Saturday 6 April 2013

Potty training?

I think we are approaching that phase...

Noah is still pretty young, just over a year and a half old, but he is really starting to show signs of being ready. His bowel movements are on a predictable schedule and when he has to poop he stops what he's doing, goes somewhere separate from everybody else and does his thing. Lately after he's done (if he's not too distracted) he will actually pull me over to his changing station, point to it or grab his diaper caddy.

Yesterday he did something that really took Matt and I by surprise. He went over and grabbed his diaper caddy and carried it over to me. I figured he was telling me he pooped so I checked his bum - nothing there. One minute later he pooped. So this time he was actually anticipating that he was about to go - now that's really something! It means he's understanding his body signals which is awesome!

So here's my questions for those millions of moms who have gone before me...

1. Do you think he's too young? He won't even be two until the end of summer. I don't want to rush him!
2. If we did train him soon, do you think he'd regress with the new baby showing up shortly?
3. What was your potty training method?? What worked for you?

I don't want potty training to be a long drawn out process that takes months and months. I've heard that once kids get it, they 'get it' and I just need to be consistent with him. That's why I say if he's too young I'd rather just wait then have it fail.

Anyways, Suggestion time mommas :)


6 comments:

  1. With my kids I made sure I was home for at least 3 days. I never put a diaper on them, except for at naps or bed. I put their potty in the main room we play in and didn't constantly make them sit on the toilet. I found frusteration and stubborness came into play when I continually forced it and it become really frusterating for me. I also rewarded with a mini m&m every 15-20 minutes if they didn't pee on my floor. If they peed or pooped on my floor I showed them where it went and then told the "you do not get a treat." So treats weren't for going on the potty neccessarily they were for not peeing on the floor. He is very young still, you could try but if you find you become angry or frusterated with him, I would just wait. It really is not worth you becoming upset. Most kids will get the pee part of training really quick where pooping on a potty scares them. You may find the poo part can take months. He will probably regress in many areas once the baby is born but not always the potty training. I trained Lincoln before Lucy was born and he never went back. All depends on the kid.

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  2. It sounds to me like this would be a good time to start! I trained my 5 kids at that age and was very glad that I did. It is a big bonus not to have to have two children in diapers when the next one comes along. It is good to get them used to sitting on the potty while they are young, even if they don't do anything. Encouragement and positive reinforcement worked well for me. If the child was successful, I'd give them a very small amount of chocolate chips, like three or four.
    Of course, another sign that they are ready (for #1 training) is if the diaper is dry in the morning when they wake up. It is good to have them sit on the potty the first thing in the morning, before and after naps, after having a drink, and after meals. I used training pants on them with a plastic pant on top. There are probably better options these days.
    I thankfully didn't have any problems with my kids regressing and they were all trained by 2 years old. Consistency and encouragement are key. Accidents happen now and then but things gradually improve.
    All the best!

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  3. I'd say let him try it out and no biggie if he doesn't like it..just try again later! If you're getting stressed about training within a certain time period then he'll get stressed about it too

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  4. All great advice ladies - thanks so much!

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  5. I'm with `Money-saving Mama', just try it out. Pooping on the toilet is the hardest for them usually so it sounds like he is ready for it! My boys were completely motivated by big boy undies and chocolate chips so see what happens :) If it doesnt' work, just wait a few more months. With Kai, we tried at 2.5 for about a day and he didn't seem to get it. Waited 2 more months and he got it right away. Completely done in 3 days. I'm curious how it will go with Nya as she already uses the toilet but we are the ones that put her on...once she can walk and do it herself, we'll see what happens! I have to say that I was so overwhelmed with potty training and made it bigger than it needed to be. Looking back, I wish I had been way more relaxed about it. They'll get it eventually and there's a million different ways to go about it!

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    1. Thanks Louise! See I'm the same... I think I'm making it a much bigger deal then it is, but it just feels daunting to me! I just need to have a more laid back attitude about it.

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