Potty Pause and Peer Pressure

Potty learning was going well. Then it wasn't. That was this summer. We were going diaper-free every day and Finn was using the potty and it looked like big boy underwear would soon be the default.

Nope.

The potty suddenly became completely non-interesting. This was evidenced by the all too familiar sound of Finn's urine stream hitting the floor and M. and I looking over to see him staring down at a puddle with some apparent sort of wonder. Like he'd never seen pee on the floor before. After a week or so of using up all our back-up prefolds to soak urine off the floor we were done. Back to diapers. It would happen when Finn was ready. It became the subject that we did not talk about. We were officially on a potty pause.

Enter peer pressure in the form of a three and a half year old named Greta and her almost two year old sister Morgan. Both are potty trained. Both looked at Finn like he had descended from outer-space the day we changed his diaper in front of them during our play group. It went a little like this:

Greta: "What is that?"

Me: "It's a diaper."

Greta: "Why does he wear that? Why doesn't he go to the potty?"

Me: "You'd have to ask Finn."

And this is why last night Finn refused to wear a diaper and M. had to layer FIVE pairs of trainers on him for overnight and we have a sudden resurgence in potty interest. Peer pressure exists even at two and a half.

Are we un-paused. I don't know. My child just pee'd all over the carpet. But this time he went and got a diaper to clean it up himself instead of just staring at it. Baby steps, I guess. I just suspect that Finn potty training is not going to be the quick process we once thought it might be.