Luna and the Big Girl Panties

As you may recall, I did some "EC" with Luna. That stands for "Elimination Communication," and for some people, it means potty training infants. We didn't take it to those extremes. But she started sitting on the potty now and then at around 7 months. Just when she wanted to, no pressure. And she wanted to! She loved sitting on the potty reading books, and she had several months there where she peed on the potty at least once a day.

And then the strike began. About three months ago, for no apparent reason, she decided she hated the potty and had no interest in putting anything (well, except her Legos, her crayons, or her stuffed animals) into it. She'd cry anytime I suggested using the potty, and the one day I decided to try putting "big girl panties" on her, I had to abandon the idea halfway through the day because she was hysterically begging for a "pamper, pamper!" I was frustrated, but I figured it was best to follow her cues, so I backed off and didn't push the potty training at all.

We signed Luna up for school last week. REAL school, five days a week for the WHOLE day! They expect the kids to be potty trained, naturally. She starts on November 5th, and I've been feeling more anxious about the potty training dilemma. But still, I haven't pressed it.

Yesterday, my mom bought us tickets to come home for a visit again this summer. We'll be in the states from June 1 to July 14 (Yay!). Which kind of messed with my plan to start potty training in earnest as soon as summer hit and I could put fewer clothes on her. I was just thinking last night that I'd have to hold off until we got back.

But Luna had other ideas. Why am I not surprised? This morning when I was getting her dressed, out of the blue she asked for "big girl panties." (As an aside, the way she says "big girl panties" sounds more like "poo poo panties," which is ironic, no?) So we pulled on the big girl panties. I figured she'd be begging for a diaper within an hour. But no! We went through ELEVEN PAIR of "big girl panties" today, but she was a trooper, and after every accident, she'd say, "More big girl panties?"

So I find myself unprepared for the misery that is potty training. I mean honestly, I haven't even got a bottle of wine in the house! I feel like someone pushed me into the deep end of the pool while I was still blowing up those little inflatable floaty things that go on the arms. But if she can handle it, so can I! We're going to master this... eventually!

Please: SEND ALCOHOL!