Why am I terrified of potty training

[EdwardorEricCantDecide]

My DS is now 2.8 I attempted potty training 4 months ago but was pregnant at the time and didn't have the energy (poor excuse I know)
DS shows all the signs that he's ready for potty training, we have plenty of pants and have 2 pottys an toddler seats on both toilets so everything is already in place.

I find myself every week saying I'll start on Monday morning then Monday morning comes and I either forget completely or feel too tired to commit to it.

How/where do I start?
Will it be as bad as I'm now imagining?

Ps I feel I need to have it sorted by march as I'll then need to start weaning dd and only want one "parenting hell" at a time.

Bump

It is normal to feel a bit nervous abot it. But take the plunge as it will be one nappy less to change

I was dreading it with DD1 she was2.8-2.9. But I managed to train her in one weekend. Clear your diary for a few days so you don't have to go anywhere and leave him in just his pants/top. I also rewarded bribed DD with an M&M whenever she used the potty. She soon got the message! Good luck!!

Frankly, I don't blame you. Potty training my older two was hell - quite literally, shit. No 3 will be in nappies until she's about 3 1/2 whether she likes it or not!

Of course, you may be lucky, and have a dc who gets it in two days and never has another accident. Apparently these children do exist.

How enthusasic is your DS about the idea of wearing pants and potty training? It is pointless attempting potty training if your child is not up for the idea or at least is bribable with smarties. Will your ds sit on the potty. I think the best thing to do is to concentrate on getting your ds to sit on the potty. Don't stress if he produces nothing. Make it a nice time, by reading him a story.

You could even get a second potty for the baby so that they are both sitting and listenng to the story. However I am not seriously suggesting you train the baby. That would require miricles. However children do respond to the herd affect. If you praise your baby for randomly peeing then the two year who does have proper muscle control will want to "copy". Most babies wee involuntarily after naps and meals.

How house proud are you? I used Brightbots training pants with dd and they were great. Although DD clothes still got messed the trainer pants soaked up 90% of the urine and between the pants and clothes no wee got on the carpet.

Weaning your dd needn't be hell, but that is another thread.

it is normal to be nervous. you just need to take the plunge...
we did a sort of cold turkey approach with ds, bought one last pack of nappies and told him that there are no more nappies after that. and we took him shopping for undies.
if he really is ready, he will be dry really quickly. it took us a couple of days, I couldn't believe how fast it was.

If he's ready, then it should take less than a week for him to be dry 95% of the time (which is still 95% less nappies & a spare pair of pants & trousers takes up a lot less space in an out & about bag than do numerous nappies).

We used chocolate buttons to bribe DD1 & once she realised that every wees or poop got her chocs at any time of the day or night, she was determined to get it. It took her 4 days & suddenly she was there.

Stay at home for a few days so you're not worrying about social embarassment & he knows where the potties / loos are. Get a potette for out & about and a Piddle Pad or similar to protect the car seat - so you're not tempted to put him back into nappies for car journies. We also had a few teatowels in our buggy for clearing up any accidents in shops, etc.

Do make a hit / nearly / miss chart though - more for you than for him as it's very easy to get disheartened over the first few days & not be able to see they are actually making progress. The clearing up tends to loom more in the mind than the wees in the potty.

Also try to remember he's trying to learn quite a technical thing so it will take him a few days to get it. Could you learn to roller skate or ride a bike in any less time? Remember it's a skill.

Good luck & if you're not getting anywhere by the end week, don't worry. Go back to pants & try again next time he (& you) are interested - perhaps when it's warmer :) (We have our potties out for DD2 to try out but am not going to go for it until the weather warm enough to play in the garden & not have to wear tights).

Sorry everyone not been online all day.
Dd is still only 3 months and still spends most of the day sleeping so can't really put her on potty, what about a doll (that pees obv)??

He seems ready (actually I think he was ready ages ago but worried I've now left it too late) about 6 months ago he started telling me when he'd done a poo. And he knows when he's about to do a pee as while he's in the bath he can hold it till he stands up so he can watch it come out
He does already wear pants but over his nappy (this was probably a mistake too)
I suggested to him that he can start doing pees and pos on toilet like mummy and daddy (and cpl of older dc of friends) he said no that's silly so is he not ready?
When I tried last time he didn't have a full accident but had several tiny dribbles which really upset him, he started crying and was pulling t shirt down to hide it, I stopped because I didnt think e was emotionally ready and didn't want to upset/frighten him.

Sorry for huge post just trying to answer all questions and give as much info as I can.

Interested in this too! No.1 was horrible to potty train (even had me in tears as I would sit him on the potty for ages and nothing but the second he got off he would pee!). Can't face trying with No 2 but he is nearly 2.5 and so ready. Just me that's not!! Anyone know someone who will do it for me??

because it's messy and frustrating.

You can lead a child to the potty but you cannot make him pee. You will save yourself a lot of frustration, washing of clothes and cleaning of carpets if you wait until he is ready. I offered my DS and DD the choice of nappies or pants at monthly intervals until they chose pants. They were both 3 when they chose pants and only had one accident each and that was it. Don't give yourself an artificial deadline for doing it - when he's ready it will be incredibly easy!

I waited until DS was 3 and wanted to. No training necessary!