Things you don't think about till you're a parent

It never occurred to me that I should worry about whether the park has bathrooms or where they’re located. That is, not until I took my newly-potty trained daughter to play on the swings. When all of a sudden, she says urgently “Mommy, I need to use the potty” with her eyeballs looking like they’re ready to float away.

I look around and think, “Oh no, where are the bathrooms in this place?” They must be in the buildings by the baseball field, so we high-tail it over there, down the hill, pushing the stroller. Poking around each corner, we don’t see them, until finally, jackpot. And then my heart sinks – they are padlocked shut. No way to get in.

Meanwhile, Megan is looking at me like she’s not going to last much longer. So, I’m wracking my brain to figure out what we’re going to do, while I say “Let’s go back to the car – I’ll think of something.” I know she’s not going to make it back home without peeing in her carseat (ick.) And I don’t really want to try to have her squat and pee on the ground, likely getting it all over herself (double ick.)

Finally, I have an idea and ask “Megan, do you think you could pee in a cup?” She says she’ll try it. We get to the car, I dig an empty coffee cup out from my drive one day last week, and pull the lid off. We go around beside the car, and I shield her with the door and the stroller, so she has some privacy. I held out the cup and told her to squat. She did a great job and was so proud of herself. She just kept saying “I peed in a cup.” At least I know that urine samples will be a breeze if that is ever necessary.