Potty Adventures

I consider Ryan potty trained. It has been a very long time since he's worn a diaper now. We can even put him to bed in underwear if we want, but sometimes I try to sneak a pull up on him just in case and because we have a spare box of them. We do not think twice before putting him down for a nap in his underwear. Now that he's potty trained, our trips out have sometimes left me in awkward situations.

A few weeks ago I went to a play date at a friend's house. This was our first play date outside our house since potty training. I put Ryan in a pull up before heading over because I wasn't sure how he'd do while playing with friends. During the play time he told me he had to go potty. I brought him downstairs and placed him on the toilet. He immediately began to freak out. He was terrified that he'd fall into the toilet. He jumped off the toilet as fast as he could. I tried again this time making sure to hold him tight and let him know I wouldn't let him fall. He continued to melt down and asked to leave the room. I agreed, and we went back up to play. Shortly after that he repeated that he had to go potty again. I brought him back down thinking maybe things would be different this time. As soon as we got into the bathroom, he wanted to turn around and head back out. I was getting frustrated and desperate at this point. I didn't want him to regress. I decided that maybe he would go if he could sit on my lap. I stripped my pants off and sat him on my lap. Thankfully he wouldn't go because in hindsight that could have been a very bad plan. At that point I gave up and figured he would just have to go in the pull up. As soon as we arrived home I brought him to the potty. He was DRY! I couldn't believe that he held it that whole time despite feeling like he had to go. I was very proud of him. After that I began my search for a travel potty seat to place on regular toilets when we are out.

The other day when we went to Nashville Pat and I had strategically planned out when we would take a potty break with Ryan. We had the new travel potty seat to try out. We decided to bring him at the mall during my Sephora visit. Unfortunately Pat and I completely forgot to take him to the potty. We had been in the car about 5 minutes on the way home when Ryan said he had to go. We immediately set the GPS to find a McDonald's. It was 1.6 miles away. I thought we'd be just fine until I realized that there was a lot of traffic and plenty of red traffic lights in our way. I was starting to panic and get upset that we were messing with all the progress I had made training him. I was so mad at myself and Pat for forgetting to take him earlier. Poor Ryan kept telling us he had to go and I kept saying "one minute hunny". Finally as we approached the McD's we got caught at another red light. Pat pulled into an adjacent parking lot hoping to make it into the McD's, but there was a barrier. I pulled Ryan out of the car and carried him across the parking lots and right into the McD's bathroom. It was a very small restroom with only two stalls and one was occupied. I set up the travel seat and stripped Ryan's clothes down. I placed him on the seat, and he was instantly scared again. He jumped down and didn't seem to want to get back up. I adjusted the seat so it was better placed and put him back up. Just my luck that the toilet was a sensor self flushing one that started to flush just as I put Ryan back on. It was one of those really loud and powerful toilets, and I swear Ryan thought it was going to swallow him. I held him tight and reassured him it would be okay. Finally he started to pee, and I think the fact that he was desperate to pee was my saving grace. Getting his clothes back on was kind of a production. I was a little bit embarrassed to see a line of people waiting for the stall as we opened the door. One women commented, "it's the special little moments..." as we were leaving the bathroom. I can say I never thought my knees would touch the floor of a public restroom until I potty trained my 2 year old.

Our potty escapades have now branched out to Sam's Club too. Thankfully each potty trip seems to be getting slightly easier than the previous one, but it is still a comical adventure.