We're potty training... apparently.

This post talks about poop. So, you know, read at your own risk.

First things first: Lucas is eighteen and (and a half) months old. If you're thinking, "Umm... it is way too early to potty train," I agree. So here's the story.

There was this completely fantastic, abnormally cheap used bookstore that opened in my town about two years ago. I shopped there pretty frequently and bought an obscene number of books, but apparently some people in my town weren't carrying their book-buying weight, so the bookstore closed two weeks ago. (Excuse me, I need a moment to mourn the loss.)

Anyway, they had a going-out-of-business sale where everything was 50% off, and of course I went... twice. I bought Lucas some Melissa & Doug toys for the next two Christmases (no, seriously. They were a really good price) and a ton of books. Since I didn't know when (if ever) I'd find books that cheap again, I planned way ahead, book-buying-wise. I got Lucas a book for Valentine's Day, some books I'll give him at Christmas, and a book about using the potty.

Please ignore the food on the floor. I have a toddler.

I had no plans to potty train anytime soon, of course, but I figured it would be good to have on hand. It's written for kids, but there are also tips for parents on each page. One of the tips suggested introducing your child to the potty at around 18 months by just having him sit on the potty fully clothed every now and again. Dan and I had already gotten Lucas a potty (because it was really cheap at Ikea. We like cheap.), so I figured it would be an interesting way to kill some time every once in a while. (Any mom with a toddler can tell you that 75% of the day is spent looking for ways to keep said toddler occupied. The other 25% is spent looking for lost sippy cups.)

On Thursday, I sat him on his potty with his clothes on a few times, he thought it was kind of amusing, and there were fifteen less minutes I had to fill. Friday after his nap, I decided that I might as well just sit him on his potty without his diaper on since I had to change it anyway, and he pooped in the potty. Obviously it was just lucky timing, but I made a big deal about it while he stared at me like maybe I'd gone insane. A few hours later, he was finishing his dinner in his high chair when he suddenly started asking to go to the potty. I put him on his potty, and he pooped! (On the downside, I took him off the potty a little too soon, and as I was rinsing it out he started frantically saying "More! More!" and then pooped on the floor. Oops.) I was amazed, but also SO not ready to potty train, because I seriously thought I had at least another year before I had to think about it. (Actually, I have no idea when it's normal to start potty training. I'm not ready to think about it. I actually googled "when should you start potty training" and found forums with a lot of parents "yelling" at each other. Way to not overreact, people.) But then yesterday after dinner, he asked to go to the potty again, and he pooped and peed in the potty. (I seriously started to type "went number one and number two," but then I realized that the "not saying poop" ship had already sailed.)

So... I'm potty training my 18 month old? Or more accurately, he's potty training himself. This motherhood thing is confusing. And weird... because I just typed an entire post about poop. Weigh in if you have any awesome advice for me, but please don't shout at each other. Because that's just stupid.

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