Shea is potty trained and doing great. She had one accident with poop a couple weeks ago at school and I think she was so humiliated she didn’t talk most of the afternoon. Those of you that know her must find silence and Shea very difficult to believe, but, it’s true.

I did feel so badly for her when it happened. I went to the school and clean her up and bring new clothes. Poor thing. I got there and she was sitting on the potty sobbing. It’s the first time I’ve run into that with any of the three kids not to mention my baby that just tears my heartstrings out to see her genuinely upset. Awwww….. 😦 makes me sad just thinking about it.

We were trying to train her (much earlier than the others) so she could go to preschool. We slowly started working up to it but I knew we were going to take our family vacation in August so I didn’t put much pressure on her. Selfishly I wanted the pull-ups on her so it was one less bathroom stop to pull over for. I think she knew that and is equally, if not more stubborn than me. She refused to go in her pull-up the entire time and that stupid thing gave her a heat rash to die for. NOTE TO SELF: Do not use non-breathable pull-ups in extreme heat of summer months in Florida. Hello….. another reason why I AM the Mother of the Year and you are not! “Ahhhh, it’s just a little red Shea, you’re fine” as I look at Shad with shocked eyes at the inflamed red blotchy skin all over her body.

Fast forward to Reilly turning 8, having an annual check-up where we reveal Reilly is still wetting his bed. As a matter of fact Reilly told him. He is very factual about it, which I appreciate because it seems he is less embarrassed and more annoyed with the whole thing. My friends taught me early on that I could NOT get mad at him if he totally sleeps through it, and he does. Other friends associate it with diet – and perhaps they were right too but I never altered enough to really see if that contributed. Anyway, I digress, the pediatrician pointedly (in a subtle yet buddy-like way) asked Reilly, “so what do you think? are you ready to try some things to help you stop wetting the bed?” “yes, I really want to, I’m sick of it” “Okay, we’ll try a few things.” He turns to me and says “this year he seems motivated to try things so let’s give this a try” and he handed me a flyer for a Sleep Dry Alarm.

We are on night two. Although Reilly is much more tired because he is not out cold all night long, he actually seems happier. He likes this little contraption that hooks to his shirt and plugs together on a second pair of underwear. He has taken the time to tell Kate that it’s cool and explain to her how it works. She too thinks it’s pretty cool. So night one we went through eight pair of underwear (which means three alarms since you double up) and last night we went through four pair. I just heard the alarm go off upstairs which is what inspired me to start writing. I’m proud of him for working on it, I’m proud of him for wanting a change. He is totally responsible every time he wets his bed. He takes off all the sheets and he puts them in the laundry and then he comes into my room to tell me about it. I haven’t made a big deal out of it for years because I always felt he was self conscious enough – why would I want to magnify that. I’m excited to see how this goes for him and if it impacts him long term. (not in a Pavlov’s dog way but in the way that he won’t need the alarm and his body will let him know on it’s own that it’s time to get up and go)

Stay tuned because the day I am done with buying diapers will be a very exciting day in my house.

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