Bunnies and caterpillars

June 2003

Dear Maya,

It’s been a couple of weeks of serious potty training. You’ve only been wearing diapers at night and during the rest time at Lynnie’s.  As soon as you feel a pee or poop coming, we drop everything and make a mad dash for the nearest bowl.  You’ve been doing GREAT!  Some funny incidents have happened during this process.

For one, I’ve suggested, “hold it in until we get to the potty.” So you’d put your hand on your vagina to hold your pee.  I told you that instead of using your hand to hold it in, “you could use the muscles in your vagina and squeeze your pee in until we get to the potty.”  You then stood still and scrunched up all of the muscles in your sweet little face; squeezing your facial muscles.  It was too sweet!

Another time, after you peed, you were shaking your vagina. I guess you’re familiar with seeing Adin shake his penis after a pee.  (I then explained to you that peeing is different for boys and girls…girls don’t need to shake their vaginas.)

You continue to check out your poop each time and relate to it in some way or another. “It’s a bunny rabbit; it’s a caterpillar!”

I had to teach you how to pee outside, as you’d see daddy and Adin doing so. You now know to spread your legs a squat a bit.

As I mentioned before, you are doing great.

Ana with Maya