Potty Training

(Olen’s notes in bold italics)

First of all, we’d like to thank all but three of you for your encouraging words and prayers while Zane was crucially sick from his rapid onset of malaria.  It is very frightful to consider that in five hours, less than the length of one night’s sleep, he went from healthy to seizing.  And while on prophylaxis too.  We are very thankful that he has made a full recovery.  We certainly do not take his healing for granted or make light of how sick he was and could be again.  But he is now done with 2 days of IV quinine and 5 days of oral quinine.  And back to his normal self.  

Except for one thing.  

He is constantly saying pee-pee and ca-ca now.  And actually doing the pee-peeing and ca-caing deed in the proper holes, not in his pants (or on the rug, on the couch, in his high chair, on his plate, on the dog, etc)!  He has not had a wet or poopy diaper since his third day of treatment (except when he’s sleeping, but we don’t count that).  The connection in his brain has finally been made!  

So we’re going to write a book called, “How to potty train your almost 2 year old; a non-homeopathic method.”  Guaranteed best-seller.  New York Times, here we come.  

No, we don’t recommend Malaria.  We’d rather change ten more years of poopy diapers than watch our son seize again.  

But after Zane recovered, the continued IV fluids made him need to go pee-pee more often and with more passion and urgency than an excited Cocker Spaniel with a urinary tract infection watching his master come home after a prolonged absence.  And… with the extra practice of spraying out the crack between the toilet bowl and the toilet seat, thereby soaking whichever parent happened to be standing in front of him, he somehow got the hang of it to go to the toilet.  

And voila!  Now he’s going both pee-pee and ca-ca on (or occasionally beside, behind, in front of, over the top of, on the wall next to, in the general vicinity of, with the accuracy of a melted Chinese sprinkler) the toilet every time he needs to go.  

So, our recommendation:  Hook your kid up to IV fluids when you’re ready to chase after the little guy/gal and get up every five seconds to bring the human geyser child to the toilet whenever they ask.  

Either that or lots and lots of juice mixed up with a little Lasix.  Kidding.  

As a side note:  Olen also has malaria.  Just started the meds tonight.  FYI:  This has nothing to do with potty training. He’s already mostly trained.