Potty Training 101

Posted by Traci at 9:56 AM

Because my brain forgets important things so easily I wanted to document our potty training time with E.  So here goes.

I had decided that I would start potty training in May, but the first weekend in May got by me so we started the second weekend, which just happened to be Mother’s Day weekend.  Which worked out great, mainly because that meant Chip did the bulk of the job for the first two days because he said he wanted my Mother’s Day weekend to be relaxing.  Of course, Chip is the toddler whisperer (formerly baby whisperer) so E did great with it right from the start.  E is very food motivated, so I had bought some star stickers at Target.  When he got 3 stars he could have either m&m’s or a lollipop.  This worked great. 

We started Friday morning, and he had 2 accidents (both #1) right off the bat.  One was in the hall and the other was when he was standing at the dishwasher. He looked so surprised when he felt it running down his legs.  After that he didn’t have any more accidents.  We put him in a diaper for nap and bedtime.  Saturday went well too, we basically stayed home all weekend so he could have easy access to his potty at all times. We called it potty training boot camp.  I put a pull-up on him for church Sunday and it was wet when I picked him up.  Tuesday night, to Chip’s objections, I put him in underwear for bed. A friend told me if I didn't go ahead and do it he would be in night diapers until he was four.  He did great! 

He’s been trained for almost a month and after the first day he’s only had one accident, which was early in the morning.  He loves his Lighting McQueen underwear that Nannie and Papa got for him and he’s done great using public restrooms.  Overall wasn’t nearly as scary as I had made it out to be.  I just have to keep reminding myself to take him to the potty before bed and before we go anywhere.  But that’s a lot better than paying $40 a week for diapers and wipes.   I think I’ve been dreading potty training since he was born.  But with Super Dad’s help, it was a great experience!