I’ve been lazy the past couple weeks. I mean we’ve eaten and are generally clean but other than that not much has been done. And in my laziness I have been ignoring the signs Addy has been throwing in our face.
It’s time to start potty training.
Why do I think this, you wonder? Why would I start a kid that’s not even a year and a half on the potty and the horror (I’ve heard) that comes with it? Why do I want to waste that giant pack of USA Pampers I JUST BOUGHT?!
The kid is not good with subtlety. She does things like stand in front of the TV and yell “BOO BOO!” when she’s going. She pulls at her diaper as soon as it’s soiled wanting to get it off her. She wants to help change her diaper while I’m trying to change it. She’s VERY interested in my bathroom activity.
And then she did this
She peed and was ready to just take the stupid diaper off. Who told her that is how it was done?! Mommy is supposed to buy a potty and read books and have a nice quiet weekend together where we practiced saying “Mother, I need to potty please” then quietly we go to the potty and she handles her business and we flush it and wash her hands and go on about our day eating ice cream sundaes and being fabulous.
Right?
We don’t have a potty. I haven’t even googled how to potty train a kid. And seriously, we just bought those damn diapers.
Any ideas on where to even begin? Potty recommendations? Books to read? Someone help me.
I'm jealous — like way jealous! My son, Parker, could care less about a wet diaper… but I will pass on a few tips from my mom (aka Grammie), who has successfully potty trained at least 30 kids in her life. She babysits for a living, and I joke about shipping Parker to her when the time comes.
(1) Stay home for the first couple of days (2) only use pull-ups at naps/bedtime (3) have your carpet cleaning supplies ready for any accident (4) please don't make your child sit on the potty for hours straight — my mom does like 2 minutes (unless you can tell they are working on some serious business) and if they don't go, they get up and try again in 15-30 minutes.
Only you will know what really works or doesn't work for Addy. Good luck! Take lots of notes! And fill me in when Parker's ready!
That all sounds good. I'm going to have to dig up some patience…when I decide to try for it.
That's amazing that she's already showing such obvious signs! I have no advice, given that Noah is even younger than Addy and isn't showing ANY interest in PTing, but good luck!
Emma does those same things!
Unless she is able to communicate with you before she needs to go you are going to be in for a little more hardship because you are going to be constantly watching for ques.
Jake has been potty trained for a little over 6 months. My advice is to ditch the diaper completely. No pull-ups either. Stay home for three or four days and go completely naked the first day and commando the next few days (the tightness of the underwear might confuse them).
I used an e-book and forum to train DS. It was the best money I ever spent! It made it so easy to do! It's called "Oh crap potty training".
Good luck! The first 6 weeks I thought of nothing BUT the potty. Now I don't give it a second thought.
I am going to start Emma at 20 months! Eek!
AHHH! That's so intense sounding. I'm going to see about the book for sure because I seriously don't know if I could really stay home that many days. Maybe we can wait till about 20 months too and try around Christmas…It's frightening.
I totally agree with the commando/naked baby advice already given. We did pull ups for what seemed like the longest…kid didn't give a crap because those damn pull ups soak up wetness way better than any diaper. The minute we did commando (or cotton panties with the plastic over them for the old school moms) and she FELT it…..oh well then…little miss was ready to sit on the potty all day. And I'm a believer in rewards. Stickers, a high five, a little book, potty celebration…made the stress of potty training more fun and not such a chore. Good luck!!! And I'm sure there is a Caring Cradles drive coming up and you can donate those just bought diapers 🙂
Great. You got solid advice…now I can laugh at how funny this is. Not the fact that this’ll be hard for the parents, but you have to admit…Addy’s signs are pretty funny. Good luck. Let me know if I can bring yall carpet cleaner or something when it all begins. 🙂