As some of you may already know who follow me on facebook, we have begun potty training our toddler! I wanted to be prepared. I looked into every “how to” book. Asked every mom I knew for advice. And of course they all said COMPLETELY different things!
So as with all things parenting…we had to find the things that worked for us.
Tool #1
We knew wanted to start potty training on a weekend that we could be at home with no other commitments. And that for us meant a weekend before Christmas. Thankfully, my husband wanted to be involved and he made sure he was around to help. We picked out a potty chair- the Baby Bjorn one. It looked like it would be most comfortable and easiest to clean. It looks like this:
I love it. It has grip on the bottom so it doesn’t slide aroun on the floor, or tip over when being sat in. It’s also dishwasher safe. Are you all saying eeewwww yet?? LOL. I haven’t done that yet, but I think it’s great that I can occasionally put it in an empty dishwasher and sanitize the heck out of it! If that grosses you out- maybe stop reading now? 🙂
Tool #2
The Second thing we got that I think has really helped us is an E-book. It’s the book that we followed to the letter, in potty training our daughter. It was one of the recommendations we got when I was asking for ideas on Facebook. It came from a fellow mom Krysta, who’s parenting philosophy I know to be very gentle and child focused. I knew if she liked it. It was probably pretty good. Plus, she said that it was the only thing that helped her to potty train her little boy who had previously had a hard time. I’m so grateful she told me about it.
The Book is called “Oh Crap Potty Training”
And if you click on that title above – it will take you to the website I downloaded it from. I get nothing from the site if you click on it- I’m just sharing what worked for us!
The book is written in a very funny, very frank manner. I liked that- but some people might find it a little jarring. The basic philosophy is that potty training is best done without bells and whistles and stickers and lots of material incentive. It does suggest lots of love and encouragement. But I think you should know that about the book going in- in case you are really committed to the treat for going route. That works for lots of people. Just isn’t the process in this book.
I also really loved that it had a very clear plan. What to do two weeks before you start. Exactly what to do Day 1, Day 2, Day 3- week 1. It also includes a section on trouble shooting what may be going wrong, and possible fixes if you have already started potty training. Also how to push the reset button. I am very grateful to have found this E-book, for us it was the hand holding we needed. And if I ever met the author Jamie on the street – I might have to hug her.
Tool #3
We are only Potty Training during the day – not at night or naps. Our daughter is 29 months old, and we feel like it’s unfair to ask her to be in control of what she is doing when she’s not actually conscious! She wear her diapers for a nap, or for bedtime. But as soon as she is up- they come off. And if we don’t do it fast enough she tells us “dipey off! I a big girl! Go potty!”
I’ll worry about night time training when I feel like daytime is is 100% not a problem. And when I am comfortable with our daughter using a potty at night without help. And right now- I like her safe in her crib at night:)
Tool #4
Fun sippy cups & fun stuff to drink – in the beginning. Another wise mom Autumn showed me that supermarkets sell these fun little juice bottles. The Hello Kitty one below is the one we have. But they have Thomas Train, Spider Man, Batman, Tweety Bird- you name it. I usually wouldnt get something like this- as we prefer to reuse a sippy cup and prefer to serve water. But ya know what? After the juice is used in these- you can refill them with water or whatever. And for my toddler at least- the novelty encourages her to drink a LOT more liquids than she does if I give her a sippy cup or a straw sippy. And more liquids helped the potty training take hold- because it gave her more chances to um, practice;)
I’ll do another post soon about how our experience with Potty Training went more in depth. But I wanted to write first about these tools that I think really helped us! The pumpkin has been day potty trained for many weeks now- no accidents after the first day! She gets excited about using the potty everytime. And I know that she feels a lot of pride in accomplishing this milestone!
I’d love to hear what tools have helped you with Potty Training! Wishing everyone dry days!!
JDaniel4's Mom says
JDaniel is almost three and just starting. I have my finger crossed.
MilkandCuddles says
@JDaniel4’s Mom, Oh exciting! I bet he will do great!!
Melissa says
Best of luck to you!! My son just turned 3 and is completely resistant to sitting on the potty. He’s got the peeing in the potty down, but pooping is another story. But, he’s also had a lot of digestive problems along the way, poor guy. Plus they say that boys just take longer. My daughter is 21 months and starting to show an interest in the potty. They way things are going, they may end up potty trained at the same time! ;o)
MilkandCuddles says
@Melissa, Thank you Melissa! I’m psyched that it ended up being so easy. It was an intense weekend to set it up and then it just fell into place. We were really frusterated we didnt get poopy the first day. Our book had said it was really important- and we put her nap and she went!Our mistake. But the next day we didnt have her nap until she went. And once she pooped in the big girl potty once- she got over nerves about it. She never hesitated after! Good luck with your kids- doing two at once would be REALLY intense:)
Jamie says
Hi! I’m Jamie and I’ll take that hug!!! Glad I could help. Don’t worry about the night training yet! She’ll start to stay dry as her little body learns to hold it longer. Happy New Year!!!
MilkandCuddles says
@Jamie, Jamie the author???!? So awesome! Thanks for stopping by! And thanks so much for writing the book and sharing your hard won tips. When we were in the planning stages of potty training I used to read chapters of your book out loud to my husband in the car as he drove- so we would be on the same page. We would both die laughing at your sense of humor! It made a stressful subject a lot lighter for both of us. And the in depth instructions really made me feel prepared. Thank you. Thank you!
Jennifer says
Good luck! Potty training is always fun. Ok maybe not really but the power of positive thinking might help. Our youngest daughter is 22 months old and she frequently goes potty on the potty, I was thinking maybe she was ready but realized that she has #2 down pretty well but she seems to just leak out pee pee all day long. Not sure she has full control on that one yet. I will wait a few more months. Keep us posted on how it goes!
Nikki says
Awwww I love how she says about her being a big girl and using the potty!! how cute!!! Good Luck to “The Pumpkin’s” wonderful Mommy and Daddy! 🙂
rose says
sounds like good ideas. your little one is on the road to handling this new adventure.
Lisa says
Oh sweetie, I do not miss the potty training days at ALL. Good luck and we all know you want to put the potty chair in the dishwasher! (jk!!) 🙂
Liz says
THanks for posting this info. We will be there soon enough with our two toddlers.
It’s great to read other parents experiences and the tools that they use!
thanks for visiting my blog and following!
The Sweetest says
Let us know when you start doing night time. Our son has been in undies during the day since 20 months, but he is still soaking his pullup at night (an occasionally goes during nap). We have tried twice, and I don’t want to go for a third try until I know we will be successful. He turned three in October.
Eryn {mamahall} says
i sure do appreciate you sharing your “tools” 🙂 we shelved potty training for now and plan to come back to it in a few weeks. this time, with more patience for mommy and more juice for bubba 😉
Dorothy @ Kids Birthday Party Places says
A bit patience mommies…time will come they can
do it by themselves..great tips !!
Tom @ hello kitty costumes says
Goodluck to all mommies they can make it
with your help and patience.the potty
is cute. 🙂