All Aboard the Potty Train!

I came to an unbelievable realization over the weekend. I have no changed a poopy diaper in a week. And that, folks, is the longest I've gone in FIVE years without changing a dirty diaper. It seems that somehow, without a lot of effort on our parts and certainly without doing a whole lot of thinking or planning, we've potty-trained Sadie. She has been in undies for a week now. Sure, we've had a scattering of accidents. But I'd say three or four accidents over the course of a week isn't that unusual for a new potty-trainer. She's worn undies out in public with no incident (though I've been keeping a change of clothes in my purse just in case). And she's even telling us (most of the time) when she needs to use the potty, as opposed to us having to hound her every 15 minutes. Strangely enough, Ella has been a huge ally in the quest to a diaper-free household. The sisters are peeing together (Ella on the big potty and Sadie on the little potty, though they've reversed that order a few times--much to my dismay). And you know what they say: The sisters that pee together stay together.

The whole thing has been way too easy, so I'm not ready to declare victory just yet. Ella was partially potty-trained for a year before finally getting the rest of her act together (I'll spare you the details). She was almost four by the time everything was all sorted out. Sadie is not yet three. Plus, well, I didn't do much in the way of potty-training Ella. Daycare worked with her on it, and then our fabulous former nanny L (we miss you!) got Ella the rest of the way there. But Sadie--I did that all on my own (which would be pretty noteworthy if I had done anything besides dumping her in undies and waiting to see what would happen!).

I suppose it's possible that we're just going to luck out in the potty department this time around. Regardless, I'm starting to have visions of a diaper-free future. It has been so long, I can barely believe this might actually be a reality sometime soon. As much as I sort of miss having an honest-to-goodness baby in the house, I think I can get on board with the no bottles, no diapers, no high chairs, no cribs way of life.

(Editor's Note: To give credit where credit is due, I should note that it is Ella who coined the expression "the Potty Train" (used as a noun, not a verb) back when she was potty-training at daycare. To this day, I'm still not sure whether Ella thought there was an actual "train" involved.)