Nap vs. Potty

I have recently come to realize that it is probably better for both mom and child if child is potty-trained prior to giving up nap. My 3-year old son has recently given up his nap, yet despite being on month 8 of potty-training (no, you did not read that wrong -- I did type MONTH 8), we are still not at the finish line.

As recommended by fellow mommy friends, I have instituted a daily "quiet time" policy during which he is expected to stay in his room for at least an hour and play quietly. Yesterday he emerged from his room about 9 times, each time proclaiming that "quiet time" was over. He also completely destroyed his room, pulling his sheet and blanket off of the bed as well as ripping pages out of two books. Today we had a talk about the rules of "quiet time" since this is a relatively new concept to him.

Rule #1: Do not make a mess.
Rule #2: Do not come out of your room unless you have to go potty. (Unless you REALLY have to go -- not like yesterday when you said you had to go but just sat on the potty swinging your legs with victory at tricking Mom)

One thing I do have going for me is that he is a book worm and really will sit and read for an hour if he is in the mood. Today was one such day. He stayed in his room for one solid hour. He did not emerge once or put up much of a fight about going upstairs for "quiet time." I was very proud of him and felt quite refreshed after having a one hour kid break (conveniently "quiet time" ALWAYS occurs when his sister is napping). I also heard no banging or questionable noises, which led me to believe he had not made a huge mess. I was right (sort of).

As I entered his room, excited to relieve him of his obligatory quiet hour and compliment him on his success, I did notice his room was relatively neat. A crayon had been peeled of its wrapper, leaving tiny paper bits all over the floor, and a generous pile of about 12 books was created in the middle of the room, but for a 3-year old boy alone for an hour, I was pleased. Beaming with pride, I began to approach my little big boy, arms outstretched, ready for hugs and kisses...

"I peed and pooped in my underpants."