When Cooper was a newborn and I had just started blogging for Thiristies, I was already thinking ahead to the days we would be potty-training him. It's not that I was anxious for him to grow up, but rather that I had heard cloth-diapered tots often potty-train earlier than their disposable wearing buddies. Could it be due to the fact that cloth diapers feel wet after a tinkle, unlike disposables, which thanks to being filled with  sodium polyacralyte, feel almost dry even when ready to burst? Or could it be that their parents were more motivated to have them using the toilet so they could stop washing poopy diapers? I had my theories. And let's just say, Cooper threw me for a poopy-loop despite it all.

     Cooper's two older sisters were potty trained just after they turned two. Once I was ready to be consistent and follow through, they didn't resist. I had heard that boys often train later but I was hoping that, like my sister's three boys, I could have him trained before he turned two. I started putting Cooper on the potty at around 10 months. I should say, I started to try to put him on the potty. My theory was that if I could get him comfortable with sitting on it at a young age, it would make the whole process easier. It didn't. He screamed and held his legs up as if I were trying to sit his bare buns on a bed of hot coals. Not wanting to scar him emotionally, I'd give up and try a month later. I got the same result for over a year. Every. Single.Time.

     I began to understand, despite being given the best advice, and trying different approaches, that Cooper is just different than his sisters. While his sisters would gladly climb to the top of playground structures alone at one-and-a-half while I frantically watched from below, Cooper would stick close to me. He wanted to be carried more. He was not as brave or comfortable with strangers. He was (and still is) a Mama's boy.

     My sister insisted that I shouldn't give up--to keep the baby potty on the main floor, to give him treats for sitting on it, even if he didn't pee, to let him run around naked and drink lots of water while the potty was nearby. I did it all and still, he resisted. But finally one day just after he turned two, Cooper ran over to me. He had a dirty diaper and he wanted me to change it right away. Suddenly dirty diapers seemed to bother him, whereas before, he barely seemed to notice.

Finally, a few months later, Cooper was sitting on the potty and peed. Was it on purpose since his entire family was cheering "C'mon, buddy, you can do it!" or was it a serendipitous accident that for once had landed in the right place? Either way, it was the beginning of the end of Cooper's time in diapers. Soon he was peeing in the potty all of the time but still resistant to going number two. We're now passed that challenge as well--and I have fodder for yet another blog: constipation and potty training.

     Our baby boy is now exactly two-and-a-half and fully potty trained. He pees and poops on the potty several times a day, he pees in the grass outside (much to the envy of his sisters) and he can even pee standing up in the big potty if he uses a stool. He hasn't had an accident in several weeks. Cooper still wears a diaper if he takes a nap and he wears one at night--but I'm surprised at how often he wakes up dry, even after a long night's sleep. How is potty-training going at your house?