Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Potty Training Kick-Off Day

Today's the day! We are officially kicking off potty training. Our little Squishy boy is just over 22 months old and is showing multiple signs of readiness. Baby boy #2 is due in less than 3 months, and it would be SO AWESOME to be a mostly diaper free home by the time he arrives (I'll get to the mostly part in a minute).

1st potty try
The 1st time Squish tried "going potty"--several months ago.
Everyone has a slightly different approach to potty training. Mr. Squish has been using the potty on and off and has been very interested in the process for the last several months. Today we're kicking off a marathon potty-training week of sorts. Our plan consists of:

1) His own potty. He likes to sit on it and read books. We'll probably keep it in whatever room of the house we're in for quick access.

Big boy underwear!
In Walmart, picking out "Big Boy Underwear"
2) Hello big boy underwear and goodbye (mostly) diapers. He is very excited about the fact that Nemo and Woody are on his big boy underwear. This week he'll be primarily underwear-clad for the 1st time. We are saying goodbye to diapers except for at naptime and bedtime. Since we don't have a washer and dryer in our apartment, the cost of washing all of those dirty linens would be too much right now (um, not to mention the energy! The laundry facility is up the hill). Once he's mastered day-time dryness, we'll work on sleep-time dryness. But that probably won't be until a few months after baby's born at the earliest.

3) Staying home. At least for the next 3-4 days, we'll stick to the house and immediate outdoors.

4) Lots o' liquid and salty snacks. We have goldfish and pretzels, water and juice (a rare thing for him). The goal is lots of peeing action so Squishy can figure this whole thing out!


5) A timer. At least for the 1st couple days, I am going to try setting a timer and taking him to the potty every 20-30 minutes. {Oh boy oh boy. Should make for an interesting day!}

6) Excitement, Encouragement, Patience. Going in the potty = celebration! But I know we'll have our fair share of accidents today. That's ok, too. And, Squishy is pretty young, so if he seems to be struggling with the concept after a good try-out, we'll postpone intense potty training until later. No biggie.

Potty treats and potty books. Guess what tomorrow holds?

7) Potty books. The Elmo one makes flushing noses and hooray noises and just noises in general. Squishy is a fan.

8) Potty chart with stickers. Because why not?

9) Treats. After each successful potty run, Squishy gets a "teet!" (as he calls it). 3-4 chocolate chips or a couple fruit gummies. Exciting times, I tell ya. In general, he doesn't receive many desserts, so this is definitely fun for him. After all this work, Mama's going to need a few chocolate chips, too. And a nap.

10) Bucket of soapy water and rolled up carpets. Our floors are tiled (thankfully), and I'm rolling up most of the rugs in preparation for the inevitable accidents. Soapy water and clean cloths for quick clean up!

What's your best advice, mamas? What was your potty training method? Having never potty-trained before, it seems surreal to think that it could even work! I'll keep you updated on our progress...



P.S. Oh yeah. Since we decided to initiate potty training this week kind of last minute, some of my other goals may get pushed to the side. We'll see.

Linked to Top Ten Tuesday and Works For Me Wednesday.
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12 comments:

  1. My daughter was 3 yrs, 2 months when she decided she was ready to go potty. {not kidding!} She woke up one morning and wanted her big girl Elmo underwear and never looked back. At all. We did mini marshmallows for treats {again, her choice} and she's done great. I was amazed! We are still using diapers at night time - she is a sound sleeper, so night dryness might take a bit longer. All in all, quite positive!

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  2. Good luck!! I've never potty trained a boy, but with my girls, consistency was key. Also, with Hannah, letting her "help me" when I went to the bathroom worked like a charm. She'd "unbutton" my pants, hand me toilet paper, etc. She loved that so much and it really helped her get into doing it for herself.

    Also, if something isn't working, don't feel bad to try something new. I know for me, I can feel like if one thing didn't work, then nothing will work. But, just roll with the punches.

    You can do this!! Hannah been going strong for 3 months now. It's awesome!

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  3. It looks like you are totally prepared! Good luck! I bet Squishy will catch on quickly. :)

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  4. I know this won't work now, but my aunt had her 3rd child train the 4th. She had two older girls that were getting into things by then and the reward system actually went to the older boy (#3) whenever younger boy (#4) went in the pot. Sounds like a winning system to me!

    The oldest girl (now in her 30s) is now applying the same method with her #2 and #3.

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  5. Wow! I guess I didn't have much of an idea of what potty training takes. You guys sound on top of it! I love it. Keep me posted on how it goes. =)

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  6. I don't have any advice, so share any you come up with as you go!! I think we'll be going down that path maybe around the end of the year? Susannah usually lets me know when she's getting ready to do #2 in her diaper (not always), but when I've put her on the potty just to sit there (not for biz-ness) she doesn't like it. So I'm not in a hurry yet. I just hope that when we do start potty training she's still as consistent with communicating ;)

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  7. We started being more intentional with potty training our 26 month old last week. It sounds like we're using a lot of the same principles. Being consistent has been key. The past two days he's been telling us when he has to go. One of the things that helped him sit on the potty long enough to go was to let him watch a special DVD while he sat. I have a 4 mo. old as well and would have loved to have had it done before she was born. All the best to you in this new adventure!

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  8. We're heading into this phase within the next few months with our toddler. Thanks for these tips and ideas!

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  9. Sounds like you are ready! I have no advice since both my girls took their own approaches that were very much different from each other. My own tip is to not get frustrated. I am so glad to not have much carpeting my our house. =) Good luck!

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  10. Wow I really needed this. I am about to start potty training my little guy and he is my first kiddo so I have been really nervous and haven't known what to do exactly. I have been going to get a timer too.

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  11. Here are my toilet training tips. My son actually stayed dry at night first; he may be weird, but it is worth checking whether Squishy is using his diaper WHILE sleeping or only after awakening, because if he's staying dry while asleep then you may be able to get him to the potty as soon as he wakes up!

    Look out for the underwear with pictures of Woody.... My friend's little boy went around pulling down his pants and saying, "I have Woody!" to everybody he met for a while! :-D

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  12. Ok, Becca that is hilarious!

    I like this post...I have been thinking about potty training my 25 month old for some time...but let me just tell you...she is TERRIFIED of her little toilet! She will sit on it with her clothes on, but naked and watch out temper tantrum! I plan on waiting another month (or so) and asking again...maybe by then she will have a better understand of "pee and get a treat!" Ha ha

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