Potty Training-I Got It Right This Time!

Thanks to pressure and not-so-subtle hints from family members, I started potty training Princess when she was 18 months old.  The potty training went on for 18 long, agonizing months which were a total nightmare.  Finally at one month before her third birthday, she essentially potty trained herself.

I can tell you where I went wrong.

1. I listened to what other people were telling me to do with my child.  
2. I pushed Princess into starting the process before she was fully ready.  
3. I turned it into a battle which gave her an opportunity to dig in her feet.

When Little Man was born, I made a vow that I would not be repeating that first awful potty training experience.

Sleeping with "Brown Bear" from the Eric Carle book

So when Little Man was a year old, and I heard the whole "my kids were potty trained by the time they were 12 months old" spiel again, I smiled and let it go in one ear and out the other.  When he was 18 months old, and Hubby was concerned that I hadn't started potty training yet, I smiled and offered to let him take over the entire process.  When Little Man was almost 2, and someone pointed out how much money I could save on diapers by potty training him, I smiled and happily added diapers to the shopping list.  

When Little Man was 2 years and 3 months old, I decided to give it a try, mostly to prove to everyone else that he simply wasn't ready.  I was right, so I put the training underwear away again for a while.

Playing the guitar with Grandma

Then, I had a baby in September and the idea of potty training a toddler while taking care of a newborn really didn't appeal to me so I put it off even longer.  However, in late December, at the ripe old age of 2 years and 7 months, Little Man took the lead.  Every time, someone in the house went to the bathroom, Little Man tagged along to sit on the potty chair and within a short time, he was able to go every time he sat.  So, I unpacked the training underwear again and let him try them out.  I kept pull-ups on hand for leaving the house, naps, and bedtime (something most potty training experts say is a big no-no) and let him wear "big boy" underwear while we were at home.  It was rough for a few days with lots of accidents, but on day 4, it clicked and he started to take himself to the bathroom when he felt the urge.  By 3 weeks, with very little effort on my part, he was potty trained, night and day.  Pretty much painless and SOOOO much less stressful than potty training Princess.

I still put Little Man in pull-ups when we go out sometimes, but mostly because he had a setback when we were gone over the weekend last week and when he caught the flu.  For all intents and purposes, Little Man is potty trained.

*Insert big sigh of relief here.*   

  
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