Seven years and diaper free

Since the birth of my daughter in 2007 I have been wiping little bums and changing diapers. By the time the one child was ready to be toilet trained the next baby had already arrived. So I now find myself in the awkward situation of living in a house with three toilet trained kids. I experienced an immense sadness as I watched my son independently run to the bathroom to do his thing, he even asks me to close the door so he can have some “privacy”. The heart-wrenching loss of realising that you are no longer a mother of small babies has left me with a rather unexpected empty feeling.

It all started two weeks ago when my husband told the kindergarten teacher that my son was ready to be toilet trained. “Great”, she replied “bring him to kindergarten in underpants and let’s see how he manages.” I was so angry at my husband, “he may be ready” I moaned, “but I am not”. Needless to say after only two accidents he is successfully toilet trained and of course I had to hear the unwanted “I told you so” from my spouse.

I was so stuck in the current state of affairs that I was unable to shift into a new reality. This got me thinking about my real passion which is sleep. Often as parents we convince ourselves that our child simply can’t take the next step. My child cannot sleep through the night she has to nurse at least twice at night, my baby cannot move into a bed he will sleep in his crib until he is twenty, my child has to sleep with her pacifier and my baby does not know how to fall asleep on her own. Any of these sound familiar?

The truth is that our children are more adaptable than you think. Their primary focus is to grow and develop, constantly pushing the boundaries whereas many of us are quite content in our comfort zones sometimes immobilised by fear to move forward. Your baby can sleep through the night; they are capable of falling asleep on their own and in their own beds. Sometimes introducing this change takes a little work and sometimes it takes a monumental effort on the part of the parent. I can assure you that if you stay committed through any process of change, you will eventually reap the rewards.

I conclude by encouraging all of us (especially me) to move out of our comfort zones, take risks, be active and most importantly believe in yourself and your child.