There are so many beautiful, magical moments of motherhood, but potty training isn't one of them. I'm just starting to potty train my toddler, and even though I've been lucky enough to have parents share their potty training tips and have used (or attempted to use) some shameless potty training tactics, I'm still, at this point, left questioning my sanity on a day-to-day basis. This is hard, you guys. In fact, it seems impossible and I'm fairly certain I am going to fail at potty training my kid and he'll end up packing a box of Huggies with him when he goes off to college.
As any parent who's been through it can attest, the stages of potty training are brutal. And no, not for the kid (trust me, they largely don't give a f*ck), but for the parents. Our emotions are so real. I'm pretty needy these days, constantly looking for validation from others to reassure me that just because my kid can't poop in the potty (and that he instead thinks that the kitchen floor is an appropriate bathroom facility), that I'm not a bad parent. Every parent needs to hear a few words of encouragement when they're potty training their kid, and I'm no exception.
But even when you have help and people are sharing tips and you're being told that, yes, it will get better and will eventually end, you'll still struggle to make it through potty training. Just like the first weeks and months of motherhood when you're postpartum and sleep deprived, our potty training-stressed selves really just need to know that what we're thinking and feeling is normal. We need a bit of help keeping in mind that we are not, in fact, uniquely failing at this very hard thing. And that just because our brain goes to the dark place or we feel pessimistic or we start to internally rage with the fire of a thousand suns, that doesn't mean we're horrible human beings who hate being parents. Getting frustrated is normal, feeling annoyed is only natural, and thinking hopeless thoughts is how you make it through the difficult stages with your sanity in tact (eh, more or less).
So if you're like me, trying to potty train a toddler and wanting to scream about 95% of the day, have no fear. What you're thinking when you're cleaning up the latest accident is seriously normal (even if that doesn't make it more enjoyable). In fact, here are 10 thoughts every mother has when she's potty training her kid, just so we can cover all the bases.