Warning: If you don't deal with the bodily functions of small children on a regular basis (and maybe even if you do), you will probably be bored with this post!
We first started casually introducing Eleanor to the potty nearly a year ago. I had one of those little potties that my mom handed down to me, and every once in a while Eleanor would sit on it. For a while when she was about 15 months old we had some success, but then it went away. I think she just really enjoyed sitting on it and being read to, and the true purpose was somewhat lost on her.
My friend Lynda told me about this method after her recent success, so we decided to go for it. I read the whole book, got the supplies they recommended, and set aside 3 days when we had nowhere that we had to go. Basically, what you do is keep your kid in underwear and a shirt (no pants, skirts, or dresses!) for 3 days - including nap time and overnight! You remind your child CONSTANTLY to keep their underwear dry and to "tell Mama whenever you need to use the potty." You also pretty much have to give your child 100% of your attention the entire time they are awake, because your goal is to catch them in the act and then put them on the toilet. This way, they associate sitting on the toilet with pooping or peeing. (The author strongly discourages pull-ups/training pants and sitting your child on the potty every 15 or 30 minutes to "try".) So yes, this way is messy, but we plan to get rid of our carpet in the near future so I figured, why not?
Supplies
- Lots of juice! Eleanor normally drinks water or milk, so the juice got her drinking (and peeing...) a lot more.
- LOTS of underwear - 20-30 pairs are recommended. I thought this sounded crazy but went ahead and got 18 (some of them in a bigger size so she can wear them later, but they work well enough for the potty training days), and really we could have used more. We've just been doing lots of laundry.
- Flushable wipes. I know you can just use toilet paper, but these helped out in a few nasty situations.
- Two of these toilet seats
They are awesome! I got them from one of Amazon's Warehouse Deals for about $28 each instead of the list price of $100. They had been repackaged, but who cares! I really like it better than the little potty chair, because it doesn't take up floor space and it gets Eleanor used to using a big potty so going in public hopefully won't be a problem. We decided it was worth the investment since there will be small children in this house for a long time. - 2 Cosco step stools very similar to this one
We turn it around backwards so that Eleanor can hold on to the rail in front of her as she climbs up. - We haven't used it yet, but I also got one of these potty seats for when we go out. I have it and some flushable wipes in a zip lock bag in Eleanor's diaper bag.
Day 1
About 15-20 accidents (including 2 dirty ones that miraculously never got on the carpet or furniture), 4 times that she told me she needed to go just a few seconds too late, and one time that she actually told me that she needed to go ahead of time and made it to the potty in time! YAY! No success with naptime or nighttime.
Day 2
Much better! I think there were about 4 times that she made it to the potty with no accident. I could tell she was definitely catching on.
Day 3
Total, complete failure. Probably 15-20 accidents. The only time she peed in the potty all day was when Hunter put here there right before bed. This was a very discouraging day!
Day 4
Much better! This was our best day yet, and Eleanor got 6 M&M's. (She gets one every time she goes.) When she pees in the potty she says, "Get a caaaaaandy!!" Then she gets to pick out the color and when you hand it to her, she says "E for Eleanor!" because she thinks the M on the candy is an E. We both kind of hate the fact that we're using sweets as an incentive, but we started out with stickers and she didn't really care.
Day 5
Horrible morning, great afternoon. Best quote of the day: "El-nor pee peed on Mama!" Yes, both Hunter and I have made the mistake of letting her sit on our laps while we read to her with no towel to protect us... Also, she has woken up wet after every nap and every morning, but I didn't expect that to work out this quickly.
So, 3 days has now turned into 6 and will certainly be longer, but that's okay because we really don't have anything going on all week. I'm learning that people weren't kidding when they said to prepare for setbacks, and I don't really buy the whole "Every child can be potty trained in 3 days" selling point in that book. Still, we're definitely making progress, and we won't turn back now. I did buy some pull-ups so we can eventually leave the house (I have some cloth versions but they're not 100%), but I don't want to use them if I can help it. Eleanor starts preschool (2 mornings/week) next week though, and I'm not sure if they would be willing to deal with the messes we have had. Who knows, maybe we'll make some major progress this week! :)
Much better! I think there were about 4 times that she made it to the potty with no accident. I could tell she was definitely catching on.
Day 3
Total, complete failure. Probably 15-20 accidents. The only time she peed in the potty all day was when Hunter put here there right before bed. This was a very discouraging day!
Day 4
Much better! This was our best day yet, and Eleanor got 6 M&M's. (She gets one every time she goes.) When she pees in the potty she says, "Get a caaaaaandy!!" Then she gets to pick out the color and when you hand it to her, she says "E for Eleanor!" because she thinks the M on the candy is an E. We both kind of hate the fact that we're using sweets as an incentive, but we started out with stickers and she didn't really care.
Day 5
Horrible morning, great afternoon. Best quote of the day: "El-nor pee peed on Mama!" Yes, both Hunter and I have made the mistake of letting her sit on our laps while we read to her with no towel to protect us... Also, she has woken up wet after every nap and every morning, but I didn't expect that to work out this quickly.
So, 3 days has now turned into 6 and will certainly be longer, but that's okay because we really don't have anything going on all week. I'm learning that people weren't kidding when they said to prepare for setbacks, and I don't really buy the whole "Every child can be potty trained in 3 days" selling point in that book. Still, we're definitely making progress, and we won't turn back now. I did buy some pull-ups so we can eventually leave the house (I have some cloth versions but they're not 100%), but I don't want to use them if I can help it. Eleanor starts preschool (2 mornings/week) next week though, and I'm not sure if they would be willing to deal with the messes we have had. Who knows, maybe we'll make some major progress this week! :)
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