T minus two weeks

Matt and I have decided to take a strategy known as "cold turkey" on the toilet training. As you might guess, it goes like this: once you are pretty convinced that your child is ready to go to full-time underpants, you just stop using diapers one day and never look back. No matter what.

Given Cooper's unbelievable bladder control (which he displays by peeing 10 to 15 times per session, in order to carefully harvest the greatest number of jellybeans from the jar), I'm pretty dang sure he's ready. And he's shown a pretty consistent pattern with toilet training- when we change the routine somehow, he's excited by the novelty at first and uses his potty many many times a day, and then within a few days he goes back to diapers full time. So I think he'll probably resist the full time undies for a few days, then get used to it for a few days, and then it will be normal.

Of course, as a friend pointed out, you can't really go anywhere during the initial shock-and-awe phase of this, because you are guaranteed to have an accident. That's fine with me, though. That's why there are two parents. And also, this doesn't apply to overnight diapers. No need to make the kid sleep in his own pee.

Starting on the afternoon of the 27th of May, we're doing it. Wish us luck.

Oh, and also, did you know you cannot get little boy underpants from our Target that don't have some kind of registered cartoon character on them? Nope. You have to choose from this selection; Elmo, Diego, Toy Story, Cars, Thomas the Train, or Mickey Mouse. I wouldn't really care except that Cooper doesn't know any of those cartoons, so they don't really appeal to him. Why no just plain cute pictures of bikes or dogs? Sheeeesh. I guess I'll be going back to gymboree's awesome selection of overpriced little boy underpants covered in various cool animals- like alligators! Yeah!