Finally potty trained. . .

Almost a year ago we successfully pee trained our toddler. It took one time of having to hold him on his little potty chair, but since then he's matured to the point of being able to take care of it all himself. He'll stop playing or pause the TiVO, run into the bathroom, and come out just like he went in. It's a nice thing to not have to deal with that end of diaper changing anymore. . .

But then there is pooping. He refused to even try. We tried everything: bribing, taking away toys, rewards, punishments. Nothing was working. We recently convinced him to sit on the toilet with a pull-up on and that was a little better and we felt a large step in the right direction, but still he refused without a pull-up.

Then two weekends ago I tried something I had read about online and thought would never work. . . I cut a hole in his pull-up. He didn't notice while he was going. After he finished I went in to help him clean up and talk to him.

"Buddy, I have to tell you something."

"What, daddy?"

"I tricked you, I cut a hole in your pull-up."

He saw what had happened and agreed that it was great the clean-up no longer consisted of a whole diaper change, but still he thought he needed the pull-up. For two weeks he was pooping through a hole in a pull-up.

So yesterday I decided it was enough. I cut a bigger hole in his pull-up. One so big that it was less diaper and more belt. . . ok that gives it too much credit, it was a belt. And he knew it and suddenly realized that it was cool that he could poop and then pee without having to be changed out of a pull-up in between.

Today he was still trying to insist that he needed it but I told him it was silly and refused. . . and an hour later we were having a potty party at Chuck E Cheese's.

And just like that the last chain of babyhood was broken. Just in time for the next baby to arrive.