PeePoo

If you don't have kids, there is really no reason to read this.

Chloe has recently had her first round of "girl problems." Because of some apparent pain, I took her to the doctor today where it was determined that we needed a urine sample. Think about that for a minute-this is a child who is still in diapers. You can't exactly hand her a cup and expect results. Coincidentally, I had just read an essay that mentioned toddler urine samples within the past week. While it was helpful to know what was in store, I was also a little panicky about how long the whole process would take. Fortunately I had packed a sippy cup, "just in case." We taped a plastic bag to the appropriate area, filled up the cup and went out to the lobby to wait. Less than ten minutes later, I could tell that I needed to check the bag. Success! Now we'll wait until tomorrow to see just what kind of infection we're dealing with. (And continue to apologize for ripping very strong adhesive off of an area that was already sore to begin with.)



I knew I needed to check that bag, because Chloe clearly had taken a moment to pee. This amazes me- I never thought I would have an 18-month-old who seemed ready to potty train. For the last few weeks, Chloe has talked a lot about having to "peepoo," accompanied by gesturing and even occasionally by a successful stint on the potty. We haven't given it our full effort yet, but I believe after we get back from vacation we will turn our attention toward removing diapers from our lives forever, or at least until it's my turn for them.



Our only concern is that the two previous paragraphs are somehow related. An interested party pointed out that perhaps when Chloe was crotch-grabbing and saying "peepoo" she was actually trying to express her discomfort. And we responded by putting her on the toilet and cheering! If that's the case, this person pointed out, then our method of potty training has so far only served to associate "pain" with "potty" (and cheering!). That, in the painfully accurate words of our observer, would be pretty "f'ed up." So keep your fingers crossed for us. But go ahead and send along any therapist recommendations, just in case.