Oh Crap! Potty Training

let us go. In reality they need precious little. But it does need to be
good, solid time. Oh crap, here we go with the infamous ’90s and
“quality time over quantity,” but it’s true. When I sit and play a game
of Uno—and I mean sit and play Uno, no checking phones or emails
or anything else—Pascal’s attention tank gets full. Presto magic, all
the wonky behavior disappears and he’s off playing by himself again.
I’m always amazed. So don’t carve out some faux time because that’s
what you’ve read about. Play something solid and fill up your
toddler’s tank. It will make it that much more understandable to him
when you have to sit and nurse the baby.
While regressions may happen, it’s not a given that they will. I’ve
found that when you expect something to happen, it usually does.
Don’t let a fear of regression stop you from potty training your older
child now, if you’re currently expecting number two. To delay potty
training is not going to be useful. A skill that has been learned and
dropped is easy to pick up again. It will be a lot easier to regroup and
get back on track should your toddler experience a regression than it
would be to start from the beginning. It’s like working out. Once you
get in shape and get into a workout routine, even when you fall off
the wagon for a while, it’s always easier the next time around. You
know what it takes, and your muscles remember. It’s better to potty
train your child before another child is born. He’ll get back on track
much quicker than if you were starting from scratch.
Another point I want to make is that I have never personally seen
a huge regression. Most kids have a few accidents here and there, but
it’s tough to gauge if that’s from acting out or simply that the parents’
attention is focused on the baby and not on prompting.
Yet another thing really worth mentioning: if you are pregnant