The Code Word
ummm, hmmmmm, mmmmm….
How do I tell about something like this? Should I even be writing about it? I don’t know.
But since this is so important to me, I think I should go ahead and write about it. To all readers, here is my note of caution: This post may contain details considered dirty and smelly by some.
We started potty training Yog about 2 months back. As the term suggests, we used to take him to the bathroom and beg him to please do poo poo in the bathroom. To help him understand that this is the place where such gifts are given, we used to make sounds like mmmhhh, mhhhhh enacting the sounds that he normally makes when doing potty. For pee pee time, the sounds used were sssshhhh, ssssshhhhh.
He would patiently wait for us to finish the sound orchestra, put on his pant back, and come onto the bed or the carpet before he would relieve himself. I was in despair. The temptation to switch back to diapers was sometimes very strong. (Here, I should give due credit to diaper manufacturers for thinking about us mothers and keeping the cost of diapers preposterously high. Whenever we are about to give up on potty training, it is this cost that forces us right back on track.)
Two months of journey to and fro from the bathroom, constantly mopping wet floors, changing dirty sheets and clothes, and learning to live with the smell are some of the few small compromises we had to undertake. And then the day arrived when the sun rose from the west and Yog decided to help his mom.
When I took Yog to do the bathroom today, I asked him,”Yog, pee pee time?” He immediately made the sound mmhhh. I shook my head knowing he had already done potty and couldn’t possibly do it again so soon. I said, “No Yog, pee pee. Shhhhh shhhhhh”. As always, he patiently waited to come out of the bathroom and then relieved himself on top of me.
The next time we visited the bathroom, I repeated the same question, “Yog, pee pee?” He again said mmmmhhhh. I again shook my head, but thought what the hell, lets just play along with Yog. So I also said mhhhhhhh. He smiled and repeated mmmhhhhh. And with that he put forth all his energy and concentration and did pee pee in the bathroom. I literally couldn’t believe my eyes. How could this have happened today?! We both clapped our hands, hugged each other for a job well done.
Thereafter, whenever we both went inside, we both would repeat mmmhhhhh, quickly get the job done and come out. I was so thrilled to have figured out the code word to make Yogs potty training a success. What if it is not the same word that the rest of the world uses. As long as it gets the job done, I am not going to complain.
Diaper companies, watch out, you are going to lose a big time customer soon!!!!!