by Emma Riley Sutton

Created on: April 18, 2008   Last Updated: June 25, 2008

Potty training your toddler is a wonderful time. Going from baby to "big girl/big boy" is a special for child and parent alike. It can also be stressful. Reading all the books to make sure you "do it right" can bring on instant insanity. Those books, as much as they try to help, can only confuse the issue; too much information. And, of all the information, which is best for your family?

Bu the time I was six months pregnant, we had a child's potty in the bathroom (thanks to a forward thinking friend) I had read every potty training book the library had to offer. I was confused. Do I let my child run around naked from the waist down and put papers on the floor? Do I wait until my child says, "Momma, I'm ready to go potty."? Do I buy the potty training books to read to my toddler and get the videos for her to watch? She wasn't even born yet and I felt like an awful mother. How was I ever going to get it done?

The day she was born, the last thing on my mind was potty training. I was too busy looking her over, nursing her, and telling her all the things I forgot to tell her before she was born. Looking back, however, that was the day her potty training began.

Before leaving the labor and delivery room, I had to use the bathroom. I had to get out of bed by myself and go "potty" all by myself. I handed her to her Daddy and I got up. Without even thinking, I said, "Momma is going potty on the big girl potty all by herself. One day, when you are a big girl, you will go potty on the big girl potty all by yourself, too." Off the the bathroom I went, after a quick kiss on her forehead. The nurse was there to supervise. I did what was necessary and returned to my new baby. "See, Momma went potty all by herself. You can do that, too, someday."

Well, it stuck. Every time I went to the bathroom, I repeated my little speech to her. It seemed so natural, so normal. I told her everything else I was doing, why not this? Polite friends and family members smiled when they heard me do this. Not-so-polite people chuckled or laughed out loud. I didn't care. I talked to my daughter about everything else.

When she could sit up by herself, she went with me. I sat her on her potty, fully dressed, and explained to her what I was doing. When I was finished, I would clap for myself and say, "Good job, Momma. Way to go potty like a big girl. Yeah, Momma!" Sometimes, I would hold her hands and help her clap for me. I was thrilled the first time she clapped for me without any help. Embarrassingly

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