I have been hesitant to write a post about this, because I am sure that it will be bad mojo and lead to a major regression. I am willing to take the risk now, which tells you something in and of itself. I have enough confidence to share the joy with the world, as it were.

I first bought Hannah a potty over a year ago, when she was around 17 months. I started sitting her on it at key times – right after she woke up, after meals, that sort of thing. Things appeared to be going well. Within a few months she would go and sit on the potty by herself, particularly when she was allowed to run around naked. I bought underwear, we informed the daycare, it was all very optimistic.

And then – well, a whole lot of not much. Hannah was afraid of the daycare potty. Every day for months and months they would offer, and every day for months and months she would refuse. I continued on with the potty at home, but it was hit and miss at best. Around the time that she turned 2 she finally relented to sitting on the potty at daycare, but not with any consistency. There were still many accidents, many wet diapers, and so on.

Things did slowly, but steadily, improve. At around 2 1/2 Hannah began to become much more reliable at home. We gave up on pull-ups on non-daycare days, even occasionally venturing out of the house without plastic. There were accidents, even spectacular ones, but for the most part I was willing to accept that. My theory is that I’m cleaning it up whether the kid’s wearing a diaper or not. And, I’ve found that when Hannah’s wearing a diaper she will go ahead and use it. So, I persisted, because being out of diapers was important to me, even if my kid didn’t really care.

Finally, I’d had enough of the pull-ups. About a month ago I had the big talk with the daycare, and we agreed to give underwear a try. Since then Hannah’s has about one day each week where things fall off the rails. However, the last accident was over a week ago now. Lately, the kiddo’s been very reliable about asking to go to the potty, even with extended family members, and even in strange bathrooms. If I offer to take her to the bathroom and she has to go she will say yes. I don’t get the ‘no’ that really means ‘I’d rather not’ so much. I am holding my breath, but I am quietly elated with the direction things are headed.

So, there you have it. We are well on the way to life without diapers. I am totally psyched.

The other night, as I looked on, Hannah opened her bedroom door by herself. Up until now she couldn’t reach, and had never successfully made it through a closed door in our house. She’s petite, my kid.

There’s no fencing this kid in anymore. This is almost more scary than having a new walker. We’d better get vigilant with the door locks, is all I can say.