A couple of weeks ago, out of the blue, while playing on our patio, Little Boy left what he was doing to go use the potty. He didn’t say a word. As a matter of fact I had no idea until I left the kitchen because he was being suspiciously quiet. Within a short time, I realized his regression was over and he was ready to be a big boy! Since he has finally started speaking, I decided to give this potty training thing a try. We did a hybrid of early potty training (because he already had a good base) and the more traditional three-day method. This is just about our kickstart and I’ll go into more details in a follow-up.
Tuesday- I was going to start on Thursday but I’m anxious to get going so this morning when he gets up I take off his diaper and don’t put another one on. After a little while he asks for a diaper and I tell him that if he needs to use the bathroom he can sit on the potty. He agrees, and it’s a success. The rest of the day is somewhat exhausting as I watch him like a hawk and make sure we catch all the pees. In the afternoon he’s playing with water on the patio and I’m pretty sure he peed but oh well. Day one is a big success!
Wednesday- Again he asks for a diaper, again we use the potty. It’s another naked day around here. Today, however, we have gym class. Since we haven’t officially started though I put a diaper on for the class. We make it back home and the diaper is still dry! The rest of the day is amazing! He’s taking himself to the potty. No accidents! Is this going to be easier than I thought?
Thursday- Night diaper dry! Today is the day: when Baby Brother goes down for his first nap we go to his room and collect all the diapers in a duffel to give to another baby. Little Boy is happy to help! Since he’s done so well going around naked inside the house I want to try our luck outdoors (we go commando). When we’re playing outside he suddenly runs away. By the time I catch-up, I find him at our door but with an accident. He didn’t tell me where he was going so I couldn’t help in time. Note to self- I need to remind him to tell me when he needs to go.
Friday- Night diaper wet- oh well, I am not worrying about this yet. All good in the morning, we go to the pool in the afternoon and he probably peed in there but there’s no way to know. It seems he has it down when he’s naked but having trouble advising with enough time to get pants off. My personal mission is to get him using the bathroom in public- we’ll try for some outings over the weekend. I’m not sure how to go about this.
Saturday- Again all good in the morning, but we have a couple of accidents in the afternoon- he’s just too busy. I’m feeling frustrated but ready to see it through. Sunday- We head to the mall. After lunch he has his first public pee (in the mall parking lot)! I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Monday- Dry night diaper! It’s gym class day. Before we go I have him sit on the potty, he goes and I’m calm about getting through the class. Unfortunately I can’t make it back home right away because Baby Brother is demanding a meal. We have an extended stop at the park and subsequently an accident. Again accidents in the afternoon- ugh!
Tuesday- Another dry night diaper. Accident in the park while he’s busy watching the sprinkler…I’m feeling discouraged. I need to remember to be encouraging- he’s learning. In the afternoon he goes on his first public toilet! Yay!
Wednesday- Diaper is wet but I’m pretty sure it’s my fault since I was busy and couldn’t get him right away in the morning. He didn’t go before gym class and I am nervous. When we get there I show him where the bathroom is and remind him to let me know. With some prompting, post class we use the bathroom there! So happy! The rest of the day is great with just one small accident.
Thursday- He wakes up at 4:30 in the morning and asks to pee! Wow! So proud of him. We do have a small accident when we’re out at a cafe, but then he redeems himself- in the middle of nap time he calls out to me: I see on the monitor he sat himself on the potty! We get cleaned up and he goes back to napping.
It’s been just over a week and I am officially calling him potty trained! I know it will probably take some more time to totally be done with accidents, but he’s already proved that he can do it. Like a lot of milestones: first he does it once, then after a little while he starts doing it consistently. I need to remember that he’s not even two yet!
I realize potty training is as much about changing my ways as his: it is my duty to remind him to go, encourage his good habits and with time he will keep getting better. I already much prefer carrying around a change of clothes over dealing with diapers, and as Little Boy gets older and more proficient at dressing himself things will only get better and easier.
So exciting! We actually did REALLY well with elimination communication around 9 months, and I went over 10 days without changing a poopy diaper.But once he could get off the potty on his own he never would stay put long enough to go :'( Now at 14 months he has NO interest in going on the potty.
Yeah fourteen months was a tough time for us as well. I am working on finishing a post about our whole potty journey because at 23 months the kid is potty trained! If you try again once in a while my guess is that he'll go back to it.