If you’re stopping by today in the hopes to see fashion, food, cocktails, or anything of the like, you might as well pass on by my dear friends, for this day is all about the world of potty training…not quite as glamorous, huh?
I know it’s not something we all get excited to write about, but it’s a necessary evil unless you want your little ones going off to college still wearing diapers. I, for one, am ready to have at least one of my minis out of diapers…hello cost savings and much less “waste” to take out to the garbage man as well. I’m sure he will be thankful for that!
OK, back to the subject at hand…I’m going to put this in a Q&A format, for I am only talking about OUR experience in potty training and what has/hasn’t worked for us.
1. How did I know Caroline was ready?
CC has been interested in the whole potty thing for months now. It all started back in the fall when she was obsessed with accompanying me when I went to the bathroom…how thoughtful of her to want to join me. She was always wanting to help with the process and wanted to sit on a big girl potty, too. So, we looked at a few potty options, went with the Boon Potty Bench, and started letting her take time to sit on her new seat, get acquainted, and check it out (she was about 18 months when we started). She took to the potty very well and would go pee-pee in the potty pretty frequently and also decided to do the other deed in there a few times as well (after some coaxing and hand holding no doubt). Just when we were getting into the swing of things, we put our house on the market, showings popped up, and then that got shuffled to the back burner while we moved and winter hibernation set in. It was early this spring when I realized the inevitable was fast approaching and summer was going to be the prime time to potty train (from what our pediatrician as well as other mommies have told us). Now, she is almost 27 months and we’re in it to win it.
2. What necessities have you bought?
Like I mentioned before, I bought the Boon seat because I wanted something practical and easy, but just recently I took Caroline to Target so she could pick out another potty for downstairs so we weren’t constantly having to run up and down the stairs when it was time to go to the bathroom. She picked out the Fisher Price Princess Step Stool Potty and absolutely loves it. Our ped also informed me to make CC an active part of picking out everything she needed for potty time, so we hit up the big girl britches and she took home some fun new panties with Disney Princesses, Minnie Mouse, and some training pants by Gerber as well. Check out other options from Gap and KicKee Pants (which are by far our favorite). Other essentials we have on hand are wipes (for wiping down afterwards, Pull-ups for naptime, books (to read and keep us occupied with the longer potty breaks), and Skittles…because yes, we make it worth her while. I also bought a Potty Chart from Etsy, which I laminated, and she gets a star on it every time she goes to the bathroom. Once she fills it up, she gets to get a treat from the grab bag (various items from the Target $1 aisles: coloring books, bubbles, stickers, etc).
3. What does your daily routine look like?
I’m not going to lie, potty training isn’t for the faint of heart and it is something Jeff and I discussed a lot before diving in, considering it’s a big endeavor for Caroline. As soon as she gets up in the morning, she gets to pick out her britches for the day, and then we immediately go sit on the potty. We then pretty much ask her every 20-30 minutes throughout the day when and if she needs to go potty. She has gotten really good about telling us “I need to go potty” and so we dash off to the bathroom to avoid any accidents. When she does go, we make a HUGE deal out of it and tell her how proud we are of her…I have been told they feel really proud when they go so I want her to know how excited we are as well. Then, we do the hand washing routine, wash out our potty, and head off to the treat jar. We repeat this process at least 10-15 times each day, but we are getting the hang of it. The hardest for her is going #2, but she is starting to realize when it’s time and we will sit together, read, and sing songs on our longer potty sessions. During naptime, we wear Pull Ups to avoid any crib messes and then we switch back to undies once she is awake again. For right now, we are putting her in diapers at bedtime, just because she usually has a full diaper when she wakes up in the morning…we hope to cut down her liquid intake in the next month so that we can just do Pull Ups at night as well.
Then there is the talk about what we do when we are out…right now, we use a combination of Pull Ups for short errands and such, and diapers for longer trips. I know that will change, but I am trying to take this a little bit at a time and see how it goes.
So there you have it…I am not a doctor, I am only a mom and I am sharing what we are trying, what has worked, and the current status of operation potty. I am so proud of my big girl Caroline! And by all means, if you have advice, send it my way, too.
That's pretty much what I'm doing with Millie. I refuse to use pull ups except for naps b/c I think they're too much like diapers. She loves her Minnie panties and goes crazy for them. LOL Best of luck to yall.
Loving the advice! I care for a 28 month old boy and any tips are great- we just started the potty training business.. he likes to sit on the potty, but still isn't super interested in doing anything in it. We will get there though!!
Thank you!!! We are hitting this journey when we get home from vacation! Good Luck Monma!
Potty training is tough! Hudson still wets the bed from time to time and it's so frustrating. But, there is nothing more than what I'm doing for him. We just have to know that they won't do this forever, right?
Do work works best for you of course, but I really found out them when potty training, go all in with the big girl undies! I think it may confuse the little ones when you switch back and forth from diapers to the big undies. It certainly means a lot more bedding changes but I had my son potty trained in three weeks!!! Believe me, there were times I had to change his crib twice a day (thank heavens I had three fitted sheets and mattress covers) but we got him trained so fast! Definitely work on decreasing her liquid intake at night and I think you'll see a big difference. Good luck Momma!
Do work works best for you of course, but I really found out them when potty training, go all in with the big girl undies! I think it may confuse the little ones when you switch back and forth from diapers to the big undies. It certainly means a lot more bedding changes but I had my son potty trained in three weeks!!! Believe me, there were times I had to change his crib twice a day (thank heavens I had three fitted sheets and mattress covers) but we got him trained so fast! Definitely work on decreasing her liquid intake at night and I think you'll see a big difference. Good luck Momma!
Thanks for posting this! Elyse is 30 months and we are about to do some hard-core training next week. I think I'll take her to Target & Barnes & Noble with me to purchase some new items for her to use. I've also read that including them in the process of picking out all the supplies can be super beneficial!
We did very much the same thing with Blaire, but skipped the small potty and the rewards. I was worried about using pull-ups because I had heard the comments some people made above. However, school requested them so we went with it. Didn't cause us any problems at all. Blaire's now fully potty trained and it's no longer a giant hassle like it was when we first jumped in. Keep up the good work – you're doing great and it gets easier!
I am so glad you posted this, seriously it's a God thing! We are starting our potty training endeavors on Thursday with Nora (21 months) and it seems like you and I are on the same page on some of the things we are going to be trying. Continuing to hope this works for CC!
Sound like you all are on the right track and Caroline is doing really well! Good luck with it- it doesn't sound for the faint of heart!!
My sister did the three day boot camp. Basically you stay home for three days, undies only (some recommend bare bottom), encourage them to drink lots of water, juice, etc. Play in the room nearest the potty all day, three days. Lots of trips potty. One accidents so ideal for easy to clean floor surface.
Great post! Sounds like CC has taken to it well:) I am hoping to potty train my 27 month old in the next month or two before little lady # 2 comes in August. I have also heard that summer is the best time! I will def. be giving updates on how it goes guppystale@blogspot.com..
Katie