Ah yes, Potty Training.
Some of you remember it well. Some of you are thankful it's over. Some of you are thankful you don't remember it, haha. And some of you are approaching it, or currently going through it (like us). As Merriam-Webster defines it, a journey is "something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another." Well, our journey is a slow moving one, but probably right on track. We have MANY setbacks, but, we're making progress from diapers to big-girl undies. I tried this venture months ago, and it was TERRIBLE! My baby girl and I both needed a break. So in the meantime I did some research. About two weeks ago I bought some Huggies Pull-Ups and then my daughter and I sat down together to watch the "Huggies Pull-Ups Big Kid Central Potty Training Success DVD". Yes, it was super cheesy and the woman's pasted-on smile made MY cheeks hurt, but, it was very informative. And there were songs and activities on the DVD that my daughter LOVED. We did the Potty Dance. Yes, WE. Mommy was crossing her legs and stumbling all over the living room, clapping and celebrating (which elicited HILARIOUS giggles). We did that dance at LEAST ten times. And I became aware of myself humming the song while we were at the store a couple of hours later... But after doing the activities and dancing, my daughter WANTED to wear the Pull-Ups. I thought, "Psh, why did I buy these? They're JUST like diapers." No, no, they're not. Ah, and let me be clear, you can do this with Pampers, or similar off-brands, I just chose the Huggies because they were cheaper and had Minnie Mouse and Princesses on them :). Yes, I love the easy-open sides, but that's not how I check. I yank the back open to check for number two's and I pat the front for number one's haha. The cool thing about the Pull-Ups is the wetness indicator. Different types have different designs, but the basic idea is the design will disappear after the child pee pees. What I LOVE about the Pull-Ups? You put them on like real undies. So my daughter is getting the hang of standing and putting on undies, but still has the protection of a diaper. We're working on timing now. I ask her over and over again if she has to go pee pee or poo poo. One day, I apparently asked her too many times. She stood outside my craft room door, with hand on hip, and spoke to me with annoyance in her own gibberish as if to say, "Mom, I got this. Stop bugging me and let me play with my babies." Well, alrighty then!
We aren't just doing the Pull-Up thing, either. My daughter was having one of "those" days where NOTHING was working for her. She didn't want to wear a Pull-Up. She didn't want to wear a diaper. So I grabbed a towel for her to sit on and thought for a minute. "Don't go ANYWHERE," I told her, "if you have to go pee pee or poo poo, sit on your potty." (Her potty is a pink princess potty that sits right in the middle of the living room, by the way, lol. Gotta be on their level.) I ran to her room and whipped open the top drawer and grabbed some of her big girl undies. Then I decided to grab them ALL and ran back to her. I asked her if she wanted to wear her big girl panties. She was excited, but she didn't want to wear them. She wanted to look at the cool designs and unfold them, and fold them, and sort them, etc. She ran around the house, literally "butt"-naked, for a couple of hours. No accidents. This inspired me for the next day. After we woke up and I took off her nighttime diaper, I stood her up and sent her on her merry way. I think we went four hours with no accidents. No ANYTHING, actually. But it was something. As the days went by, we finally had success and she pee-peed in the potty. She was ecstatic and so was I. This time I toned down my excitement since it was our downfall the first time we tried potty-training. Yes, I had scared her with my cheering and she avoided the potty like the plague for months. Anyway, this time, we had success, on both sides. I told her she did so great that she could have a potty prize. She got a lollipop AND a big prize for her first success. Then we called Daddy and Nana B to share in the excitement so she would know it was a big deal. She thought that was cool.
Now I know what some of ya'll are thinking. Some are saying, "We have carpet. My child will not be running around naked!" We have carpet, too! I had the shampooer on stand-by. Others are saying, "Wait, you bribed your kid?" I don't like to think of it as bribery, even if it's the very definition. I think of it as positive reinforcement, praising a good behavior. It's an incentive. I keep her potty prizes where she can see them, and I decorated the basket so she knows what they're for.
As you see from the picture, I added a couple of pictures of other kids potty-training so it would normalize it for her. I also added a picture of her big-girl undies so she could make that connection as well.
These are her regular potty prizes. Simple, but something she doesn't get all the time. We have her "Super-Duper" potty prizes in the linen closet for when she eventually goes poo poo in the potty. Those prizes include a big doll, a Minnie Mouse toy with changeable clothes, a small princess doll with changeable clothes, and a stuffed animal. Whenever she has a success, depending on what it is, she gets to choose from her prizes. I'm also working on a progress chart that she'll be able to put stickers on every time she has a success. You don't have to spend a fortune to do this. And if you don't agree with this system, that's okay. I was able to get the basket/bucket for $1 at our PX, but I'm sure Target or Hobby Lobby has something similar. The Dum Dums were less than $2. You can definitely use something healthier.
Don't be disheartened if it feels like forever and you'll be buying your child Depends because they'll never be potty trained. They will. Just don't force it. Encourage it. We still have a LONG road ahead of us, but we've already had signs that what we're doing is working. We were at a convention this past weekend and I had to go potty. So I push the stroller into the large stall and my daughter yells "Care go potty!" And I'm a little shocked and ask, "Do you want to sit on the potty?" "YES!" was her excited reply. Heck yeah! I fixed up the potty to make it as clean as possible for a public restroom and pulled her Pull-Up down and sat her on the potty and held her. She was just jabbering away and all of a sudden I heard the awesome tinkling sound. I gasped, animatedly, "Did you just got pee pee in the potty?!" "Care went poopie!" Okay, so we still have to sort out which is which, but the point is, SHE DID IT! She asked to do it. She asked to do it in a place she had never been before! I was (and still am) one super happy mommy. After we washed our hands and went to find Daddy to tell him the big news (which was still poopie, lol), I asked if she wanted a prize. She had been talking about a light-up sword for a good half hour and we decided to get it for her. Then she saw the light-up butterfly wand, that also plays music... We bought that for her, later to regret it lol. For the 45 minute ride home, I listened to some ear-splitting blend of anime and screaming banshee. I still have no idea what they're singing, but luckily my daughter is content with the various light patterns.
Yesterday we had another great success when my daughter wanted to watch Puss In Boots. I started the movie and she was doing a dance. Then she started to go behind my husband's chair. That is a sure sign something is about to happen in the diaper-zone. I cheerfully asked her if she wanted to go potty. No answer. So I told her, "Hey, let's sit on the potty real quick before the movie starts." She came back around smiling and dancing around her potty trying to tug at her Pull-Up so I helped her and sat her down. She kicked off her Pull-Up and then was glued to the tv. After a few minutes I asked if I could check her potty and she grinned and nodded "yes". I was so happy to see pee pee in her potty even though I was HOPING for a poo poo. Who says that? "I was hoping for a poo poo"? A mommy who's trying to potty-train a toddler, that's who! And she was rewarded with a lollipop and was perfectly content.
As we take this journey together, don't lose hope, and don't lose your mind. There will be accidents. After my daughter peed in four pairs of big-girl undies in one day, we put the Pull-Ups back on. But no harm done. It's a process. It won't happen over night. Just keep asking your child if they have to go potty and then TELL them occasionally that it's time to sit on the potty. Let them sit for a few minutes. If at all possible, park their potty in front of the tv or an activity table, or play games with them, sing with them, etc. Keep it entertaining. Don't punish them for having accidents. They aren't dogs, you can't rub their nose in it or pop them with a newspaper. They're children learning something VERY different from what they've been use to for so long. Patience and understanding are key. Just tell them to let you know next time, or try to be more attentive and watch for signs. Like I mentioned, my daughter does a little dance before she pees and then she almost ALWAYS runs behind Daddy's chair to poop. We can do this, Mommies and Daddies!
I'll update on this topic after we have some more notable success. Until next time, don't lose your sanity. And do the Potty Dance if you do lose it ;)
Some of you remember it well. Some of you are thankful it's over. Some of you are thankful you don't remember it, haha. And some of you are approaching it, or currently going through it (like us). As Merriam-Webster defines it, a journey is "something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another." Well, our journey is a slow moving one, but probably right on track. We have MANY setbacks, but, we're making progress from diapers to big-girl undies. I tried this venture months ago, and it was TERRIBLE! My baby girl and I both needed a break. So in the meantime I did some research. About two weeks ago I bought some Huggies Pull-Ups and then my daughter and I sat down together to watch the "Huggies Pull-Ups Big Kid Central Potty Training Success DVD". Yes, it was super cheesy and the woman's pasted-on smile made MY cheeks hurt, but, it was very informative. And there were songs and activities on the DVD that my daughter LOVED. We did the Potty Dance. Yes, WE. Mommy was crossing her legs and stumbling all over the living room, clapping and celebrating (which elicited HILARIOUS giggles). We did that dance at LEAST ten times. And I became aware of myself humming the song while we were at the store a couple of hours later... But after doing the activities and dancing, my daughter WANTED to wear the Pull-Ups. I thought, "Psh, why did I buy these? They're JUST like diapers." No, no, they're not. Ah, and let me be clear, you can do this with Pampers, or similar off-brands, I just chose the Huggies because they were cheaper and had Minnie Mouse and Princesses on them :). Yes, I love the easy-open sides, but that's not how I check. I yank the back open to check for number two's and I pat the front for number one's haha. The cool thing about the Pull-Ups is the wetness indicator. Different types have different designs, but the basic idea is the design will disappear after the child pee pees. What I LOVE about the Pull-Ups? You put them on like real undies. So my daughter is getting the hang of standing and putting on undies, but still has the protection of a diaper. We're working on timing now. I ask her over and over again if she has to go pee pee or poo poo. One day, I apparently asked her too many times. She stood outside my craft room door, with hand on hip, and spoke to me with annoyance in her own gibberish as if to say, "Mom, I got this. Stop bugging me and let me play with my babies." Well, alrighty then!
We aren't just doing the Pull-Up thing, either. My daughter was having one of "those" days where NOTHING was working for her. She didn't want to wear a Pull-Up. She didn't want to wear a diaper. So I grabbed a towel for her to sit on and thought for a minute. "Don't go ANYWHERE," I told her, "if you have to go pee pee or poo poo, sit on your potty." (Her potty is a pink princess potty that sits right in the middle of the living room, by the way, lol. Gotta be on their level.) I ran to her room and whipped open the top drawer and grabbed some of her big girl undies. Then I decided to grab them ALL and ran back to her. I asked her if she wanted to wear her big girl panties. She was excited, but she didn't want to wear them. She wanted to look at the cool designs and unfold them, and fold them, and sort them, etc. She ran around the house, literally "butt"-naked, for a couple of hours. No accidents. This inspired me for the next day. After we woke up and I took off her nighttime diaper, I stood her up and sent her on her merry way. I think we went four hours with no accidents. No ANYTHING, actually. But it was something. As the days went by, we finally had success and she pee-peed in the potty. She was ecstatic and so was I. This time I toned down my excitement since it was our downfall the first time we tried potty-training. Yes, I had scared her with my cheering and she avoided the potty like the plague for months. Anyway, this time, we had success, on both sides. I told her she did so great that she could have a potty prize. She got a lollipop AND a big prize for her first success. Then we called Daddy and Nana B to share in the excitement so she would know it was a big deal. She thought that was cool.
Now I know what some of ya'll are thinking. Some are saying, "We have carpet. My child will not be running around naked!" We have carpet, too! I had the shampooer on stand-by. Others are saying, "Wait, you bribed your kid?" I don't like to think of it as bribery, even if it's the very definition. I think of it as positive reinforcement, praising a good behavior. It's an incentive. I keep her potty prizes where she can see them, and I decorated the basket so she knows what they're for.
 | |||
| I added clipart that was related to potty training to her Potty Prize basket. |
As you see from the picture, I added a couple of pictures of other kids potty-training so it would normalize it for her. I also added a picture of her big-girl undies so she could make that connection as well.
 |
| Stickers, lollipops, chocolates, and a book |
These are her regular potty prizes. Simple, but something she doesn't get all the time. We have her "Super-Duper" potty prizes in the linen closet for when she eventually goes poo poo in the potty. Those prizes include a big doll, a Minnie Mouse toy with changeable clothes, a small princess doll with changeable clothes, and a stuffed animal. Whenever she has a success, depending on what it is, she gets to choose from her prizes. I'm also working on a progress chart that she'll be able to put stickers on every time she has a success. You don't have to spend a fortune to do this. And if you don't agree with this system, that's okay. I was able to get the basket/bucket for $1 at our PX, but I'm sure Target or Hobby Lobby has something similar. The Dum Dums were less than $2. You can definitely use something healthier.
Don't be disheartened if it feels like forever and you'll be buying your child Depends because they'll never be potty trained. They will. Just don't force it. Encourage it. We still have a LONG road ahead of us, but we've already had signs that what we're doing is working. We were at a convention this past weekend and I had to go potty. So I push the stroller into the large stall and my daughter yells "Care go potty!" And I'm a little shocked and ask, "Do you want to sit on the potty?" "YES!" was her excited reply. Heck yeah! I fixed up the potty to make it as clean as possible for a public restroom and pulled her Pull-Up down and sat her on the potty and held her. She was just jabbering away and all of a sudden I heard the awesome tinkling sound. I gasped, animatedly, "Did you just got pee pee in the potty?!" "Care went poopie!" Okay, so we still have to sort out which is which, but the point is, SHE DID IT! She asked to do it. She asked to do it in a place she had never been before! I was (and still am) one super happy mommy. After we washed our hands and went to find Daddy to tell him the big news (which was still poopie, lol), I asked if she wanted a prize. She had been talking about a light-up sword for a good half hour and we decided to get it for her. Then she saw the light-up butterfly wand, that also plays music... We bought that for her, later to regret it lol. For the 45 minute ride home, I listened to some ear-splitting blend of anime and screaming banshee. I still have no idea what they're singing, but luckily my daughter is content with the various light patterns.
Yesterday we had another great success when my daughter wanted to watch Puss In Boots. I started the movie and she was doing a dance. Then she started to go behind my husband's chair. That is a sure sign something is about to happen in the diaper-zone. I cheerfully asked her if she wanted to go potty. No answer. So I told her, "Hey, let's sit on the potty real quick before the movie starts." She came back around smiling and dancing around her potty trying to tug at her Pull-Up so I helped her and sat her down. She kicked off her Pull-Up and then was glued to the tv. After a few minutes I asked if I could check her potty and she grinned and nodded "yes". I was so happy to see pee pee in her potty even though I was HOPING for a poo poo. Who says that? "I was hoping for a poo poo"? A mommy who's trying to potty-train a toddler, that's who! And she was rewarded with a lollipop and was perfectly content.
As we take this journey together, don't lose hope, and don't lose your mind. There will be accidents. After my daughter peed in four pairs of big-girl undies in one day, we put the Pull-Ups back on. But no harm done. It's a process. It won't happen over night. Just keep asking your child if they have to go potty and then TELL them occasionally that it's time to sit on the potty. Let them sit for a few minutes. If at all possible, park their potty in front of the tv or an activity table, or play games with them, sing with them, etc. Keep it entertaining. Don't punish them for having accidents. They aren't dogs, you can't rub their nose in it or pop them with a newspaper. They're children learning something VERY different from what they've been use to for so long. Patience and understanding are key. Just tell them to let you know next time, or try to be more attentive and watch for signs. Like I mentioned, my daughter does a little dance before she pees and then she almost ALWAYS runs behind Daddy's chair to poop. We can do this, Mommies and Daddies!
I'll update on this topic after we have some more notable success. Until next time, don't lose your sanity. And do the Potty Dance if you do lose it ;)
