Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Potty Training

Well. It's official. Rory is 100% potty trained. She is 3 years, 2 months old and she rocked it.  
We started "potty training" (if you could call it that) around Valentine's Day. We bought a potty, started putting her on it, getting her excited about it...but she wasn't having it. She just wasn't interested. She liked the potty but wasn't ready. Fine, okay. Whatever.
 Then one day she did it. SUCCESS.

That was that. By Easter, she was entirely day trained. No pull ups or diapers at all during the day. Nighttime not so much. Honestly, I wasn't sure when night training would be a success.

Then last week, my mom told Rory girls who wear diapers to sleep can't go to preschool.

And since then? NOT ONE ACCIDENT. I moved her little potty in to her room. She wakes up and uses it during the night and puts herself back to sleep. She is completely done with diapers. She even got out of the pool the other day to go the bathroom.

Sorry, non-moms. I'm sure you could care less but I'm thrilled. My life just got 50% easier. Now it's time to start training little man. Considering Trace takes his diapers off every 10 minutes or so, I'd say he's ready.

Pray for me. I'm going to need it. ;)

Here's my top 10 Potty Training Tips

1. Let your child try but if they aren't interested or don't seem ready, back off. Frustration is no good for anyone!

2. Give small rewards with each success. We did an M&M for each #1. Now we backed off and she only gets a treat for umm...how to put it nicely...a BIG success. ;)

3. Don't be afraid to hold off on night time training. Going 12 hours without peeing is a lot!

4. Get a toddler potty. Totally worth it. Rory loves having her own potty.

5. I carried a potty seat in my car with us everywhere we went for a few months. Big toilets can be scary.

6. In public restrooms, hold your hand over the automatic flusher. They are loud and can scare little ones.

7. Always carry extra clothes with you. A full set. Even shoes. Trust me.

8. I'm not a huge fan of Pull ups, but Rory did wear them on longer car trips at the beginning. They were life savers a couple times...like on the plane to Florida. Yikes. I just wasn't ready for THAT bullet yet. ;)

9. Have fun! Celebrate each "victory!" We made a huge deal about it and still do. If she wakes up dry, we cheer and clap. Rory has called relatives to tell them her "very exciting news," gotten to wear "makeup" (glitter) for a day when she woke up dry the first time...any little thing I can think of that would keep her wanting to stay dry, we did. Special undies were a big deal for Rory too.

10. Stay relaxed. It will happen. The more you stress, the harder it will be!

7 comments:

Natalie said...

Having a potty trained kid is one of the biggest moments in a parent's life. Seriously. It's right up there with sleeping all night & learning to drive.

Jolie would not use a public toilet b/c she HATED the automatic flushers. She was 2 & tiny. Who could blame her? That thing would go off while she was sitting there & scare her to death. We started putting toilet paper over the sensor & she was fine.
Also? Target has a paper toilet covers for kids that are MUCH better than the ones in the actual stalls. They're thicker material, adhesive & have some cartoon on them.

Jessica said...

Yay Rory!!! I love that she has a potty in her room! Such a great idea (even if Em was afraid of the little potty!) These are all great tips for moms. I can't wait until Emmy is completely done with Pull Ups. She's potty trained during the day but night time is still a challenge.

Congrats to you too! You survived potty training!!!

Kerbi said...

Way to go Rory!! It's almost like you got a pay-raise!!

Unknown said...

Good job, Rory! May have to bookmark your tips for the future :)

Laura said...

Hooray for Rory!!

One less little person to diaper is amazing after having to diaper two kids for a while. :)

I hated potty training. And with Jason we did actually have to force him to sit on the toilet. He just wouldn't do it but every single night without fail we would put a clean diaper on him, tuck him in bed and he would pee within five minutes. So one night I made him sit on the toilet. He eventually stop screaming, peed and that was that. It was strange.

Amber said...

Way to go Rory! Congrats mama. :) I have to 2nd Kerbi's comment - now you have some extra cash ;)

Jana Faith said...

Awww, so happy for you and your newly potty trained little ones. It's an accomplishment!