Potty Training: Rhyan

Is it just me or does anyone else feel like there is pressure to potty train your kids earlier and earlier these days? Idk. I feel like that once a baby is 2, people start asking if she's potty trained and if not, when are you planning to train her. I'm not a fan of it. At all. So, I thought I'd share our potty training experience so that 1. I can have record of it and 2. Maybe it'll help someone else.

I tried (very tentatively and very "if it doesnt work, no big deal" kind of way) to potty train Rhyan last summer. Mack was a newborn, I was slightly insane to start with and by the end of the 1st day when we'd had 8 pairs of wet panties and not one drop in the potty, I deemed it a failed attempt and we (with NO worries) went back to diapers. NO big deal.

Well, my "plan" was to potty train her after the 1st of the year, sometime in Jan or Feb. Its actually written on my calender in the month of Feb as my "monthly goal" (btw, i'm setting monthly goals which i find to be a great way to make realistic deadlines for myself and get stuff done!). But we did it in Jan so I need a new feb goal ;-P

She was 2 years and 9 months old when we trained her.

One week, I decided that on Friday we'd start wearing panties. I gave Rhyan a weeks notice and started explaining each day that we were only 4, 3, 2, or 1 day away from wearing panties and going potty like a big girl. This would be my 1st piece of advice to any parent aspiring to train your child: give them fair warning. I honestly believe that kids like a challenge and like to please their parents so I think this is helpful.

I was feeling anxious about it so when I got home from work Thursday evening, I went ahead and put panties on her as a "trial" run. To my surprise, she had 1 accident and the next time only started going potty and then stopped and went to the bathroom. It was her 1st successful attempt at getting peepee in the potty! I was encouraged, my stress alleviated and I felt quite positive for the next day.

I'll keep the potty training details short. I asked her about every 15 min the 1st day if she needed to go potty but literally, she already knew the feeling and was initiating it herself. She needed help getting her panties down (we skipped pants the 1st day) but quickly learned how to handle that on her own.

She's had 3 accidents since (in a month). She never pee'd in her nap pull up so we quit putting them on her 2 weeks into training. She sometimes wakes up dry in the morning, sometimes wet. I'm not worried about it. There are WAY more dry mornings than wet and she's a hard sleeper so it doesnt surprise me that she might go pee a little at night in her sleep.

And basically that was it for us.

So, what are my biggest tips for potty training?

#1 and the most important: WAIT until your child is ready! How will you know that they're ready? Idk! Just try and see. I think communication is important and they should be able to verbalize that they need to go potty in some fashion. They should show some interest and not be afraid of the potty.

#2: Go w/ panties for awake time from now on! Now, its one thing if you attempt and its not working at all, then just go back to diapers. No biggie. But if you're seeing some improvement, stick w/ the panties and keep working on it! But dont worry about naptime yet. In our experience, it takes care of itself. Use a pull up and dont feel bad about it. Tell your child its big girl/boy nap time panties.

#3: Stay positive. Offer rewards. This dies off in time on its own so dont worry if you're giving your kid 20 m&m's a day like I was. Its not hard to get rid of that little habit :-) Later! Its a means to an end.

#4: Skip pants the 1st day and maybe even skip panties if its a deterrent to success!

#5: Pick a day/weekend that you can commit to being at home. Make sure that if you have other children that they are in a good spot and are consistent.... not sick, not in a whiny phase, not in a horrible sleeping phase. Set yourself up for success by choosing wisely the time to begin.

#6: Have a couple of older towels on hand and use them (folded for added absorbency) on any furniture the child may sit on in case of accidents. This makes clean up easier and faster.

#7: Give kids a warning as to what is expected of them and WHEN you will start with this process. They'll appreciate it and it'll build excitement as they look forward to learning a new skill (and remember, this IS a new skill... its something you have to be patient and work on!)

#8: Get a stool and a potty seat. We got a new toilet seat from home depot with an attached smaller kids seat that is magnetic and sticks to the toilet lid when not in use but easily pulls down (by the child.. its that easy) for kids use. This way they still feel like they're using the big potty but they dont fall in. And it avoids messes of dumping the kids potty (although we did start w/ a kids potty for the 1st couple of days just to eliminate the need to make it to the potty in time)

So, thats about it for us. I'd say this: Rhyan was easy to potty train. She basically potty trained herself. She was not afraid of the potty going into this process which helped tons!

Best of luck to anyone else's endeavors!