I have a question...and I need your advice.
We are potty training Callie. Actually, she's been doing it herself. It's been going on for some time now. We didn't tell anyone -- but a few of you -- because I know there are a bunch of you thinking we are crazy because she's too young, etc. But, I'm stuck; so we need to break our silence and come out and just say it. When Callie was 19 months we started the potty training process -- and it has been great so far.
But, here's where I need help.
She's pretty consistent. She tells us when she needs to potty. She poops and pees in the potty. We decided to progress to underwear...but then I thought "Gosh, if she's in underwear, what happens when we go out? She'll really have to use the potty and #1 that's gross (public potties) and #2 she's too small for a potty without her potty adapter (or whatever you call it). Plus, what do we do when she's in nursery?" Now, I guess it's not a big deal. They just take her to the bathroom, but she needs help because she's so tiny. So...after buying the undies, we decided to hold off for just a little bit longer. Well, something has happened in the past week. She has stopped telling us she needs to go potty except if she wants out of her high chair. Does she go potty? Noooo. Of course not. Diapers are getting wet again. She's regressing.
I feel like this means that we need to move forward. I don't want the potty to be a struggle. She's the one who wanted to start using the potty -- so we let her. We bought the seat. We bought a stool (though she still struggles getting up there). And I feel like if we wait on this, let her get used to not using the potty, that we'll lose her to the potty wolves. It'll be a definite struggle to get her back.
Any input here? And, tell me about the transition to underoos. Can you ever leave your house again after the diaper comes off? Any other helpful hints would be appreciated.
11 comments:
Wowzers, you're potty training already? We haven't even talked about potty training our daughter.
We tried twice potty training our son. We didn't go to hard the first time and ended up giving up pretty easily. The second time we attempted training it was actually quite easy. So easy, in fact, that he has never wet his bed. But then he had a bit more than a year on Callie.
What I mean to say is that you don't have to be afraid of regressing, or giving it another go later.
I've only potty trained a boy, and for going #1 in a public restroom it's much easier. When he had to poop I ended up holding him -- well, hanging him -- over the toilet. I can't even quite remember how I did it. It worked for me, but it can be pretty hard on the arms or back. If you want to try it, try it at home first.
I haven't potty-trained our little girl yet but with Josh we just put diapers/pull-ups on to go out and ALWAYS had a potty trip immediately before we left the house for anything. He got used to using the potty before we left and, since he was old enough, he could hold it until we got back.
I don't know if that will work for you or if that answers your question but I wish you good luck!
My friend has a little potty called Le Potett (I don't know how to spell it). Basically it is a portable potty. It fold up and fits into a bag. She has a girl and said it was awesome having the "le potett". Boys can pee anywhere, which has been nice with Thomas. But, I've also seen parents run their little girls up into the trees at the park to go "camping-style."
Hi Jenny! Your girls are getting so big and beautiful!
My only suggestion, though it sounds kind of scary and inconvenient, is switch to undies and never turn back. Once she potties in her panties and feels the wet a few times, she'll hate it, which in turn makes her want to go on the potty. *They* say that if you do undies, and then switch back to diapers because potty training isn't working, it confuses the child and makes the process even longer, which is stressful for the parents.
Kaitlyn was barely two when she started using the potty full time, so Callie isn't too far off!
Good luck with everything!
We tried to potty train Lucy after x-mas last year and she just wasnt ready. She would do it every once and a while and then not. So we waited and then in march or so she did it basically on her own. we got a small potty seat--where you have to empty the little bowl and that i think is what did it. before we just had a thing on the toliet seat--you know? She loved her little seat. I bought vinyl underpants for when we went out. they dont leak or anything so if she wet her pants it held it all and she felt wet. loved those! good luck!
When we potty trained our son we had him wear pull-ups (is that a trademarked name?) and we repeatedly stressed that they *aren't* diapers, they're big boy underpants. That worked well -- we felt safe about accidents, but at the same time our son was encouraged to keep them dry. The only problem was when we parents talked about them as if they were diapers and he'd call us on it.
Well, I obviously don't have potty training advice for you, but I just wanted to say thanks for the recommendation of "Out of the Dust." It was a great book! When I first saw that it was written in poetry form I thought that it was going to be difficult to get into the story, but I loved it! Great moral, but the romantic in me wished that something happened between Billie Jo and Mad Dog.
my sister-in-law potty trained her 3 girls at about 18 months. people thought she was crazy, but it worked for her.
when my boys were learning, we used pull-ups when we went out in public, just in case, until we didn't have any more accidents.
another sister-in-law kept a potty in her trunk, so she could just run out to her car. where to keep the stuff till you get home is another story i'm sure.
i also noticed at age 2 when sammy was learning, that if i took his pants and underwear all the way off he could stretch his legs out over the sides of the toilet and it would keep him from falling in. i actually didn't let him use the toddler seat because i wanted him to be able to go when we were in public bathrooms. i hope this helps.
good luck.
Jen -
Ditto what some people have said. We occasionally used pull-ups at first when going out because I didn't want to have to deal with an accident while running errands / at the library / whatever.
The BEST THING EVERY with potty training is to have them face backwards on the seat. This is awesome for boys learning how to aim their thang, but for any small child, they won't fall in. Practice at home. It is annoying having to take off shoes to get pants off, because you do have to take pants and undies off all the way... but worth it. Sam was afraid of falling in and thie did the trick. He could straddle the tank of the toilet and hold on that way... and even hold on with his hands onto the tank for extra security.
Gross? Yes. Public restrooms are ALWAYS gross. Purell is your friend.
Oh - and we started once with Sam and then didn't for a couple weeks... then we went full force. I'm a big fan of that. Just do it. It will take a couple weeks / days / whatever but then it's over and you don't have to worry about it anymore.
Good luck. I HATE POTTY TRAINING WITH ALL MY HEART!
I think Heather's vinyl underpants are a good idea, or Telisha bought cloth diaper covers. I only had one kid, so I felt like I could do this: the first few times we went to the bathroom in every store. Gross, but I didn't want him to be afraid of them. If you haven't put her in underwear yet, I'd wait until she starts telling you again. Then bring out the underwear. If you did introduce underwear, try and push, but not too hard (candy/sticker rewards). It took christopher 6months of on/off to get it down. It's so much easier when they are ready. Maybe she's having a hard time because of the move? For nursery, take her before, then inbetween sunday school/RS. Hopefully it will be right before snack time (and not during it).
Stella was potty trained early too, then she regressed too. I blamed it mostly on the new baby in the house, but I think it is somewhat normal for a lot of kids. We always did (and still do at church) pullups when we left the house and it worked great for her. And if it is possible you can just have them come get you when she has to go at church. That way you deal with it and can help her as much as she needs. It really is nice to have them trained at a younger age if you can, but she is still young so you are doing great!
Post a Comment