Let's Talk About...

Urination!! Otherwise known as peeing. It is a perfectly natural thing to discuss. Everyone does it. I am willing to bet you do it multiple times a day. Besides, it will be great one day for Marcus to read this and see how embarrassed he gets since I talked about him urinating on the internet. Not that he actually urinated ON the internet, but you know what I mean.

After a series of misfortunes, we decided to try something new these past couple nights. I am not counting on it having any long term effects (positive or negative) but for now it is helping to keep my laundry amount reduced ever so slightly. Our nightly routine usually involves me stripping Marcus down to his birthday suit while on his changing table, covering him with a towel, and then taking him across the hall to the bathroom where I promptly place him in the tub that Greg has already filled with water. That was before we had reason to talk about urination.

Let me give you a brief history. As any mom of a little boy will tell you, we get peed on. I am quite grateful that I could count the number of times this has happened to me on one hand. Despite the shock of cool air upon removing a diaper, Marcus just doesn't seem prone to this type of peeing. However, here is a brief time line to explain Marcus and his urination habits over the past few days:

Day 1: Marcus peed as soon as I put him in the tub, which was followed by a draining of all bath water, a cleaning of bath toys, and a refilling of the bath.
Day 2: Marcus peed while still on the changing table, after the diaper was removed and he was covered with a towel, resulting in getting pee on the changing pad as well as the towel. (Of course this was a time when his backup changing pad was in the laundry room awaiting its weekly wash.)
Day 3: I removed Marcus's diaper only slightly while he was on the changing pad, waiting patiently for him to pee. He started to pee. I covered him up. When he was done peeing I removed the diaper and covered him with a towel, at which point he started peeing more, soiling the towel and creating a giant puddle on the changing table that was without a changing pad because both changing pads were still dirty.
Day 4: Stripped Marcus down to his diaper. Took him into the bathroom and set him on his little potty seat that fits onto the toilet. Removed diaper and waited. Marcus cried a little but Greg and I reassured him. After a minute there was no pee and I put him in the tub. He didn't even pee in the tub.
Day 5: Kept the diaper on Marcus, placed him on the potty seat, removed diaper. He cried. Greg distracted him by running some water. Our porcelain throne was quite a cold seat with the a/c blowing on it. Marcus peed. Greg and I cheered wildly. Marcus looked at us thoroughly confused but decided to cheer anyway since that was what we were doing.
Day 6 (today): Marcus went back on the toilet prior to bath. He didn't want to be there until I gave him an ultra-cool hair brush to play with. The a/c was blowing and soon enough, Marcus was peeing. Greg and I cheered and I kept repeating, "You are peeing!" in an attempt to get Marcus to understand that there were words to go along with what he was doing. He totally ignored us, completely engrossed in the ultra-cool hairbrush for another moment, before handing the brush to me and giving the sign for "all done".

So no, I am not potty training my kid who is so far ready from being potty trained. Instead I am trying to keep myself from having to clean up pee on a changing table, wash changing pads constantly, and do extra loads of towels along with my laundry. If Marcus picks up on the fact that there are words to describe peeing, so be it.

In next week's edition of "Let's Talk About..." maybe we can talk about pooping! Just kidding!