Our Adventures in Potty Training

I've been meaning to write this post for a while now, but with my growing belly, things are slowing down.  I'm hoping to continue posting when I can (like right now when Naomi is sleeping), so bear with me as this new person grows 1/2 pound to 1 pound each week for the next 6 weeks!! Woohoo!! I'm so excited to have only 6 little weeks left!!

As you may remember from previous posts, Naomi has been accustomed to using the potty since she was barely 13 months old.  I know that may sound ridiculous to some, but at that stage in the game, I just had fun with it: wanting her to get familiar with the potty and what it is all about.  She took to it well from the very beginning, and we would laugh and sing songs as we flushed the potty and played with diapers.  I'd talk about being dry vs being wet so she would start to understand what was happening with her body.  This stage of becoming acquainted lasted for a while, of course (from around 13-14 months to 18 months old).

trying on mama's new shirt with her new training pants on. Feb 2012 - 21 months

I did not expect her to be fully trained anytime soon after that, and I think that it's best to just go with it - no matter how long it takes. She would even surprise us in the beginning by leading US to the potty with her - at 13 months old.  During a trip to the mountains when we just started working on elimination communication, Gramama couldn't believe it when Naomi awoke from a nap and led her by the hand to the potty - and actually used it!  We were both astonished at the time, but it all became part of the routine.  To me, it's more about training the parents and caregivers than it is training the child.  If I remembered to take her to the potty after waking, before getting in the car, 15-20 minutes after a drink, even when I would go the restroom, it all became second nature to her.  Our daily routine included trips to the bathroom - wherever we ended up that day - we always took her to the potty.  

showing us her handstand in her underwear after first day of gymnastics - Feb 2012

It certainly wasn't easy leaving storytime and taking a 17 month old to the potty before getting in the car, or allowing her to tell me "teetee" 3-4 different times while out and about, finding the closest bathrooms (I now know where every bathroom is in Savannah), sitting her up on the potty only for her to shake her head "no" at me.  It almost became manipulative at times - ok - definitely manipulative - because she realized quickly that I would let her out of the cart or stop what I was doing to take her. And I always did.  Even if I knew she was being manipulative, potty time is serious time!  It only takes once to cry wolf, ya know?  :)

22 months old at the lakehouse

This routine lasted for a long while, and as she got older (after 18 months old), we talked and read about it more and more often.  I added stamps, stickers & potty charts (charts didn't work too well) to our ample loads of positive reinforcement (high fives, songs, & praises), and we eventually got rid of diapers around that time except for at bedtime. She even wore big girl britches while out and about - just with plastic pants on top to limit the mess for mama (and to allow her to still FEEL wet). We had our fair share of accidents, but that goes with learning.  We all have a few accidents along the way (but with potty training, plastic pants help)! Ha.

Soon, and not too long ago, she let us know when she was ready, and it was during the week of her second birthday. It's almost like she knew that she was turning into "a big girl" since we had talked it up so about being two years old.  We took that trip to the lake, and she wanted nothing else to do with diapers and wanted nothing but her "big girl panties."  She genuinely gets excited about choosing which ones to wear from day to day, and I made sure to purchase different colors, patterns, and designs to keep her interested.  Her new favorites as of this week: purple. and anything princess. Gotta love this girl.

So, now we've got a potty-trained toddler and a new baby will be making his entrance within a couple of months!  I'm loving the fact that I will not have two in diapers!  And I'm so excited to start the diaper process all over again and this time with a boy!  I bet he'll be even easier to train - we'll just take him outside! :)

in big girl britches full time - week of 2nd birthday

Are you thinking about potty training or elimination communication for your little one?  Here are a few tips that may make it easier for you. Always keep in mind to "keep it simple" and "do what makes it easy."

1.  Make Pottytime a Part of Routine and Be Consistent - making bathroom time part of your young child's daily routine will help them develop a better understanding for what all this potty business (and the signs of their body) is all about!  Take them when you go, let them watch Dad, talk to them about it, and take them when you think they need to go. Be prepared to take them where ever you may be from day to day.  On a long car ride?  Stop at the rest stop.  Where ever YOU go, they should at least try to go too. 
2.  Use rewards - using rewards simply makes it more exciting for them.  Grab a book of 500 stickers from your local arts and crafts store (they're $1), and let them choose stickers after they go.  Stickers, animal stamps with different color washable ink, and singing silly songs really worked with Naomi.  I tried a potty chart (stickers or stamps on a chart), but it seemed to be over her head.  Keeping it simple and immediate works best.
3.  Pick out cute/fun underwear - training pants, panties, underwear - whatever you choose, keep them fun!  Naomi loves picking them out in the morning and helping me fold them and put them away.  Super Skivvies are my favorite - available online at superskivvies.biz This lady works out of her home and makes the cutest training pants, and the best thing about them?  When your child is potty trained, the extra absorber comes out and they are ready to be used as big kid britches!

our collection of the super cute superskivvies.

4.  Let them go diaperfree when you can - best time is at home when it's easiest to catch them and clean up messes.  They quickly learn what is happening with their bodies this way.
5.  Use plastic pants - They are inexpensive and are great at keeping messes IN while allowing child to still feel wet.  We use them at night now, but during the final stages of potty training, we wore them out and about.
 6.  Purchase a potty seat for over the toilet - For less than $10, we purchased Omi a small seat that fits over the regular pot.  She feels like a big girl using it, and in the beginning, I didn't have to worry about her falling in!  And to me, it's way better than cleaning a small, plastic potty over and over again. 
7.  Keep it fun!  Whatever you do, don't get angry during this time of learning.  Don't get pushy, and don't expect too much.  Kids will learn at the pace that they are comfortable with, and if you keep it fun and lighthearted, it will be for them too.  If you seem frustrated, then more often than not, they will be frustrated too.  So sing silly songs, offer praises constantly, give them books to read while on the potty, and when accidents happen, it's ok.  Talk about it for a few seconds ("oops! you are wet. doesn't it feel nice to be dry?" or, my favorite: "shoo-wee! that smells bad! your turn to smell it. yuck."), and move on. Seriously, that last one worked! And remember, there are many accidents in your future. That's just part of the process.