Ride on the Train, the Potty Train!

Reading these posts about potty training from, oh, 11 months ago is cracking me up! What a naïve little lady I was. My friends with more older children were so nice not to laugh at me to my face. Ah, those were the days. Well, here we are, 11 months later, and Shelby still is not 100% potty trained! Surprise, surprise! But we are nearly there (I think? Maybe?). Several times I have thought we were there only to have a regression. Before Matilda was born and even up until a few weeks after she was born, Shelby was nearly potty trained, only to regress fully into diapers. She has been reliably wearing panties accident-free now for a few months. She is not at all potty trained for sleep (and that doesn't concern me in the least) but she is not potty trained for poop (this doesn't concern me either since she saves it for the diaper, but I would like to have her poop in the potty just because I am tired of wasting a diaper for every poop!). She wears a diaper for her nap and bed, and that is when she chooses to poop. So here's what has and has not worked for us thus far in our potty training adventures:

• Pull-ups: FAIL! Okay, not a total fail. We do use Pull-ups for outings with the grandparents and her one morning a week at school, not because she “goes” in the Pull-up, but just to avoid an accident situation with another caregiver. We briefly tried Pull-ups and she just used them as diapers and fully regressed.
• Absorbent panties: PASS! These were great in the early days when she had a hard time anticipating having to go.
• Waterproof covers: PASS! Great in the very early days.
• Non-absorbent panties: PASS! The best way to potty train. She didn't stop having accidents until I put her in plain old panties with no cover. They made the accidents rather inconvenient for her since her legs would get wet.
• Reward charts: FAIL and PASS! These were a total failure until she was a few months past two and then she started to respond to them fairly well. Though if she isn't in the mood for it, she really doesn't care if she doesn't get a sticker or star or whatever.
• Prizes: FAIL! We have a bag full of prizes for pooping on the potty. While she loves the prizes, they don't motivate her.
• M&M's: PASS! We used these initially for peeing. She loved getting an M&M for peeing. Later, we also gave an M&M if her panties were dry and she responded really well to this.
• Potty books: PASS! It's the only way to keep her heiny on the potty. Her doctor suggested we get special books that she can only look at on the potty and then let her keep one when she poops. This has not at all motivated her to poop.
• Timers: PASS! We used a timer and said, “When it beeps, it's time to go potty.” This worked great and was much better than a parental reminder.
• Having a baby: FAIL and PASS! Having a baby initially caused a regression, but a couple of months later, she proudly announced that the diapers were for Matilda and that's when she started wearing panties all day and not having accidents.

Potty Training Week 3

Week 3 of potty training is off to a great start! Last week, Shelby only had one accident. She is now wearing regular non-absorbent undies and pants around the house, and while she isn't great about telling me when she needs to go, we go pretty frequently since I am pregnant, and she does a great job of telling me at the last second if she is about to have an accident (legs suddenly crossed and a high-pitched “no,” “pee-pee,” or “potty” accompany the worried look on her face). I know that we will probably have plenty more wet days in our future and I'm not sure when I will be brave enough to put her in just undies (as opposed to the absorbent undies and waterproof trainers she wears out of the house now) for outings, but for now, I'm feeling very optimistic! She still won't poop in the potty and sleeps in diapers, but I'll be happy if she's just in undies for the daytime by the time the new baby is here.

Potty Training Week 2

We are midway through week two of potty training, and things are getting easier! We have had two no-accidents at home days (accidents still happen out and about though)! We spent a day of going commando (her, not me) around the house and this seemed to help Shelby to become better at “catching” herself in an accident or telling me when she needs to pee. I still put her on the potty every time I need to go and then also try to get her on it every 45 minutes or so. Today we started wearing undies with no absorbency around the house and so far Shelby hasn't had any accidents! She still doesn't like pooping in the potty, so she is holding her poop until diaper time (at naps and bedtime) which is fine by me. Since she is still a very frequent pooper, I am glad she is learning to hold it and do it at specific times of the day. It is also getting easier to travel with a potty training toddler. I initially found all of the extra luggage (the travel potty, which I do find necessary since she is still pretty small; the change of clothes; the extra undies and extra diapers and wipes since I am never certain what I will need) to be overwhelming and had trouble adjusting to the extra time I need for any given errand (need potty time before leaving the house, immediately upon arrival, frequently while we are out, and again before we leave, in addition to the fact that she needs to be undressed and then clothed again from the bottom down every time she uses the potty).

I am really happy with the Gerber undies/Bummis Whisper Pants combo. I don't really care for the Kisaluvs because I find the side snaps to make it too similar to a diaper and too difficult to pull up and down like undies. But on the other hand, I like that I can stuff the Kisaluvs to make them more absorbent. I like the Blueberrys and am considering purchasing a couple more, but am not sure if I really need them in addition to the cheaper Gerber/Bummis combo. The other benefit of the Gerbers is that I can continue to use them when Shelby no longer needs the cover but isn't quite ready to wear undies with no absorbency.

Potty Training Take 2

After a few days of going back to diapers, Shelby awoke from her nap on Sunday and asked to use the potty. She had a terrific afternoon! Every hour or so I set Shelby on the potty and she peed in it. And between potty visits, she kept her undies dry! Since then, we have had undies days and diapers days, and I generally let her choose because she almost always chooses undies. Even our undies days are mostly wet, but she is still peeing in the potty frequently so I'm letting her set the rules for the most part.

We are using the Gerber padded underwear (not waterproof – I bought these and they were huge and noisy!) and Bummis Whisper Pants. We also have a pair of Kisaluvs pocket trainers and Blueberry trainers. I've been using these for outings.

Potty Training Take 1 (a.k.a. How Not to Potty Train)

The following are my potty training diaries from our cold turkey attempt at potty training exactly two weeks ago:

Potty Training Day 1

Shelby started showing an interest in peeing and pooping at 15 months, at which point I purchased a potty and a few potty training books for her. I decided not to push her, but just let her use the potty whenever she wanted. Within a month or so, she was in a pretty solid routine of using the potty before her nap and before bed, and she would, on rare occasion, specifically ask to use the potty at different times of the day. I had considered potty training at various times in the fall, but it always seemed that I couldn't free up enough days on the calendar, and then I was too tired from first trimester pregnancy, and then we had the added stress/excitement of my mom moving in and the holidays in November and December. I decided to potty train this week only because it happened to be an especially open week with no scheduling conflicts that was far enough removed from the excitement of the holidays.

I decided to wait until after breakfast to introduce potty training to Shelby. So, after breakfast, we went upstairs to the bathroom, took off her diaper, grabbed one of her babies (I at first grabbed a baby baby doll, but then grabbed a more mature baby doll with pigtails who seemed to better fit the bill), and led her and baby to the potty. I set baby on the potty and said to Shelby, “Baby is going pee-pee on the potty. Yeah, baby!” And we both applauded baby's efforts. Then, I took one Reese's Pieces out of the bag and explained, “Since baby pee-peed on the potty, she gets a candy!” Then baby “ate” the candy. I then gave Shelby the candy and said, “Every time Shelby pee-pees today, she will also get a candy!” Shelby played with the candy in her hand until I explained that it goes in her mouth. After eating her first candy ever, her eyes grew really round and she furiously pointed toward the box yelling, “More, more!” I explained that she would have to go pee-pee on the potty for more, and this resulted in a first rate meltdown. So then I thought maybe I should show her again how this game works. So I put baby back on the potty and rewarded baby with a candy, but then didn't give the candy to Shelby. Shelby immediately plopped herself down on the potty, and I was delighted that she was getting it so quickly. But then she jumped back off the potty without peeing and pointed at the box yelling, “More, more!” I explained to her that she couldn't have more unless she peed in the potty, and this resulted in a heaped mass of toddler kicking and screaming on the bathroom floor.

This was an appropriate start to our day. For the remainder of the morning, Shelby refused to sit on the potty at all. We had started the day with Shelby just in cotton undies, but after her second accident on the carpeting in her room, I decided pants and socks were the way to go so they would at least absorb most of the pee before it hit the carpet! I think we went through at least 8 pairs of undies in the morning! After about an hour of this business, I sent Dave out on an emergency mission to Barnes & Noble to buy an Elmo potty training book. Shelby already has three potty training books, but she was refusing to look at any of them, angrily smacking them away or grabbing them from my hand and then tossing them across the room (or at least 2-3 feet away – her best effort to toss across the room). In addition, he downloaded a potty training Sesame Street special.

Our morning of potty training completely exhausted both of us, and after her nap, I just decided to lay off of it a bit. She opted for undies over a diaper, and had several more accidents and refused to use the potty, but I just stopped offering the potty as well.

Potty Training Day 2-2.5

Well, I will let it suffice to say that days 2 and 2.5 of hardcore potty training were a failure! A couple of hours into the day on day 3, I found Shelby lying on her bedroom floor attempting to put on a diaper. I decided to throw in the towel. I think that Shelby is the sort of kid who wants to make her own decisions and she seemed angry when I would tell her to use the potty. After reading a bit of Diaper-Free Before 3 (which would be more aptly titled Diaper Free By Two) by Jill M. Lekovic, M.D., I think we are better suited to a longer term, old-fashioned approach to potty training, so I've ordered some old fashioned waterproof covers and we will see how things go. I think this approach will also better fit our lifestyle since Shelby and I are both the type who enjoy getting out of the house and socializing and since we do a good number of classes and playgroups.