We decided several weeks ago to potty train my 29 month old daughter. She had been showing all of the signs including wanting her diaper changed right away, telling us when she was peeing or pooping, staying dry for several hours at a time, etc.
My stupendous friend Kate (whose daughter Abby is 1 month younger than Willow) let me borrow a book called Pottywise for Toddlers: A Developmental Readiness Approach to Potty Training
. It's a short book with some good information on potty training.So, I thought I'd go for it in a week or two...
But before I did I wanted to get a couple of more books on the subject. So, I bought Toilet Training in Less Than a Day
, and Stress-Free Potty Training: A Commonsense Guide to Finding the Right Approach for Your Child
. (I figured I should be informed)Using the third book on the list we were able to determine that Willow was a "Goal Oriented" child. They are supposedly the easiest to potty train. I armed myself with pullups, a brand new Russ Berrie 16" Button Eye Raggedy Ann
doll (Two of the three potty training books I read suggested using a doll to train your child to use the potty. But YOU (the parent) aren't the one to teach the doll...your toddler will take care of that.) So, I ordered a Raggedy Ann doll from Amazon (since I'm a Prime member I get free two-day shipping), and various prizes and treats (for using the potty). But, I didn't get them all at once.On a whim, the weekend BEFORE we planned on "Potty Training Boot Camp" as I was calling it, we bought a package of pullups because we had a coupon. We told Willow they were her new "big girl" underwear and put them where she could see them for some motivation. Sure enough, on the Tuesday before, Willow decided that it was time to start pooping on the potty. Let me say that again, in case you didn't get it. WILLOW decided. We parents didn't decide, Willow did. So, since I had the pullups already, I decided to send her to daycare in pullups to see what happened.
Time for a little background. For the 6 months or so before starting potty training, Willow had her very own potty to play with. We told her about using the potty and we emphasized that "Poop and pee live in the potty". We let her practice sitting on her potty if she wanted to, but never forced the issue. She actually did pee on the potty a few times, but it wasn't because we wanted her to, she just wanted to try it. We let her flush the toilet (saying "bye bye poop and pee" as it went down the drain), and we let her watch us use the potty.
When we sent her to daycare, we told them she had pullups on, but didn't ask that they do anything in particular to train her as we were going to be doing "Boot Camp" the next weekend. At first, she would only poop on the potty. At daycare they sat her on the potty every 30 minutes. She would poop, but no pee. This was a good start! I was excited and anxious about the upcoming weekend.
As kind of an afterthought (since it was only two days before we were starting our training), Kate sent me the following info from her Mom's Club. A parent in the club had just potty trained her 22-month-old and had great results. Now I am sharing it with you (I hope they don't mind).
From the e-mail (my comments in red):
I used the book "Potty training in one day" written by the owner of "Potty training Concepts". It is a direct copycat of "Toilet training in less than a day" which is a 30 year old book. I actually got both books. Even though the potty training book is a copy, it is a bit updated, and is written by a Mom instead of psychologists, so it's an easier read, so that's the one I recommend getting. The concepts REALLY WORK! That's why she copied a book that is still popular after 30 years.
There's definitely some expense and preparation time with doing this method, but it's worth it when your child is potty trained in a few days instead of months. I've heard of so many horror stories and I have to say, except for the first couple of days, it's been pretty painless.
NECESSARY
- Book - "Potty training in one day" (very short book, see above) The DVD is NOT necessary. I got it and it wasn't that great.
- Potty doll - I bought the doll the book recommends, because they make it! It's supposed to "pee on demand" but it leaks all the time. I don't think it's worth the $50. Get a cheap one from Wal-Mart. If you have a boy and you can't find a boy doll at Wal-Mart, you might want to get the one on the website. As I already mentioned I got a Raggedy Ann doll. Having a doll that can pee isn't necessary and Willow still got it no problem. Having pants that can pull down are a MUST, though, on the doll you choose.
- Potty Power DVD - ($12.99 Babisrus.com; they didn't have it in the store; can also get it from Potty Training Concepts for $14.99) You can also get other potty DVD's instead. I got Elmo's too since Alexis loves Elmo, but she enjoyed the potty power one more. She wanted to watch it over and over again and she still said "Potty Power" sometimes when she goes! I used the Elmo Potty video with Willow...we've been watching it for months.
- Folding potty seat - to keep in your diaper bag. You put it on top of public restroom seats. I got the Sesame Street one for $9.99 from Babies R Us. I got one of these but we haven't had to use it yet.
- Potty chair - Mine didn't like the little potty and preferred the real toilet. I got a Flip n Flush toilet potty seat that installs between the lid and toilet seat, so it's a permanent fixture and doesn't have to be constantly moved when a grown-up uses the restroom. I love this product! ($9.99 Potty Training Concepts) THIS IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN GET. I just got one (VERY HARD TO FIND ONLINE RIGHT NOW) and it is a dream.
- Waterproof pull-on pants - ($7.95 for 2 in a pack; Potty Training Concepts). Also, the "2 in 1 potty pants" seem like they're great, but at $7.95 a piece, I decided to pass. I instead got 12 pairs of cotton panties instead and 1 pack of the waterproof pull-on pants to put on top. I only used these when we were out of the house. I didn't get these but, to each his own.
- Underwear - Get 10-12 pairs. You can't have too many. The first 4 days, I did laundry every day! Get one size too big, so they can pull them up and down on their own.
- Dollar store prizes to give to her when she pees (only for the first day) - can also use candy (maybe a couple M&M's) if the toys don't work. This is only for the couple of days ONLY when you're doing the actual teaching.
- Travel potty - I couldn't leave without this! See the picture below. I take it everywhere with me. I have the folding potty seat that I store in the diaper bag, but this is even cleaner. I leave it in the back of my SUV and she goes in between errands. We also took it to the beach and everywhere else! (Babies r us carries it for $20-$25) I got the one you can keep in the diaper bag and it's awesome.
NICE BUT NOT NECESSARY
- Stool to put by the potty - Only get if you think your child is independent enough to climb on the potty by herself. Mine wasn't because she was so young, so I don't use the stool. Also, don't get these from Potty Training Concepts. They are overpriced there. I put the stools by the sink for when I wash her hand. If your child is older, she/he can do this on their own.
- Potty watch - $10.99 Potty Training Concepts (She wore it and it sings reminding your child and YOU to go to the potty every 30, 60 or 90 minutes) . This was great but I only used it for a few days before she started telling me she needed to go, so it's not that important, but I still really like it, and it's cheap.
- Piddle Pad Waterproof Car seat liner - ($7.99 Potty Training Concepts); If you're worried about when you're in the car. she really hasn't gone in the car but I kept her at home 100% the first 4 days of potty training. I tried a plain old towel and Willow didn't want to have anything to do with it.
Good luck! Tomorrow, I'll tell you all about "Boot Camp" and how Willow did over the weekend.
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