Should I Wait to Potty Train My 27 Month Old Until After Baby #2 Comes in April?

Updated on March 09, 2010
J.F. asks from Bloomington, IN
8 answers

I have gotten so much advice (a lot of it unsolicited) from all aged moms and I can't decide if I should start potty training now or wait until Baby #2 comes and is a couple of months old.

My daughter seems ready and I have everything I think I need to do it. My over all guess is that she will grasp it quickly and will have to wait to night train later, but she will need lots of assistance from my husband and me. I work only a few hours a week but will be on maternity leave for 3 months starting the middle of April.

I have been hesitating because I wanted to have a week where I didn't have very much going on and that is THIS week. But, we just flew out of state for a funeral and got home last night and my daughter and my husband are both sick with a bad cold. I'm sure I'm next. I am also 33 weeks pregnant and very BIG and tired a lot! :)

I have been told by most recent moms to wait because she will probably regress once the baby comes and will still need lots of help getting on/off the potty while I'm trying to breastfeed and recovering from a c-section...which could be very demanding and difficult. Also, if I wait until she is closer to 3 she will be able to day and night train all at once and be able to better communicate what she needs. (She is a great talker now.) I think if I do wait, it will be in the summer that I try, not in the fall near her birthday.

My MIL said that only the toddlers that are not given much attention after the baby arrives regress and that I will be fine to potty train her now. She also never breastfed and seems like she has never had kids before on a lot of other topics so I'm not sure I trust her perspective.

I am willing to do what I have to make my daughter independent, but I do struggle with what is the best time for her and me. I also should mention that she is short for her age and would not be able to use a regular toilet even with a step stool at this time. We have a child's potty chair that she can sit on but would probably have to take upstairs with us at night.

I hope I've given you all the information that you need to give me the best advice. Thank you!

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

I love MIL....they say the most interesting things! My daughter had been working on potty training for a while before I was pregnant. She was doing really well and was pretty much completely potty trained. However, about 2 months before my son was born (she was 27 mos) she started having random accidents. I continued to work with potty training just a little, but I pretty much put it off to the side. My son was born and I continued waiting a few months until things had settled down a little bit and were "somewhat normal". We picked it up again and she potty trained fine. So, I would do whatever you think is best. If you start now and she regresses when the baby comes then just stop for a while and pick it up later when you feel ready. If she doesn't regress then that's great. Good luck!

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E.M.

answers from Tampa on

J.,
This is a very hard subject because every child is different. I think I would do it gradually. Its almost impossible for an older child not to feel a little jealous about mommy holding a new baby. My son is 4 and my youngest is 3 months so I have experienced this. He has been potty trained since he was 3 and has had a little set back. He has started to wet the bed 1 or 2 times a week. Which he hasnt done for a while. Potty training is one of the hardest milstones in parenting in my opinion. I would for sure start now and just make it a gradual thing. I still used pull ups at night until HE was ready, meaning he would wake up dry for like 2 weeks straight. It took about 6 months. And I think if you make it fun for her, she might suprise you and take to it because its something all her own instead of the baby's. Does that make sense? So my advice, start gradually now and let her lead the way. It wil happen!! Congrats on your new baby and good luck!!!

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J.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

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A.S.

answers from Denver on

Picture this: You're one week into having a newborn, you're bleary eyed, tired and in some pain from the C-Section. You're feeding baby and your DD demands RIGHT NOW that you have to help her go pee. If you're OK with holding a newborn with one hand while feeding him and helping a toddler with the other hand who is learning how to use the potty, the go for it.

If you're OK with cleaning pee out of carpets while caring for a newborn, then go for it. It wasn't for me, that's for sure!

DD was 23 mo's when DS came along and I was ever so grateful for diapers. If I had to worry about accidents and other things with potty training while caring for DS I don't think I would have two kids today. That's me though, you might be stronger than I am :)

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E.M.

answers from Denver on

Ok, so this isn't advice. It's just what happened with us. My first was totally potty trained before baby #2 came. She was about 2 1/4. When baby #2 came (at this point she was exactly 2 1/2) she totally regressed and was back in diapers for 2 months. We hung a new princess dress in her closet and she wasn't allowed to wear it until she was re-potty trained. It's hard to give advice on this kind of stuff because what works for one kid doesn't always work for another.

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A.P.

answers from New York on

My boys were 21 & 23 months old when we added a new baby and each was interested in potty training. Both were pretty much trained before their younger sibling came along, and both stopped all interest in the potty for several weeks after the new addition. The first picked up the interest again and was totally potty trained 2 months later - he figured out that this was a good way to get my attention away from the new baby. My second just turned 3 and is still having some difficulties (uses it for attention as well).
Personally, I would wait until she shows interest again after the new baby comes. However, I hear girls are different and easier?
Good luck and congratulations!

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T.H.

answers from Kansas City on

This is tough...I think if she's ready go for it. If she doesn't seem ready, then wait until after the baby is here. My daughter was just 2 when my son was born and she just wasn't interested, even though I had plenty of "advice" and admonishments that I wasn't training her....or "breaking" her as some of my family members said! ;) Anyway...try not to stress about it because you have a lot going on and don't need the extra stress! My daughter is just about 2.5 and she still is hardly interested in the potty at all and I'm getting to the point where I'm really ready for her to use it! LOL! So, good luck and just follow her lead!

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C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

My daughter was 24 months when my son was born. She had been going on the potty for a few months (off an on but never steadily or at certain times). Once the baby arrived, she did not care to go to the potty AT ALL! That being said, she was and still is very much interested in her baby brother.

I stopped asking her to go potty or trying to get her to do it for a few months and she's now potty trained (almost fully). She just started asking to wear panties about a month ago (at 29 months).

If you already have a potty for her or she's showing signs of being ready to use the big potty, I'd suggest going ahead and letting her. But do not push - because there will probably be regression when the baby gets here. Make it very nonchalant - "Mommy's going potty - are you going to go?" If she does, great. If not, no big deal. Keep that up until the baby gets there...then (this is coming from my personal experience), I didn't have the motivation, time or energy to try and take her after having the baby (hubby works nights) becuase sometimes I was going to the bathroom while holding/nursing a baby!!

You say she's too short for a big potty - not sure height has anything to do with it because you can put her on the big one? Also, you can teach her how to put the stool up to the big potty and then have her turn around and sit down. My daughter doesn't use her stool/small potty - instead she climbs onto the potty by herself and swings her leg over the one side so she can sit down (did this all by herself - yes her foot did go into the toliet once!)

So bottom line, it's up to you (obviously!). But if she acts ready, go for it. Just don't be surprised if everything she's done in the next two months goes out the door with the new baby.

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