in a training and developing mode (always soaking in new things and trying new things - we, as parents or guardians, are the ones that put limitations, positive or negative, upon their lives). I needed to just, simply, begin the process. I needed to believe that I could do it - that I could be disciplined enough to instruct Isaiah in a new way of life. Also, I needed to allow myself the grace to grow and develop with Isaiah (because it is a team effort). As he learns and understands his bladder and how to communicate with me his needs, I need to help him learn what his body is doing (when his pants end up wet or the carpet beneath him ends up wet or there are poop drops coming from his bottom, I need to stop what I am doing and bring him to his potty chair - tracking the time is very important as well - when the last time was that he went pee or poo - simply getting him to the potty chair every half hour or hour helps him understand, through consistency, that the potty chair is where he needs to go for his needs instead of his diaper).