Potty Obsession

A few weeks ago Jake got interested in the potty. I was actually encouraged by this. I thought it could be a sign that he might potty train early (oh how easily we slip back into our old ways). So I enabled it. I started changing his diapers by the potty, letting him pretend to pee in the potty, flush the potty, etc. This mild interest has now turned into an all out obesession.

When I can't find Jake, he is usually doing the one thing I hope he is not doing. These days when I don't know where Jake is, I can't see him or hear him, I usually find him in the bathroom by the potty. He's flushing the toilet over and over again, making his pretend pee sound, tearing off tiny bits of toilet paper until there is nothing left on the roll and throwing it into the potty and flushing some more. Recently I found him brandishing some of his toys over the open potty - a block, a rock, pretty much whatever is nearby. This is when I decided it was time to get the toilet locks.

I couldn't get to Babies R Us to get the locks right away so as a stop gap I put a baby gate on the first floor bathroom. It only works part of the time because Avery never closes it after using the potty and Jake always goes right in there after Avery uses the potty. One day last week I was making lunch and I heard a loud banging in the hallway, I ran out to see what was going on and Jake was trying to crash his car wagon through the gate to get to the potty.

We went to the store on Friday to get the locks. $60 later, screwdriver in hand I set about installing these babies. I had to get a couple of different ones to make sure that Avery could easily open it, so we tested a few and then disassembled the toilet seat. Not too hard. All the while, Jake was standing outside of the bathroom hanging on the gate watching us like his was in his own personal prison. Afterwards we let him in and we has devastated that he could not pry the seat up. He put on an all out temper tantrum on the tiny bathroom floor, it was classic. You would think I took his blankie or binky away for the rest of his life. He just looked at me like, "how could you do this to me?" Since then he has taken to having fits on the floors of public bathrooms, complete with laying his cheek on the floor (or trying to before I scoop him up into my lap while I am trying to pee). Its disgusting really.

I left the gate up on the first floor bathroom. Since becoming a mom my biggest issue is not ever having an privacy during the day, not even being able to go to the bathroom by myself. Somehow this doesn't apply to Kevin, even when it is a daddy day. I finally found a way. By closing the gate and the bathroom door, they can't get in. This doesn't stop them from yelling at me through the door or throwing their toys through the gate at the door, but at least its something.