Potty Training Malfunction

I've been meaning to talk about Tory's fall from the potty training wagon. Last fall, things were going so well on that front and I was proud of my girl for breezing through such a big milestone easily. Tory was hardly having any accidents and could even travel long distances in the car without issue. I wasn't a big fan of potty training her before Aden was born but since she was the one who seemed interested and it all clicked into place, I went with it and the transition was a smooth one. (Well, as smooth as it can be for a hugely pregnant lady to squat down and help a little girl with her business).

Aden was born in November and almost immediately, Tory lost interest in using the toilet. The first week home from the hospital was one potty accident after another. My parents were staying with us for a week to help with the kids and Andi was on paternity leave; yet, despite having all those adults around to help Tory use the bathroom she wet her pants repeatedly. No amount of bribery worked. Clearly, Tory had no interest as she'd wet her underwear mere seconds after being changed. It was okay while my parents were here doing laundry but after they left, I was seriously having a hard time managing the household, a new baby and keeping enough pants and underwear clean for Tory to wear  on a daily basis (and the girl has a boatload of clothes).

Andi and I had a few conversations about what we were going to do about it. Andi bought some Pull-Ups for Tory and we went back and forth about whether to put her in them full-time. Finally around Christmastime, in a moment of frustration, I decided we were done. Here I was tired, hormonal and literally forcing Tory's legs down onto the toilet while she fought me tooth and nail to use the bathroom. She was crying and I was yelling. I thought to myself, "Man, this isn't worth the trouble." I put Tory in diapers and never looked back.

Can I be honest for a minute? It's glorious having Tory back in diapers. There, I said it! It was a pain in the a%* asking Tory if she had to use the toilet every hour. It was an even bigger pain having to wash soiled clothing every single day. Don't even get me started on having to use grimy public bathrooms and the fact that my child smelled like urine 24/7. Tory in diapers is one less thing I have to worry about right now and that's fine by me. 

Now two months later, Tory is still in diapers. The kicker of it all is she knows how to use the toilet, but specifically chooses not to do so. Just today, Tory told me she had to go to the bathroom, crawled up on the toilet and went and then asked for a diaper afterwards. I let her do just that. There's something to the pediatrician's words of wisdom regarding potty training regression when a new baby joins the family. It happens. The parent educator at Tory's preschool said "potty training is a intimate act between a parent and child and the child has to be mentally ready to relinquish this act from their daily lives." In hindsight, I couldn't agree more. I think Tory is craving that one-on-one parent connection right now.

So, two kids in diapers. Big whoop! It's just money, right? Ha. I'm in no rush to embark on the potty training band wagon anytime soon. Tory will have to be potty trained for preschool at Age 3, so maybe we'll restart late summer when we're down to the deadline. In the meantime, I am the worst advocate of potty training right now so a word of caution: don't ask me for potty training advice or I'll kindly tell you to ride the diaper train as long as your kid lets you ... especially that is, if a new baby is on the way.