To Potty Train or Not?

A family member of mine has told me on numerous occasions to not waste my time even attempting to potty-train Trent until he was closer to three or older. If I'm not mistaken, I think that she didn't potty train her kid until well past three, but I could be wrong. Based on this advice, I never seriously thought about potty training Trent until recently.

After posting on Facebook about how Trent likes to poo in the pantry, all the while pushing me out and telling me to go away, several friends said that it sounds like he is ready to potty train. He usually tells me when he has to go to the bathroom and he has even gone on the big toilet twice now. A friend recommended that I get him some big boy underwear and start the process because all four of her kids were potty trained by two.

So, I went to Target the other day and bought a big pack of Elmo and Mickey Mouse underwear. When we got home, I put a pair on Trent to make sure that they fit before I washed them. Thankfully, they did fit perfectly. When I went to take them off of him, he threw a complete and utter temper tantrum. He loved them! He kept staring at them and saying "Daddy," obviously making the connection that he was wearing underwear like his dad does. Not wanting to fight him on it and it being so close to bath time anyway, I let him run around in his new underwear and he was a happy little camper. Fearing that he would poo in his new underwear, I put him on the toilet every 10-15 minutes and try to get him to go to the bathroom. He would push and push very dramatically but he never went...not even a tiny dribble.

I began to cook dinner and became distracted by Mark walking in the door after work. As I was greeting him and trying to feed the dogs, Trent disappeared! Mark walked inside and asked where Trent was. I ran around the house and we found him in his room, standing in front of the world's largest puddle. His underwear were damp but not soaked through, so he obviously knew that he had to pull them down to pee and then pull them up when he was finished with his business.

Now, I am trying to decide if I really am going to try to potty train him soon. I can't help but think that it would be so nice to not have to change two dirty diapers at the same time but I just don't know if he's ready. To top it off, I don't even know where to begin. I have no clue how to go about potty training! I suppose I should Google it or something!

Decisions...decisions!