Privacy vs. the Potty-Trained Two-Year-Old

Marley has been potty-trained for about three months now. Hoorah! Once she decided to do it, the process was relatively painless. I'm so proud of her!

Of course, she has had a few memorable and major accidents--most notably while riding in the shopping cart at Vons with a cart full of groceries. It was Niagra Falls. I panicked. Fight or flight? Flight! I scooped her up and left the cart and mess in the middle of the pasta aisle. Sorry Vons!

The funny thing is, now Marley is hyper-aware of all the potty-time processes. She does almost everything herself, from putting her special potty seat onto the toilet, pulling down her pants, and flushing. She even offers an ongoing commentary on all these activities as she performs them. "I'm going potty, momma! I'm putting on the potty chair! I'm going wee-wee! Wait, wee-wee AND poo-poo! BIG poo-poo!"

The only thing she needs help with is "the wipe." So after she announces she is "going potty," I check up on her every minute or so, asking if she "needs help."

She also takes great pride in admiring her potty creations. For example, she might call me to the bathroom to view what is floating in the toilet. "See? One, two, THREE poo-poos! There's a mommy poo-poo, a Daddy poo-poo, and a baby poo-poo!"

The big downside is now she is also very interested in exactly what is going on when I go to the bathroom. She will pop her head in every 10 seconds or so, asking, "Momma, is it a wee-wee or a poo-poo? Not sure yet?" or "Momma, need help?" or, "Are you OK? You need help with wipe?" Or, even better, she will bring in one of her books and start reading me a story.

Let's just say that bathroom privacy is a thing of the past. But when all is said and done, it's pretty darn cute. And a hell of a lot better then changing stinky diapers!

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