Potty Training

Well, I am happy to report that we are now diaper free during the day! Hadley started showing some interest in potty training at about 19 months. I went to Target one day and I was just looking at potty seats (but not really planning on buying anything that day), and she absolutely had a fit for a potty. So I decided not to fight her if she wanted to try it, and I bought her a potty that day.

At first, I just took her with me when I went and sat her on her own potty. She actually used it the first day, but it took a while before she would do it regularly. For the first month or two, we were still using diapers/pull-ups on her while she got used to the concept of using the potty. She did well when we took her to the potty and every once in a while she would come and tell us she had to potty, but she was not really consistent. So I picked a week when I knew we would be home for most of the week, and I put panties on her full-time. The first day or two were a little rough--there were lots of accidents--and she usually was not very happy about it when she had an accident. But after that, she seemed to get the hang of it.

She still averages about 1 accident per day, but I think for a less than 2-year old that is doing pretty good.

A few suggestions in case anyone else is planning to potty train soon:

1. Potty training is much less convenient than diapering. So if you have not been potty training for a number of months already, I wouldn't suggest doing it right before or after a new baby. And changing a diaper is much, much more pleasant than cleaning out a kiddie potty!

2. Along the convenience lines, you have to be potty-ready at ALL times. Because they will inevitably say "potty" at the MOST inconvenient times for you. Like when you just left somewhere (that had a potty) and got ready to put him/her in the car; when you are driving on a rural road with no bathroom in sight; when the only bathroom in sight is so gross that you would not even want to use it yourself.

3. A few products that help with convenience: the Pottette Plus is the best portable potty ever! You can get it at Babies R Us (online only) and BuyBuy Baby. We keep this in the car so that we have a bathroom everywhere we go. It has disposable bag liners (that actually do not leak), so after they are used, you can just throw them away in the trash and don't have to worry about emptying/cleaning a potty on the go. I also carry potty protectors and a plastic portable potty seat that fits on a regular size toilet so that we can use public restrooms when needed (as long as they are relatively clean). The plastic portable seat keeps her from falling in, and I don't have to hold her up on it.

4. And for the accidents--invest in a steam cleaner. That way you can easily clean carseats, mattresses, carpets etc. without having to take the carseat out of the car. I have the Shark Portable Steam Pocket, which you can get a Kohl's.

--Amanda