Day 1073 - Potty Training Update

Now that the move is over and we have no other travel plans, I am trying to focus a little bit more on the potty training. We don't have any pressing issues like potty training them for daycare, so we are being more encouraging, yet not forcing them on the toilet.

What I am really looking forward to is the amount of money we will be able to save per year on diapers. Here is what I figured out our monthly cost on diaper supplies is:

(2) boxes of Costco diapers: $80
(2) boxes of overnight diapers: $40
(1) box of Costco baby wipes: $20
(2) bottles of diaper cream: $10
TOTAL: $150/month x 12 months = $1800/year

The cost gets even more ridiculous when you take into account my incontinence:

(2) boxes of Depends: $100
(1) industrial tub of talcum: $50
(16) sprigs of lavender (I got to smell nice, ya know): $25
TOTAL: $175/month x 12 months = $2100/year

As has been proven to me over and over again, girls really do mature faster than boys. Emma has been pretty good about going on the potty to pee, but still has not felt comfortable enough to poop. But she has pooped in the potty a handful of times, and has pooped in my hands once.

Andrew is another story. He doesn't tell us when he has to pee, but when I place him on the potty after breakfast and dinner, he usually pees. And through his grunts and facial contortions, it is always obvious when he is pooping, but he refuses to poop on the crapper.

Andrew's poop situation got even worse because a week or so ago, Lisa emptied one of Andrew's poops into the toilet. As she flushed, the poop got stuck and the toilet got backed up. Thankfully, we are Japanese and had some disposable chopsticks in our utensil drawer. So with my ninja skills, I started to cut the poop in half with the chopsticks. Stupidly, I asked Andrew if he wanted to see what I was doing. I think he was traumatized by the experience because to this day he seems very concerned when he stands next to the toilet, and he says, "Poop got stuck." But if I was him, I'd be more concerned about using disposable chopsticks for meals.

My current plan is to focus on Emma more because she seems more ready to transition from diapers to underwear. Hopefully, when Emma gets potty trained, this will encourage Andrew to do (Hey! A pun!) the same. And if I can only get over my incontinence, we can start saving enough money to put towards a new car.