frustration....and a breakthrough (two bits)

I gained a half pound. Grrrrr. Just can't seem to get any momentum in the right direction. I'll have to be extra super good this week. Let's get this show on the road!

So, last night, my almost-4-year-old son.......drum roll, please......pooped on the potty for the first time! I won't go into all the gory details here, but rest assured that it's not as neat and tied-up-in-a-bow as it sounds. There were hours of back-and-forth, angst, and frustration, culminating in a very traumatic showdown whereby Mama had to open up a big ol' can of tough love all over her son. I was alternately proud of myself for my tenacity and fraught with guilt, but I did stick to my guns. (I wouldn't put a diaper on him, and he's too uncoordinated to put one on himself, which worked in my favor.) When things had reached their frantic, desperate climax and I was sure Nick would be scarred for life, he finally made a doody in the potty. Eureka! I pretty much broke down at that point and cried, torn between pride and utter mental exhaustion. In no way do I fool myself by thinking that it's going to suddenly be easy from here on out. This is really only the beginning, but it's a start.

As we had promised him all along, we bundled ourselves into the car at 8:30 p.m. for a prize-gathering trip to WalMart. Nick got to eat a pretzel at the Subway inside the store, and then he got some candy, a pack of new undies, and some cheapo toys. Once he recovered from the sheer terror and trauma of the whole experience, he seemed pretty proud of himself, so maybe he'll give us a repeat performance today. I can only pray.