Pfft! What are you, nuts?

...would have been my (polite inner monologue) response a few months ago if someone would have asked me to try potty training a 1 1/2 year-old. Um, aren't you supposed to wait until they're at least two? Or, at the very least, till you have a 2nd kid and get sick of mistakenly putting size 4 diapers on your newborn in your sleep-deprived state of confusion? Why start that whole mess if you don't have to - diapers are easy! They're predictable (except for the occasional gasp-then-remember-you-fed-her-red-peppers-last-night diaper change). In potty training, aren't you living in fear of accidents, tied to the potty, not going out as much, peeing on sofas and store carpets...and again, diapers are so easy! Why go there until you absolutely have to?

A month or two ago Maddie insisted on trying to sit on our toilet. Cuteness. Then she discovered that Momma and Daddy were captives when they were on the toilet, so many books must be read from there. Um, no. We got her her own little potty out of need for a place to put her in the bathroom, and because she knew and used the words, "potty", "pee-pee", and "poop" often enough, even associated them with her own need to go. She'd actually successfully peed in it twice for Bob's mom, but after dozens of attempts on my part, I'd gotten nothing out of her. We ended the school year, we traveled, we completely flip-flopped her whole routine and haven't gotten quite back on track for summer yet. The "potty talk" had tapered off almost completely, too. I figured we'd give it a rest. I mean, come on. She's 19 months old. Who the heck would try this at 19 months old? She has no clue how to take her own diaper off, and I'm in no hurry for her to learn, judging from stories of my sister's poo-smeared walls as a child. I like the system we have going, and Luv's are pretty cheap. Again, why go there?

Um, because Maddie has decided that she'd like to try it, thankyouverymuch.

She pooped in the potty today!

After lunch she said, "potty" insistently. I wondered briefly if she had just figured out a new means of getting out to the high chair fast...but no, she padded off to the potty. She can't take her clothes or diapers off yet, hasn't even tried...(see why I thought this would come later, when she could actually attempt undressing herself?) but I helped her, and after a few minutes of singing snippits from Philadelphia Chickens, we had POOP!
A small party was thrown, there was much jumping on the bed, and now, I guess, we're potty-training? Or at least sitting on it a lot more. But WOW would it be cool to have her at least most of the way there before school started. Wouldn't it be nice to kiss the diaper boxes goodbye (although I find them great for storage and paper recycling organization)! And how great to leave the house with no excess paraphenalia, save perhaps a sippy cup in my purse?

And of course, this could all be a giant fluke. Tomorrow could be business as usual. She sat on the potty twice more today, nothing but more Sandra Boynton songs. Hey, as long as she's not in diapers past Kindergarten. (Don't laugh, I've seen it!)

Well, at any rate, I hope she gives me a few days to do a little (bathroom) reading up on this, I'm not prepared. Any and all potty training advice/anecdotes would be appreciated here. I've heard there's supposed to be charts and M&M's involved. Little scared of how.

Anyway, YAY MADDIE for her potty-awareness. :-)