Potty Training Experience - Round 2
BEST MOM IDEAS - POTTY TRAINING EXPERIENCE ROUND 2
We started the potty training journey with my second son recently. When they say every experience is different, it’s true. It wasn’t a bad experience, just different.
Signs of Readiness
My second son was about 2 1/2 when he began showing us that he was ready to start potty training by telling us when he had a poopy diaper, being interested in his brother going potty, asking if he could go in the potty, and asking to wear underwear over his diaper. Although he was not keeping his diapers dry at nap time or bedtime yet. Mentally, he was ready so we talked to him about how he would wear big boy underwear and he would need to tell mommy and daddy that he had to go pee or poop in the potty. He agreed he was ready.
GETTING READY FOR POTTY TRAINING
Just like with our older son, we all went to the store to pick out some special underwear and a special treat that only he would receive after he successfully went pee or poop in the potty. He also picked tootsie rolls without knowing what his older brother picked—I thought that was funny.
We decided to start the process first thing in the morning, so I explained to him that when he woke up in the morning he would get to wear his new big boy underwear and start going pee in the potty just like his big brother and daddy. And after he went pee or poop in the potty he would get a tootsie roll. He was really excited.
I do NOT recommend Disney potty training seats! There are holes around the cushion part of the seat that allow pee to get in the seat, and then the pee stays in the seat, but if you hang the seat up then the pee drips out of the bottom of the seat and it’s just a big, gross mess! I’m a big fan of the adult toilet seats with built-in child potty seats! They are awesome, and so easy to keep clean!
POTTY TRAINING PROCESS
When he woke up, we took his diaper off and went straight to the potty. He peed and everybody did a dance and high-fived—older brother even encouraged little brother. He got a tootsie roll and picked out which pair of underwear he was going to wear that day. I explained that he needed to keep his underwear dry and that the characters on his underwear got sad when they got wet. He repeated it back to me.
I set the timer for every 30 minutes because I remember how annoyed my older son got with the 15 minute timer. The first couple of times I would make him stop what he was doing and go sit on the potty so that he got used to the process. I think he went once. But then he started to think he had to go every time we would sit on the potty, so he didn’t want to get off the potty until he went. One time he sat on the potty for 45 minutes. I couldn’t do that again with two other little ones running around the house, so I made the mistake of starting the “water trick” where I pour luke warm water on his pee pee and it usually makes them have to go pee. At the time, I thought it would help him understand the feeling of having the urge to pee, but it really just made him want the “water trick” each time so that it wouldn’t take so long.
With my “water trick” mistake he wasn’t really listening to his body and understanding the urge to pee so he was having a lot of accidents in his underwear. So I decided maybe we would try the totally naked method because he so badly wanted to potty train. He did great being totally naked. I think it was because he didn’t have the comfort of the diaper or underwear feeling like a diaper so it made him want to go in the potty. But as soon as we put clothes on he would revert back to having accidents.
Although he thoroughly enjoyed being naked, I couldn’t take a naked boy out in public so we decided to go back to diapers until he was able to be more aware of his body and the need to pee. We thought he would be upset by this decision, but he wasn’t. He also started telling us when he was peeing in his diaper. We went back to diapers for about 3-4 months. Then we started the process all over again.
This time we did not use the “water trick!” On the first day I set the timer for every 30 minutes and then when the timer beeped I would ask if he needed to go pee instead of making him go. On the second day I extended the time to 45 minutes and so on. This was a better process for him.
ACCIDENTS
We have had a few accidents here and there, but definitely not as many as he was having the first time we tried potty training. His accidents are usually because he waits to long until he needs to go to the bathroom and he just can’t hold it in anymore.
If he has an accident, then he will tell me that the characters on his underwear are sad. I agree with him, and ask him where he should go pee. He will tell me in the potty. Then I ask him to help me clean up the accident by putting his dirty clothes in the wash and spraying the disinfectant while I wipe up the pee.
SLEEPING
We choose to use a “sleeping” diaper for nap time and bedtime. For, nap time he will go to the bathroom and then we put a sleeping diaper on. When he gets up from his nap we take the diaper off and he goes to the bathroom again. My second son has always been a “scheduled pooper.” He gets in a routine of pooping around the same time each day for several weeks. And lately his pooping time is during nap time, so he typically poops in his diaper which is not great during potty training. I try to remind him that he can call me to tell me he has to go poop, then we will go poop in the potty. (He has no problem going poop in the potty if he is in his underwear, but doesn’t mind pooping in his diaper still). Recently he has started keeping his nap time diapers dry, so I give him the choice of sleeping in a “sleeping” diaper or underwear. He likes knowing that he has control of what he gets to wear.
For bedtime, he also sleeps in a “sleeping” diaper. He will continue to sleep in a “sleeping” diaper at night until he keeps his diaper dry regularly during nap time and then begins to keep his “sleeping” diaper dry during the night. He’s a very hard sleeper, so this transition might take a little while, and that’s totally fine!
REGRESSION
We haven’t faced any regression yet with my second son. I thought we might when his big brother went off to preschool, but he stayed strong in this potty training endeavor! I’m sure we might face a hurdle at some point, and I will probably go back to the basics of when we first started potty training until we work through the regression.
TRANSITIONING TO STANDING FOR BOYS
Since my second son has seen daddy and his older brother stand to pee, he thinks it is time for him to stand to pee as well. So we are starting to transition into standing to pee. He’s not quite tall enough yet, so he needs to stand on the stool to be able to aim in the potty. We also have to remind him to pull his shirt up when he stands so he doesn’t pee on it, but when he stands to pee he is so proud of himself for being just like the big boys!
