It’s not very often moms get to sneak away for a girls trip to the beach. It turns out we didn’t pick the greatest weekend to do so, but we wouldn’t realize that until after we arrived. So I gave hugs goodbye and left for a girls weekend away with three main instructions for my husband when it came to our son:
- Make sure he eats some veggies.
- Put him to bed at a reasonable time.
- No peeing outside.
The third one sounds a little odd, but we’d been casually teaching our son about using the toilet and he was about to move up to the potty training class at daycare. Early on he would go outside with daddy. It was cute and much less messy than what usually resulted in the bathroom. But the last thing I wanted was him dropping his pants on the playground when he had to go, now that there would be a focus on potty training at daycare. Commitment to using the toilet only was a must.
With that the girls and I set out on a relaxing weekend away that was long overdue. Finally arriving at the beach and checking in back home, we realized this might not be as restful as we’d thought. Back in Baton Rouge the rain storm that had been lingering wasn’t going anywhere and waters were quickly rising. It seemed like our homes were safe, but many we knew were not. And there was little we could do from 250 miles away.
We remained glued to our phones for updates as family and friends retreated to safe places and waited inside, hoping for the best. Along with regular updates on the floodwaters, I began receiving texts about the indoor potty training results.
3-0 Three successes, zero accidents.
8-0. He began telling Daddy when he had to go, not just when he was asked.
15-0. He was running to the toilet on his own.
30-0. Thirty successes! Zero accidents!
I had researched a bit about successfully potty training in three days, but had not found the time to commit. Our weekends were usually filled with activities and running around town. Finding the time for three days at home without plans, focused intently on my child’s bathroom usage seemed nearly impossible. And since he wasn’t in a class that focused on potty training at daycare, it hadn’t been a huge priority. But as thunderstorms hovered above Baton Rouge everyone stayed inside to wait out the rains, leaving plenty of time on their hands. That idle time happened to be exactly what our little man needed for the potty training concept to stick.
It was obvious that Daddy and son were beaming with pride at the milestone. So while we followed news on the tragedy at home, a bit of positive light shined through the storm. It was an incredibly long trek home due to closed interstates and fear of what we’d return home to. I was lucky to arrive home to a little boy that was officially ready to wear those big boy undies when daycare reopened thanks to Daddy’s commitment.
