I was back and forth on what to do about getting on a plane with a toddler who was having 3 gallon accidents. In the end, she got on the plane Friday with diapers. And, she was happy about it. And, God, so was I.
The Wednesday and Thursday before the flight, I was obsessing and analyzing in my own patented way … calling everyone I knew who had potty trained someone … looking and begging for advice. My gut told me that she just wasn’t ready but my heart wanted to give her the chance to succeed. Plus, I wasn’t looking forward to the conversation about how the undies had to go away for a while.
She was putting 100% of her poo in the potty, but the pee accidents were getting more and more frequent. She loved the fun part of potty training, real underwear, but hated the more mundane part, putting urine in the potty instead of continuing to play with toys. How boring.
The drop of pee that broke the camel’s back happened when I was outside on the phone having one of the above mentioned conversations. She peed on the sidewalk, watched it stream down her leg into a puddle and then got creative. She discovered she could make butt prints on the sidewalk by continually plopping her wet bum down.
So, after nap that day, I told her that it was okay if she needed to take a break from potty training. That she could wear diapers and still go to the potty if she wanted. It was okay to wear diapers and that the undies weren’t going away forever. That she could still get her potty rewards (like playing with her Tinkerbelle beauty salon set for 15 minutes every time she poops in the potty) and that undies are still in the drawer when she is ready for them.
And, what happened? She was a little bummed that she wouldn’t be putting on undies everyday but got over that in 3 seconds. She was dry for both plane rides. She asked to go to the potty before and after the flights and continues to put 100% of her poop and 75% of her pee in the potty.
She’s on the verge of making it happen but just needs a little more space and time to remember to ask to go pee. I know one day she is just going to wake up and tell me she’s done with diapers. In the meantime, I can put away the Martha Stewart carpet cleaner and drink my coffee in peace.
stinkerbean 
