Saturday, January 17, 2009

Potty Training: What has Worked for You?


I really do not think Jackson is ready to be potty trained, but after two days in a row of him using the bathroom on the carpet because his diaper was too full, I realized I might be wrong. So, I got some "cool alert" pull ups. My plan was to put him on the potty every three hours during the day at first and pray he starts to like to sit on the potty and that he would figure it out. After a day of this, I was completely exhausted with a new baby and realized I had a bigger battle on my hands: getting rid of the pacifier during the day. I guess since the baby I had really been letting him have it whenever since I was so tired. Well, that has got to stop. He acts like a baby when he has it his mouth, he will not eat, and more importantly will not try to say words. So, I am not going to bring his pacifier to church at all anymore, and if we have to leave that is ok. So, since we are battling him asking for his pacifier every hour, it is hard to work on potty training and feed Abigail every 3 hours. Here are some questions I have for yall (I know every child is different and what worked for you child might not work for mine):

1. Do you wait till your child is really ready before potty training? He really cannot tell me he has to go potty so it is probably too early. I have heard bad stories about starting too early.
2. What books have you found most helpful?
3. Do I try this method first of putting him on the potty every 3 hours so he gets use to it?
4. Do I get him his own potty? We do have a potty seat and a stool for him to step up on.

I am really ready for him to be out of diapers since one day I had changed 7 diapers and it was only 12 pm, but I am more concerned about our pacifier situation. I do not mind if he has a pacifier at night when he sleeps right now, but that is the only time.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

MG really likes her little potty. I didn't want it b/c they are kinda yucky, but she uses it a lot more than the other. So, I suggest that. She also loves her passy, but I only give it to her at nite. Whenever she wants it during the day I tell her passys are for bed and if she wants it so bad she can go to bed! Ha!

lindler5 said...

lou & i went to BRUs one night to pick out her potty. actually, i think that was the night i saw you there when you were on a night run as well.

i have had 2 kinds.

the first had a removable pot. that one got pretty nasty & had lots of nooks & crannies to clean. not my favorite. i passed it on to a friend.

our new potty is a one piece baby bjorn. it is pink. and decorated with mickey mouse stickers. lou loves it.

during the day she runs around without a diaper on. the potty goes where she does. and she is very willing to use it because she is rewarded with dum-dums each time she does.

we have had accidents. and she is not leaving the house without diapers. but this is the beginning stages of getting her used to the potty & learning how to make herself potty on demand.

with all of that being said, i tried too early with orie. it was a pretty miserable experience. bradley trained pretty much on her own. and now i am going really slow with lou. each child is totally different.

i also tried the cool alert with orie on the first go round. i did not find that they made a difference in helping him know when to stop & go. he would just tell me after the fact that he wet his pants.

i hope that helps & wish you lots of patience with this process.

Merritt Pace said...

I think that Potty Training is the hardest thing that I've done with Samuel so far!!! Since Sam was so little and was afraid of the "grownup potty," we used a potty with a removable pot. It was very nasty, but it was what he would use at the time. We threw it away when we were done potty training!

We tried all kinds of rewards to get him trained, but, bottom line, he was trained when he was developmentally ready.

I would put him on the potty every 2-3 hours as you are doing, and that did help. I know that the biggest thing that helped Sam was seeing his peers potty trained at church and school.

The main thing is patience. Just keep trying, expect setbacks, and he'll be trained when he is ready. Good luck!

Gwyneth Paltrow said...

Potty Training book saved my Sanity!!
________________________________________
Men’s Health Magazine (Sept. issue) recommends Potty Train Your Child in Just One Day: Proven Secrets of the Potty Pro by Teri Crane. My husband picked us up a copy after reading the article. IT REALLY WORKS!!

Everyone is talking about throwing a "potty party" to potty train a child. I was so desperate; I was willing to do anything. Her book outlines 10 themed parties. What kid doesn't love to play and pretend? All my mommy friends have successfully potty trained their kids with her book too.

Honestly, when I first learned of this book, I thought NO WAY! Maybe this would work on a little girl, but NOT a BOSSY, 2-1/2 year old BOY. NO WAY! Guess what? It REALLY WORKED!!! Teri Crane SAVED MY SANITY!!! Her book was easy to read, funny and extremely helpful. I can't thank Teri enough. I would HIGHLY recommend this book to EVERY parent. It will save you much grief and frustration. Potty training shouldn't be difficult, we as parents make it difficult because we don't know what to do. Teri teaches you. Buy the book, it's the best money you will ever spend

Most amazingly, I had some questions, so I called the author, and she CALLED ME BACK!!

Anonymous said...

Oh I feel for you Emily! I hated potty training JM. We haven't really started with Asher yet though. We did get him big boy underwear for Cmas and he loves wearing it over his diaper so I guess that is a start. Anyway, if you are really serious about getting him potty trained take a few days and pump him full of anything that he likes to drink, all day long. Then put him on the potty every 30 minutes. It is a very time consuming process but it works. If you are giving him lots to drink and "using" the potty every 30 minutes he is more likely to go to the bathroom, even if he doesn't mean to. Then he can better feel the sensation of having to go and know what it actually feels like to go use the potty. Also, we gave JM treats that she wasn't normally allowed to have, like M&Ms, whenever she went potty. It can be such a tedious process, but in the end, something clicks and they are out of diapers. And that is worth celebrating!
Also, we just got rid of Asher's paci a week ago. I was so frustrated with him one day when he kept getting out of his bed at nap time, and I cut it up and threw it away with him watching. He cried hysterically, as if I cut off his right arm, but we are finished with the paci. And, he hasn't really asked for it. If he mentioned it, I just told him that he was a big boy and didn't need it anymore.
Phew, okay, I think I am done! Hope it all works out for you!

Susan said...

We are trying to potty train too. 3 hours is a long time though...I think we go every 30 minutes or less. But, I am no expert as my boys are not potty trained totally and I am to blame b/c I am slack or just too tired to stay on top of it some days.
As for passies...we took them away cold turkey. It was hard for a week, but they were gone and we did not have the battle of when they could or could not have them. My brother and sister-in-law hung them out on a tree for the passie fairy (like the tooth fairy) and she brought a gift for their youngest two and the oldest one they took to build-a-bear and put the passie in the bear. Thomas sleeps with the bear, so he still has comfort, but not a passie in his mouth.
Personally, I am a big fan of stopping things cold turkey. It is hard for a week but I would rather have one hard week then drag it out and be forced to try to reason with a child who is just not cognitively ready to understand reason.

Unknown said...

OOOh...we are potty training right now too!! I have learned to make sure to put Bayne on the potty every hour so that we is constantly reminded to go! It is definetly a battle of the wills and they will go when they are ready! I always heard to do one thing at a time...so you might want to take the pacifier away 1st and then do the potty...that way he isn't fighting you for control of 2 things!! I heard that the thing Gwenyth talked about really works..haven't tried it yet!! I took Bayne to the store to let her pick out her own potty...so that she would be SOOO excited to use it!! Thank goodness it was just the one you put on the seat..not fond of the actual chair..kind of yucky!(but supposed to be awesome to take with you on trips to maintain consistency!!)
Good luck!! Right there with you...and not lovin' it!
Lisa

Anonymous said...

My mom tied the pacifier on a short string to the bed/crib. So that whenever I wanted it, I could have it... but I'd have to leave the excitement of whatever else was going on and go sit by myself. She said it worked well.