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Potty training. Two words I have sincerely been scared of since I've become a mom. Why was it so scary to me!? The hard work? The accidents? The clean up jobs? It takes lots of work. And I think I just wanted to stay in my easy little world of diapers. Especially when I had a newborn along with my 18 month old...but then there is the whole money thing. Diapers are costly! So I did what any scared mom would do and I dove in head first, really fast, without much research or knowledge, into the scary world of potty training. That's what any mom would do right? Yes? No? Fine. Well I did it, and I think it actually ended up being a good thing to start a little early. But there are some things I would probably change if I could do it over again.
So you know all those blog posts and pins on Pinterest about potty training in 3 days?? Whatever. Totally did not work with Kyler. I even kept my eye open for the time when he was showing signs of being "ready". Kyler just wasn't fully ready at the time. He was a pro at going in the potty! He just had a hard time telling me when he had to go and holding it. With him, that came with a little more time. He was 18 months when we first tried to potty train him. At 2, he started to tell me when he had to go or when he had gone. That's a start! Don't be disappointed in yourself or your child if they can't potty train in a few days or a week. Every child is different. Maybe it had something to do with a newborn being in the house at the time too. Now he is 2 and 3 months (27 months) and he is telling me, holding it, and going really good! I haven't officially promoted him to potty professional but he is making such good progress. I'll share my tactics with you after I talk a little bit more. ;)
Any other transitions he's had to make he has handled SO WELL. And it never fails, before each one comes I get scared about how he might do with it.
How will he feel about a new baby in the house and not getting mommy as much? Champ.
How will he sleep through the night and nap without his pacy to soothe him? Didn't even miss it.
It's going to be so stinking hard to get this kid to stay sitting in a chair, not strapped in, how will he eat without his high chair!? Pro.
(He kind of decided he was too big for his high chair one day. Still working on the getting up thing a bit though!)
It's so nice to stick him in his crib and not make him get back in bed and worry about him getting up and playing around. I wonder how long THIS is gonna take. Um. Yall. First night. He slept the entire night in his toddler bed.
It takes training and getting on to. He still cries or gets upset sometimes when he can't have me because I'm feeding or holding Eli. He gets out of his bed and we have to go in there several times some nights. He's not perfect with it all by any means, but I am proud with how he has transitioned so well and how he has grown. He is such a good, obedient little boy for the most part. He's either a stinker or a sweetheart. No in-between for this fella.
Potty training has come slowly but we are getting there. I think, for Kyler at least, it is taking consistency over time. Here are the items/tactics I have used for Kyler that have helped this little stubborn booger:
1) Potty Seat.
I bought a Cars (as in Pixar Cars) seat to put on top of the toilet.
I tried using a mini potty for a little bit but he wasn't interested in that. I guess he liked using the big boy potty first thing. He also loves to point out the cars on the seat when he sits there foreeeevvveeerrrr. (It's actually getting faster recently though! Because he holds it!)
2) Potty treat.
At the beginning the only reward was when he went potty he got a chocolate chip (and two for #2). Then we changed it to getting one if he told us he had to potty.
3) Stickers
He had to be a little older for this. He loves his stickers now but he wouldn't have understood it at 18 months. Here is my chart I designed for him.
(He was stuffing his little pool balls inside his shirt. It's hard to take this kid's picture now days so this is what you get ;) )
The rows read "Pees in the potty", "Poops in the potty", "Tells someone you have to potty", and "Holds potty/no accidents". He has only ever gone #2 in the potty twice so I ended up changing that row to one row for now. When he gets to end of two rows, he gets a "present".
4) Potty presents!
I had fun with this. I went crazy in the dollar store. If I had been really smart though, I would have shopped the 10 cent boxes at Dirt Cheap full of Target goodies!
One present at the end of two rows. He LOVES this part.
5) Potty book.
At first I didn't get into this. We would read random books when he was on the potty and he loved singing the Abc's and counting his fingers. That works too. But I found this cute book at Dirt Cheap and decided to try the whole three day potty thing because I knew we would be home for three days straight.
Mine doesn't have the sound chip though. The book really helped I think! One line in the book is that Mac's diaper is stinky and smooshy. I would really emphasize that part and I have noticed that he has asked to change his diaper more since then. He isn't liking the feel of it. This is the kid that could wear a HUGE diaper for hours and not care one bit. Not that that has happened before or anything.........
He was NOT potty trained in these three days but this was a HUGE step in the right direction. I think I caught him at a good time to learn how to potty better. I let him roam around the house with underwear and a t-shirt on. We don't allow him on our bed when he's like this hahaha. We put what we call the "potty blanket" on the couch for him to sit on when he's watching something. When he is playing in his room by himself we put a diaper on him OR I leave his underwear on a put a diaper on over it. So he gets the feel of the underwear but won't get anything wet! I have noticed though that he does his best with telling me and holding it when he has just underwear (or underwear and pants) on.
6) All this talk about underwear. I think it should be my next point! Underwear.
At the very beginning I bought some for him to wear and get used to. He's always loved his underwear. I got Olaf underwear (he's obsessed) and normal colors. I would tell him not to get Olaf wet.
7) Letting him go when he needs to go. (Rather than putting him on the potty every 10-15 minutes)
I know this may work for some kids! But I tried it with Kyler, and it just made him hate the potty. That is one thing I would have changed. I thought that would encourage him to go, but it made him pitch a fit and not like going potty because I guess he felt like he was missing out on fun things...because he would sit on the potty all day! Ha! In a way though, I guess it helped him see that he needs to go in the potty and I wouldn't allow him to just go anywhere!
I had to (have to...) clean up LOTS of accidents but he didn't like them either and I think it made him feel like he needed to hold it (good boy) and tell me when he had to go (good boy).
You have to listen for key words and be in tune with your kids little crazy thoughts. Instead of saying "potty" sometimes he says "find candy car?" That's my que to put him on the potty because he has to go. He has a Wreck it Ralph book that he reads on the potty sometimes, and he looooves looking at the candy race car they make. So listen for key things like that.
Optional point number 8 is that we sing the Daniel Tiger song about going potty and watch that episode. It actually helped him and he loves singing the song. I love all the Daniel Tiger shows!
If you are deep in the trenches of potty training know that THERE IS AN END. And I can't believe I'm saying that because at one time I really believed our child would be the only one graduating in diapers. Just kidding, I wouldn't let him embarrass himself like that....I would put pull ups on him, they are so much more mature.
The other day, he made a quick trip to town with his underwear on (and pants of course ;) ) and had NO ACCIDENTS. I was so proud of him!! He went before and after town.
My little stinky face. He's growing up. We still have a ways to go, but thought I would share what I've learned so far. I hope this post can help a mama out!
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