He Was Ready for the Potty. I Wasn’t.

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It was happening.
The thing I dreaded the MOST.
The reason I had dragged my feet potty training my second child.

Here we were, all four of us, crammed in a public restroom, one on the toilet, one trying to escape out the door, and the baby crying in his carrier on the floor.

This was the nightmare I was trying to avoid.

He Was Ready for the Potty. I Was Not. Potty Training Number Two. RGV Moms Blog
We were a couple of weeks into potty training, and this was the first time out in public for an extended period of time without a second adult, aka my hubby. We had gone through this before back in the day when my third was still in utero, and this definitely had a new dynamic.
Let me back up for a moment to say that potty training has been going really smoothly with my second child. He has been peeing in toilets since last summer, months before turning 2. On his own he would occasionally pop over to his brother’s training toilet, pop off his diaper, and pee right in the pot.
MY potty training fears:
With a newborn in the house, I had been the one delaying potty training for several reasons of my own.
I didn’t want to be nursing the baby and wiping the toddler’s butt at the same time.
I worried about him having accidents around the house and the baby finding them before I would.
I dreaded being out in public with all three kids and having him request the potty, not be able to wait, and end up like we did today, dodging germs all the while.
I held off as long as possible, but now it was time.
The tipping point for me was when my middle was removing his diaper and replacing his pants without us knowing. I’d be tucking him into bed at night and realize there was nothing under his pajama pants. He was ready.
The bright side of potty training number two:
1.  He knew what was coming, having seen his brother go through it. Sticker chart, underwear, hardly an explanation needed.
2. He was certainly more ready that I was, and it’s working itself out.
3. He’s skipped right over the little training toilet and jumped right in to the big toilet and standing to pee.
4. We’re down to one in diapers! Hooray!
5. He was SO ready for underwear and had already been pulling his brother’s on over his diaper for some time. Motivated? Yes.
6. Did I mention we don’t need to buy diapers for two? Hooray!
In retrospect, I should have pushed the transition earlier, and most of my fears were unwarranted. Unless you count the public bathroom experience.
Whether you’re potty training your first, second, or last child, there comes a point where you have to just JUMP RIGHT IN and commit. I support the idea that when they’re ready, it’ll happen, with support from mom and dad.
Share any fun potty training moment or tips in the comments below!

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