We went to the circus on Sunday and I just remembered a funny little conversation. Luke is full of funny anecdotes - I just need to get better about posting them (or anything these days!).
So, as I mentioned, we are potty training the little guy and he's doing SO WELL!!! The first day that he wore big boy undies to school (this past Tuesday) he had ZERO accidents!! It was such a proud moment! Since then, he has continued to do fabulously - a few accidents here and there - but I've been shocked at how quickly he's picked it up! Really, it's just whenever he has to go #2 that he gets a little thrown off... but we are working on it.
Since we were attending the circus (unfamiliar territory... a long outing... he had only been wearing big boy undies less than a week...) we decided that it would probably be a good idea to put a pull-up on Luke rather than risking the undies.
We stopped at the store on the way to the circus to grab a pack of Toy Story Pull-Ups and decided to just change him in the parking lot once we reached the Bridgestone Arena.
Upon arrival, I climbed into the backseat and got Luke out of his carseat. Andie proceeded to have a conversation with a bum on the street (random), while Luke and I conversed in the car.
Luke: "I wanna go to the circus and see the big elphants" (yes, in Luke's vocabulary, it is elphants - or maybe L-phants - but definitely not elEphants)
me: "we are going, buddy, we just need to put on a Pull-Up first.
Luke: "were'd Thomas go?" (referring to his Thomas the Train undies... his FAV!)
me: "we are gonna leave Thomas here in the car. Check out these Pull-Ups though... they've got Buzz and Woody on them!"
Luke: "Mommy, I wanna poop on Woody! I like pooping on Woody"
I was dying laughing. Oh, the things that toddlers say!
So, during this past week, I've really started to realize how potty training a toddler brings about a whole new host of bathroom issues when out in public. Having a kid in diapers is so easy!! He can basically pee or poo whenever he wants, then all I have to do it carry him into the bathroom, plop him on the changing table, change the diaper, and walk out. EASY!!
Now there are sooooo many other things to consider!
1 - Bathroom location
When you are changing a diaper, it is totally fine to leisurely stroll around until you stumble upon the nearest bathroom. When you have a 2.5 year old, you need to KNOW where the potty is because they have to go NOW!
We were in Best Buy this past weekend and after being there for about 10 minutes, I saw Luke kinda slow down and take a couple of funny steps, so I immediately asked him if he needed to use the potty. My question was met with a quick "no!" (hindsight, I should have scooped him up and made him at least try). I thought, ah, no problem - I didn't even know where the bathrooms were located anyway. Plus he said "no", so it's all good!
About 5 minutes later, as we were all walking toward the front of the store, I saw a huge sign that said "restrooms". I turn toward Luke, ask him if he wants to pee before we leave, and he slowly nods his head "yes" while taking a wide stance as his pants start to darken from the pee saturating the fabric.
NOOOOOOO!! Rookie mistake.
2 - Why must they touch everything in the stall?!??
Public bathrooms are sooooo gross, so why does Luke think that he needs to touch it all? He wants to immediately flush the potty, then pull up the lid, then roll down the toilet paper...
It all happens so fast - I'm trying to tell him "no", isolate him so that he can't touch anything else, all while digging in my purse for hand sanitizer and wipes!
3 - Positioning
I'm talking about positioning the kid on the potty.
So, at home, I have a lovely little stool that stays in front of the potty. Luke climbs up on said stool, performs his business, all is well.
In a public bathroom, there is no little stool for my convenience. I don't know if this is the preferred method, but I just got Luke to stand on seat while I held him up. He was hesitant at first, but it worked.
Sitting on the potty is another nightmare in itself! Luke said he had to go poo poo while we were out getting pizza (after the circus). My mind was racing as I was trying to figure out the best way to handle this situation. I quickly wiped down the seat and layed down some tp. Luke just looked over at me and shook his head saying that he didn't have to go anymore.
C'mon man, let's give this a try!
I hoisted Luke onto the front edge of the giant potty (again, at home I have a convenient little toddler seat that sits right on top of the big potty) and he's terrified. He's leaning forward - completely uncomfortable - and gripping me with all of his might while insisting "all done, all done, all done... I wanna get DOWN!"
Poor guy!
How do most people handle this?!?
I think when I was pregnant with Luke, I got a portable potty seat that folds up... I need to locate that thing STAT!
