Newly PT and going potty every 10 minutes in public?

[daisymommy]

So, I'm thrilled, really. DS2 who is 3 has finally potty-trained for good I believe. I do want to celebrate that :yay:. He decided 2 weeks ago that he wanted to wear underwear, I casually said okay, not thinking I was ready to go through this again, and he only had one minor accident that first day, and the next three days after! Since then, he has been dry every day for 2 weeks.

When at home, he goes on the potty about once every 20-30 minutes. Which is still pretty often.

But out in public? Oh.My.Gosh.
We went shopping at Target yesterday, and in the course of one trip I had to take him to the bathroom 4 times! Each time he went just a little bit. I had to walk from the back of the store all the way up to the front, huffing and puffing to get there quickly with a baby strapped in the Ergo. I was quite irritated.
Today he had speech therapy. It's only a 30 minute session and he left the room twice to go potty. Argh.
Then on the way home--a 5 minute drive--he had to go again "really really bad!" his words. I had to pull over so he could pee in a diaper or risk wet pants. Sheesh.

I know this is fairly normal for newly PT kids, but my older two didn't do this. How do I teach him to fully empty his bladder in one sitting? It seems he is way too sensitive and every little tickel in his body and he thinks he must release it pronto.

Thanks for the advice.

[PunkyBoo]

I hate to say it but it sounds like a phase where the novelty of discovering he has control over having to go, as wellas testing you that you really will take him every time, combined with wanting to see if there are bathrooms everywhere you go and what might be different there. Boo did that a ton for the first month of so after PT. The novelty wears off. Just be diligent about making sure he goes before you leave the house (if he says he doesn't have to go then tell him everyone goes before you leave the house, and let himsee that YOU go before leaving) and show little response when you have to take him while out - so he doesn't try to just get a rise out of you. We also bought the potette to keep in the car - very handy. Good luck!

[rin]

I hate to say it but it sounds like a phase where the novelty of discovering he has control over having to go, as wellas testing you that you really will take him every time, combined with wanting to see if there are bathrooms everywhere you go and what might be different there. Boo did that a ton for the first month of so after PT. The novelty wears off. Just be diligent about making sure he goes before you leave the house (if he says he doesn't have to go then tell him everyone goes before you leave the house, and let himsee that YOU go before leaving) and show little response when you have to take him while out - so he doesn't try to just get a rise out of you.

:yeahthat:

DD was exactly like this. It took a while for the thrill to wear off, which meant trips to the grocery store were exhausting for a while, but she's pretty much done with recreational bathroom trips now.

[BabyBearsMom]

I think it is normal. DD1 is a total toilet tourist. I insist that she pee before we leave but other than that I don't think there is much you can do. I'm sure the mystique of the public bathroom wears off eventually.

[sweet_pea]

DD was like this when she daytime-trained around 25 months. But, she gradually did better at holding for longer periods/fully empty in one sitting and things got much better after a month or two. Still, at age 3.5, she will almost always ask to use the restrooms in stores just because it's novel (and our mall has a family restroom with a miniature toilet!). Good luck! Hopefully this phase will pass quickly for you!

[123LuckyMom]

In the beginning, I made DS sit to pee, and after he would go, I would have him wait a minute, still sitting, and then ask him to try to squeeze out more. If he did manage to do it, I would make a big, positive deal about it like he had done a really cool thing. If your DS is not doing it to get a rise out of you, the "extra squeeze" method might work. Sometimes DS will still come up to me and tell me he got out an extra squeeze. I still praise him for it. :)

[AngelaS]

My oldest did this too. I finally started saying, "we are going on a quick trip to the grocery store and you need to pee now and then wait until we get home to go." She could.

[daisymommy]

The only thing is he acts genuinely freaked out and scared of wetting his pants. Doing the potty dance and almost crying that he can't hold it.
I need to figure out how to have him unload it all at once. And how to hold it.
Thanks!


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