Wednesday, May 07, 2008

a potty post

Potty Training...Where to begin?

Ever since Emma was born I had decided it was time to potty train Grace. I guess when you change those itty bitty newborn diapers you quickly realize that your HUGE toddler needs to learn to go on the potty.

So I've been saying that I would train Grace this summer when she could run around the house in her panties and just a t-shirt.Monday morning arrived and I decided to just see what would happen if I put her in Elmo panties (the cutest things ever!).

A little background... Grace LOVES the potty. She hates being wet or poopy and recently she learned to take her diaper off. She has being going on the potty for about a year now, but it was always on her terms... she had to ask. Which she did often. So I felt like she has been ready.

On Monday morning she stayed dry for a couple hours and then she got busy coloring (she LOVES to color) and had an accident. It was actually really cute... she ran over to me saying "Mommy, Mommy... WET!". I did put a diaper on for her nap and I thought that was enough potty training for the day and we would try again the next day. (Mainly b/c I had to run some errands and I wasn't ready yet to take on the challenge of training outside the house.). She was NOT happy about this. She wanted Elmo panties. Finally I convinced her to put a pull-up on. (OH and Pull-ups are the dumbest thing ever invented!... its just an expensive glorified diaper that they can pull-up and down themselves... I guess I just feel like its all or nothin'...

Anyway, yesterday didn't go as well. I had her in panties in the morning, but then Gracie's friend Travis came over to play and she had an accident, so I put her in a diaper. I figured it was a bit distracting to have a friend over. But after her nap we put panties back on and she didn't have an accident for 3 hours! Adam was out of town last night, so we went to my parents house for dinner so I again put her in a diaper. So that is where we are... not very far.

I know I'm going to have bite the bullet at some point and just leave her in panties when we leave the house, but I'm nervous. I'm also going to out of town tomorrow, so I think potty training will be put on hold to next Monday. OH and I almost forgot. Everytime she goes potty she gets one M&M! Is that bad?

So here are my questions:
*When did you leave the house with your kids that were potty training?
*How often do you ask them to go potty? I'm asking as often as I can remember... normally about every 15-30 minutes.

Well I better run. More potty training days to continue!

14 comments:

Living to Love said...

Ok, I don't know much about this but, I do know some friends who would (as gross as it sounds) put a little potty seat in the back of their car. If they took the child out (without a diaper) and they just HAD to go, they would pull over and let them go and empty the potty then on the side of the road or later??? I thought that was a pretty good idea. Since I am definitely not well versed in this subject, I'll wait and see what the others have to share!!

P.S. your comment on my post yesterday made ME cry!! I appreciate your empathy and encouragement! It means a lot! Blessing to you as you go out of town!

Tiffany said...

It's horrible that you give her one M&M when she goes potty...you need to give her 2 or 3 ;o)

I was going to call you today, but I guess if you're going out of town, just call me when you get back for a "playdate."

The Lada Family said...

Remember to reward her when she is dry and clean as well. It's not the task of going on the potty that is to be praised but that of Staying Dry and Clean!
Good Luck... and I say just bite the bullet and keep her in panties always (minus naps and bedtime). She seems to be ready.
Have fun in KY

A Perfect Pandemonium said...

Since we're still going through the whole training thing, I can give a some advise that has worked for us.

First off, Cody is completely pee potty trained, it's the pooping he still has a problem with. I reward him every time he goes poop in the potty. I used to when he would pee like you do Grace and eventually they forget about the M&M's and they just go.

I HATE pullups too! I think it's just a way for them to make more money. They are more expensive than diapers and to a kid, they feel the same way. I never have used them, either they're in a diaper or they're not. I DO bring an extra potty chair in the car, I keep it in the back of the van. I picked a cheap one up at Target for 9 bucks! It might sound disgusting but I think it works just in case and you can always clean it as soon as you get home. I still keep one in the car because you never know when you'll need it.

Other than that, it's just patients. It's true when they say they will do it on their own, not to get mad and just wait it out. I do sometimes get upset when Cody has an accident because I know he knows what to do but at the same time, the more I have got made at him, the more he has accidents.

Hope this helps and if you're not ready to take her out without a diaper then don't. Just make sure when you're home she's always in panties except for at bed time.

Colleen said...

ok...with Bella we had her "go" potty every hour/hour and a half during the day. Just to try. And with out a doubt after every meal. We kept her in the panties all the time. Once you commit to them, we had to stick to it. It did help to put the panties over the pull-up for naps and bedtime just because she loved her "Dora Drawers" so much. We also had my mom call and pretend to be Elmo sometimes to congratulate her on her "accomplishment". Mom has a Tickle-me-Elmo from back in the day that she would have giggle into the phone. Bella loved it. Barbie would also call sometimes. Hey, whatever works, right! Good Luck!!

Melissa said...

Yeah - we skipped the pull-ups too. Mostly because Jaycie just didn't want to wear them, so we went straight to panties. She was REAL easy to train- there really wasn't much training, she just kind of did it. (hope Kaylie is that easy :) )

We pretty much went straight to panties for nap time too, as long as she was able to pee right before putting her down (and limit her water intake a little before nap) but she still wears a diaper to bed - sometimes wakes up dry sometimes wet!

We still do the M&M reward 3 for pee 5 for poop!! Good luck!

Barbara said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Barbara said...

A couple hundred years ago I remember potty traing Leigh, Blake, Mike and Charlie. Boys are much easier if they have a brother to copy...but their aim NEVER improves...no mater how many M&M's you use for the bribe. Gracie is coming along well. I loved the idea of phone calls from Elmo or Barbie..how fun is that!
Love ya...Aunt Barb

Anonymous said...

i am by NO means an expert....chandler still has accidents. supposedly girls are easier, so hopefully you won't have the same problems i do. my pediatrician suggests a timer. every time the timer goes off, run to the potty...no matter what. chandler gets distracted with playing and forgets to go potty A LOT. there is a book that teaches you how to potty train in a few days. it is suppose to work. i would suggest it. when chandler FIRST started training, we stayed home all weekend long. then we'd take extra clothes- pee before we left the house, when we got to the store, before we left the store, when we got home...i know...a lot of peeing... but we still do it. i don't know how long it takes, but again, i hope yours does the transition quicker. oh and i wouldn't do pull ups either. they are so stupid.

Tasha said...

So glad you wrote about this...I am having such a hard time with my little one. Ever since we got back from vacation she wants nothing to do with the potty. She cries when we ask her to sit on it now...

MamaMia said...

2 things worked for us...every time the girls were successful, we did a "potty dance." They loved seeing mommy and daddy getting jiggy with it.

Elle potty trained at the beach when we were on vacation. She didn't wear diapers, just a swimsuit. We tried every hour to go potty. She had one accident and we just rinsed off in the ocean!!

E said...

Good luck! :)

Texas Aggie in Florida said...

There's just no easy way! I have read the book, "Potty Training in Less Than a Day" and I used their strategies. It worked, but she still had accidents occassionally. I will tell you that she had less accidents when I put the little potty away and just let her use the big potty. I guess she felt more grown up or something. But she just turned 5 and as recent as January she was still having occassional accidents to the point that I took her to the dr. So even when you think you're done and you've gone like a whole YEAR or more in panties, just know that they sometimes revert back to accidents. I didn't take her out of the house in panties until she had been wearing panties at home for several months and we were achieving TOTAL success at home consistently. And I also have a potty in my car. I hate public restrooms! Plus when you're on the road and you don't want to get both kids out of the car to go inside somewhere to potty, you just pull off in a parking lot and let her do her thing and toss the pee in a bush somewhere!

We also used M&M's and she got 3! And now training Ashton, when she goes potty they BOTH get M&Ms to encourage Lexi to HELP her sister go potty.

Anonymous said...

Love to bend her over and assfuck her deep till i cum in her