I told myself (and Greg... and lots of other people) that I would get around to potty training Emma as soon as my pregnancy nausea subsided.
She is 2 1/2 and consistently tells me when she is going pee and poo in her diaper. I knew she was ready while ago, but I also KNEW that I was NOT ready. When the smell of the "wrong" food can make you lose your breakfast - there is no stomach for bodily functions that may land on the floor for Mommy clean-up.
Well, I'm happy (and sad) to report that at 18 weeks pregnant, my nausea is improving and I feel that it's time to begin the MUCH dreaded potty training.
So, I NEED YOUR HELP! I know nothing. What were your best books/methods/ideas?
She has a little potty already - and I've been talking to her about using it like a "big girl" for the past few months. She seems quite excited. We'll see if that sticks.
P.S. - This is my 200th post since January of 2008. Go me.
19 comments:
Get ready for regression once the baby is born. I never pushed it until a few months after the baby was born. My best advice: let her lead the way. Encourage her if she's interested, but don't force. It will go much more quickly if she's the one deciding to use the toilet and not you. Find a reward system that works (sounds like candy might do the trick!).
Happy 200th! I can honestly say that while the reward system is great, it will work WAY FASTER if she can SEE someone else get the rewards when using the potty. That worked like magic for Kalia. We had her cousins over who were mostly-potty trained, but still getting treats/rewards for using the potty. Once she saw what she had to do to get the treat, she started doing it on her own. I have been experimenting a little with Annie, and "talking" or "promising" the reward has not been very effective, so I started rewarding Kalia (again) for using the potty, and she seems to understand a lot better and likes to try to go on the potty. But she won't come tell me when she has to poop or pee. It's just a "lucky" thing if I catch it. The best luck I had with that is letting the girls run around half naked or in underwear, and let them feel the wet or the poop. And don't change them right away, so they can feel how uncomfortable it is. It's a major pain for you to be cleaning up crap all the time, but I think they learn faster. GOOD LUCK!!!!
I guess that means you can start rewarding yourself when you go potty so Emma can see someone else get rewarded. Yahoo!! It's a crapshoot no matter what you do. Thats what I say!
Oh, potty training. Something I dread with every child. I started around 2 1/2 with each of my children. I would put them in the underwear they picked out from the store and tell them not to get the character wet. (Don't get thomas the train wet, he doesn't like to be wet.) Then I set the timer for every 20-30 minutes. I take them to the bathroom every time it goes off. A lot of times they don't go, but when they finally do it's a big celebration! Lots of clapping and telling the whole family, calling dad. . . I do it all real casual. If they don't want to get on the toilet one of the times I don't force it. Gradually they stop needing the reminders and they can go longer. I don't think you can ever get away without any accidents. Good Luck! Glad you are starting to feel better!
We do the same thing as the Maxwell family. The rewards, timer every 15-20 min. Also, one thing that worked really well for my kids was that we went straight to underwear. We didn't really do pull-ups, even at night (Emmy did a couple of times). With Hyrum we realized that he viewed the pull-up as a diaper. Also, my friend suggested this, get a shower curtain and put it on their bed. We also used towels too. That way, you aren't changing the sheets every time you turn around. Also, we limit drinks before bed. After dinner, no more drink except a small drink of water in they need one. Good luck!
Don't do it. It's the most disgusting part of motherhood.
I am no expert on the subject but I have a friend who just wrote about what she is doing on her blog and I thought that it was pretty good. I will email it to you.
I will say what worked for Ben was skipping the Pull-Ups (except for at bed)and going straight to undies. Also get ready to set your timer to remind yourself to make her go...although you probably have a better memory than I do.
Good Luck!!!
Cold Turkey! No really, my sister potty trained her kid using the Potty Training in 3 days method or something like that. Google it! I'll ask her too. It totally worked. She felt that by the third day he recognized what it felt like to need to go to the bathroom and she doesn't ever ask him. :) It's basically all on him. Good luck!
I have a book called "Potty Training in a Day" or something like that. To me, potty training is like any new skill that we learn, and it takes practice for a little one to really master it. It is impossible to do it in a day, but the book has some great ideas. I wouldn't worry about regression. You have 5 months before baby will be here. If you want to borrow my book I'll bring it to b.c. Just let me know.
With whit I tried the cold turkey three day method and I loved it. I almost gave it up but sure enough by the third day she had it down...even at night. Google three day potty train method, or cold-turkey potty training and you can read lots about it.
We checked out the potty training in one day book from the library for Jane. The key is making it a huge event/party. The book also suggests that getting somebody else to do the training other than mom for better results, so I spent a long Saturday with Meg out of the house. My philosophy is wait until they are ready. I'd rather change a diaper than messy underwear.
Good luck! You have lots of good advice here. The most important thing, for me, is to remember that there is nothing fun about this. You will probably be miserable most of the time and you will feel out of control and frustrated the other times. (Some people have amazingly simple, easy, pleasant experiences but of all the moms I know and have talked to, we all agree that potty training is the ABSOLUTE worst part of being a parent.) So, I found that if I am mentally prepared for the toughness of the whole thing I have more patience and can deal better because I expected it.
Second, with a strong-willed child it is really important that you don't ever get upset about the accidents, keep it cool and calm in voice and expression-even if they are on purpose or you KNOW they are capable of putting it in the potty but they won't for whatever reason, or they learn that it pushes your buttons and they will do it just to push your buttons (something that gives them a feeling of control!)
And lastly, don't be afraid to try different approaches. There are million ways to do it, every child is different and trial and error, while scary, is frequently the name of the game.
ps lastly, for real-pray about it!!
I'm loving all your advice. Even though I have done this three times, it's always good to hear other opinions.
I once saw a potty training watch at the store. I wish I had bought that. After a few days, Kyla didn't care at all that the timer was going off, but I think she might have cared more if she got to wear a watch that told her it was time to go potty.
I am also anti-pull-ups. I think it makes the process MUCH longer than it needs to be. I just keep them in diapers at night until they are accident free during the day and then deal with nights.
My kids always stayed dry when they were naked, but would OFTEN forget when undies were on. I bought some boys undershirts (long enough to cover little bodies) and called them "potty training dresses." That way you don't have naked bums on furniture, but they still feel naked.
Those are a couple of my suggestions. You'll find what works for you.
I kept Beck naked for a couple days (at home, obviously :) and that kick-started the process. When naked, he always recognized he had to go, went, and then was rewarded.
Like Krystal said, with the underwear on it was a little more difficult, but he was used to going in the potty from the previous few days.
The only accidents Beck had were when we were out at other people's houses, he was playing, and I forgot to remind him for a few hours. So I would agree with everyone else- setting a timer for yourself to remind Emma is critical!!
Naked worked really well for my boys... I will say what has been said before-- no pull-ups. At night we used them for a month or two, but then we started waking the boys up right before we went to bed to use the bathroom... After a while the accidents slowed down ;) Good luck. It doesn't last forever, and unless there are other medical conditions in play, I've never heard of a kid who wore diapers through high school. She'll get the hang of it. Just remember, once you start, you can't really turn back....
Wow--great stuff on there. I loved Krystal's potty training dresses idea. That is cute!
If Emma is anything like Tatum was (which, from reading your blog, SHE IS!!) then she will be genius-y and catch on really quickly. I actually didn't stress about it very much with either one. I would put them in underwear (although Dane needed to be naked--Tatum didn't) and we'd go potty every half hour. Tatum got it immediately, but Dane didn't at first. So I waited a few months and he happily climbed on the toilet then. When we ran errands I would take them to the potty in each store. (Gross, I know) But I actually thought up places that we needed to go so that we could practice that. And it was kind of an adventure for them to try out all the new potties.
Emma will do great--no worries
skip the pull-ups, they can't tell when they are wet because it acts a little like a diaper. Go straight to the undies and put the plastic diaper covers over to prevent it from getting on her clothes. We did a sticker chart and after she got so many stickers (I think it was 10) she got to pick a prize. Good luck Tams!
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