What is in a name?

****WARNING THIS POST HAS MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY******

I am stuck in the potty training world and the vocabulary that goes with it.

What do you can your…private? Or better yet what are you teaching your children to call it?

I’m teaching Teagan to call it what it is, her vagina. I just heard hundreds of women cringe. Why is this a faux-pa word? It is a vagina. The medical term is vagina. Not hoo-ha or waa-woo. Seriously I have heard these phrases.

I said vagina in front of my Mother and you would have thought I slapped her. Why, why, why she asks. Because that is the name. I don’t tell her to call her head a melon, it’s a head. My husband calls it a melon but let’s not get side tracked.

Yes I could have gone with private but I just don’t understand this horrible stigmata. I’m not using the “c” word. Okay I just heard thousands of women gasp. These are words ladies. Simply words.

So this is my question. Please leave me a comment on what you call your area or what you are having your children call it, I'm just curious.

Potty Phrases

Things I have heard on this potty training journey.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah (thick with sarcasm) we’ll try again later.”

“I want to wear diapers.” Now that one was very sad.

“Get outta here so I can pee-pee.”

“Big, gigantic poopy!” And it was too.

“I gotta try.” As she beats her little fist in her hand. She gets her dramatics from me I don’t know where.

“Don’t cry little poopy.” (?)

Might I just add that in the last four days I have talked more about potty goings than in all my three-plus-decades.

Teagan is also trying to get out of going to sleep at night by getting up over and over again saying she has to go. I’m torn because I don’t want to discourage her as the whole process is to learn to go to the potty. But at the same time she is squeezing out a tablespoon at a time just to get out of bed. She has literally gotten out of bed 15 times in the last 2.5 hours.

Potty Games

I have a feeling that a lot of coming posts are going to be about potty training. If you don’t have children you should read these anyway because when you do have kids you’ll need the reference. For if that foolish lady can do it, you can to.

One obvious hurdle we are going to have with potty training is dealing with Kaitlyn. She wants to be a part of everything Teagan does. Every time we go to the potty Kaitlyn flips out that she cannot sit on it too. I don’t mind too much because her jealousy of Teagan’s special attention gets me extra Kai-Bear hugs throughout the day and they’re just fantastic.

I’m not one to incite moments that can be easily diffused. So I let Kaitlyn sit on the potty. She will just sit and hum or talk in her gibberish. Teagan does not like it but at the same time Teagan will not be as melodramatic as Kaitlyn would if I denied her.

Something has happened that has made me confident that letting her sit there is a good idea.

Bath time can be ruined very quickly by a poopy. We can all agree with this yes? Yes. And Kaitlyn is 99.9% of the time the culprit. Lately she has taken to getting out of the tub to do the pooping so at least the tub is not tainted, just the bathroom floor.

I see the little bear climb out of the tub. Sneak over to the little potty and sit down. She sits for a bit and gabs then gets up and walks back to the tub. I immediately come over and see that she has pooped in the potty. My 18 month old has pooped in the potty. I gave her a high five, congratulated her and did a little dance. Even Teagan said “Good job.”

I might have to go get another ten dollar potty and train both bears at the same time. Below is Kaitlyn "playing." I'm sure she will hate me or have to go to therapy from me posting this picture but it's too damn cute not to.

Potty Training Process

Teagan is 2. 5 and is very conscious of the potty. Conscious enough that I know it is time to start thinking about potty training. She is showing all the signs and I swear it's not just because really want to have at least one child out of diapers.

The entire potty training process is daunting. There are so many thoughts and theories on how to train your child. There is three day boot camp, treats, stickers, and little potty versus potty seat. I've researched it all, yet I kept in mind that each child is different physically and emotionally.

Teagan, however, is a genius. Therefore I just bought a potty seat and a stool. She used it once, maybe twice but did not like the wobble of a seat on a seat. Thus she didn't want to learn. Without her desire I also put it off. And put it off. Made some additional excuses and put it off some more.

The time has come and at this point no excuses will do. I went to a bulls-eye of a store and found a $10 dollar little potty. Teagan liked the one with a face and a handle or the one that played a little ditty but as much as this is for her I have to clean and take care of it. Ten dollars it is.

I unpacked said little potty and she was very excited to "use" it. The first night I got three pee-pees. She wiped herself and even pulled up her own pants. Then came the next day.

She has showed no real interest. Once or twice I got her to sit down but the enthusiasm was gone. I was really hoping for a poop in the potty as that has not been achieved yet. I am not discouraged. Tomorrow is another day.