Potty Training...

We have been potty training for about three weeks, and while I think we have mastered it now - he goes to the potty without being asked, and has very few accidents; it was not as easy as I initially thought. There were stages that I was tempted to go back to nappies, they was a stage I was tempted to see if I could find a potty training boot camp and there were days that I just wanted to leave home.

But perseverance paid off; and after many hours of sitting in the bathroom with him, after many hours of nagging, he seems to have the hang of it. I definitely do not think that potty training is for sissies. 

What worked for us, was that we tried a variety of techniques. We went cold turkey from the beginning - removing nappies and only using them for sleep time. He was in underpants for the rest of the time. I put the potty in the lounge for the first week, and asked him every five minutes if he needed to go. About every 30 minutes, I would put him on the potty and get him to sit there to see if he needed it. We did this until he could tell when he needed to go. We sometimes used pull ups for trips to the shops etc (we made it clear that his pull ups were not nappies, but another type of underpants) - I think it is terrible for a potty training child to be embarrassed by an accident in public; and we would ask every once in a while if he needed to go. He would always come home dry, and in his own time he asked to go out in underpants. The potty was slowly moved into the bathroom, and it became 'exciting' for him to go to the bathroom together. We still have to ask or remind him sometimes, if we know it has been a while since his last trip to the loo, but he is also aware now of when he needs to go.

We spent a lot of money on all sorts of toilet training accessories, we have two toilet seats, a potty and a portable potty (with disposable bags) but it was worth it. If you are only able to afford one product, I would HIGHLY recommend a portable potty, as you can use it as a toilet seat, a potty and it folds down to go everywhere with you!

Hope this helps! :)

Potty Training Day 4!

So another dry wake up.... This is fantastic! We have no accidents all morning, and easy success in getting to the bathroom every time - we moved the potty back into the bathroom.

Had to go out today, and everything was quite rushed and we had long train trips - so I put a pull up on him. He made one wee in his pull up, and then we went to the 'big toilet' and he was okay with that! On the train ride home, he needed to wee again, and told me.

We got home, and put underpants on - and he went to his potty. Followed by three accidents (number two's) in undies. I feel like everything has fallen apart. I had a little cry, as I feel like I ruined it by putting him in pull ups for a few hours!!!!! Ahhhhhhh.... We had a bit of success this evening, but will have to almost start over again tomorrow...

Let's see how that goes!!! ;(
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Potty Training Day 3!

Okay, so we woke up to another dry nappy - and 12 hours sleep, which was fantastic!!! I feel like a new person, with such a clever child. Definitely feeling very proud and pretty chuffed.

He had no accidents today, and we even had a 2 hour nap without a nappy. He was perfect, and woke up and went straight to the potty. Really think all the annoying nagging is starting to pay off.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL DAY! I think it makes SUCH a difference when you wait until kids are ready to potty train!

Yay, let's see how tomorrow goes!!!
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Potty Training Day 2!

We woke up to a dry nappy. Which was fantastic... We didn't have to remind him at all about going to the potty- before the words even escaped my lips, he was on the potty quite happily. And then he'd jump up and down once he was finished, screaming 'mommy, i did all by self!!!!'

We had one accident, which was fantastic - and tons of success! SUCH A VERY PROUD MOMMY!

Let's see how tomorrow goes.
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Potty Training Day 1!

So we decided yesterday that we would try to potty train our 33 month old son. They say boys take longer to be ready, and I was very despondent when my friends (they all have daughters) had started potty training between 24 and 30 months!

Firstly, you will need to be able to stay in for a few days to get this down. When h wakes up, we put his cool new underpants on  (I think buying them cool undies is a great way for making them want to be a 'big kid'). We tell him that if he needs to use the potty, he needs to tell us. We also ask him about every 5 minutes, if he needs the toilet. And put him on the potty every hour or so. I know this is annoying and time consuming, but it is so worthwhile.

First accident: I put him on the potty, because he said he needed it. About a minute later, he said he was finished. Two minutes later he wets himself. We say 'don't worry, next time let's try to get it into the potty' and change his underpants. You have to positively reinforce them, if you shout they will just become afraid, and won't want to train any more.

About an hour later we have another accident. And then another little one, we sit him on the potty and he makes his first big proper wee. We have a few more wee's, lunch and then it's nap time. For nap times, and sleeping - only because potty training is new - we put him in nappies. But he wakes up from his nap-time with a dry nappy.

For the rest of the day and evening - we have one more small accident and a whole lot of success, with him even pulling his underpants down all by himself, and telling us when he needs to go! We even get a number two in the potty, which some children don't do easily.

You need to really make a big thing of them going in the potty... And if you can, call granny and grampa to add to the celebration. It really encourages them that they are fantastic.

What an easy day 1! Mommy, daddy and clever little toddler are feeling very happy about a successful day!

Let's hope tomorrow is as good!
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