Potty Training Awareness Month

Did you know that June was Potty Awareness Month?  Well it is and we have decided to share our potty training experiences with our readers. Good Luck to all of you who are embarking on this journey! It can be tough or in some cases (see Heather’s story) very easy! Don’t give up and please feel free to share your stories with us.

That’s It Mommy friend, Erika

Erika’s Story

For Adeline’s 2nd Birthday she got her very own pink potty and some Dora the Explorer underwear I thought that was all it would take for her to be potty trained!  Fast forward 6 months later and the potty still sat unused and the Dora underwear was too small!  I decided that Adeline would be potty trained eventually and I wasn’t going to force the issue.  Well, that is not the entire truth.  I may have tried to force it a little but it caused tremendous breakdowns so it wasn’t worth it.  Adeline didn’t want to wear her new Princess underwear and whenever I managed to get her into them she would last about 5 minutes before having an accident.  So I stopped.  We talked about it a lot. Finally one day we were visiting my sister Karen, who is a preschool teacher.  She asked Adeline if she wanted to go to her school next year and Adeline got very excited by this idea.   Karen then told Adeline that she had to go on the potty in order to go to school.  Nothing more was said.  A few days later Adeline decided she was ready to use her potty.  That was it!  She was potty trained and “ready for school”. We have had a couple of accidents but not too many.  Adeline is still wearing pull-ups to bed but they have been dry in the morning.  Next stop preschool!

Tee’s Story

I first wrote about our potty training experience with Teagan back inMarch (read here). The situation has improved. She goes on the potty more often than not but she still hasn’t fully embraced the idea. She seems to be anxious about the whole process. I’m a full time working mom so our daycare provider handles most of the potty training. My husband and I work with Teagan in the evenings and on weekends. Lately she’s gone entire weekends without an accident. But daycare seems to be a different issue. She’s not as comfortable there and tends to hold it in. The holding in has turned into constipation issues! (Sigh) I never imagined how hard this transition was going to be.

Potty training is such an individual experience. It seems like nothing for some kids but a bigger ordeal for others. There have been times when Teagan has even asked for her diaper! Maybe it’s her ‘security blanket.’ Whatever the case we’re here to encourage and support her. Potty training is one of the few things that parents just don’t have a lot of control over. The child ultimately decides whether or not they’re ready. So, we’re still taking things day by day and encouraging and supporting her through this transition. Teagan is having a difficult time leaving her “baby” ways behind. I’ve even noticed a little regression here and there. We talked to Teagan’s doctor and she said, “Don’t worry about it. It’ll happen eventually.”

Heather’s Story

I don’t think most moms want to hear my experience.  Consider this a warning—read no further unless you want to read about the ideal experience.  Here it is in a nutshell-Kieran essentially potty trained herself by her 2^nd birthday and was dry through the night at around 2 years 4 months.  Hey—I warned you!  I really wish there was a magical answer I could give to other moms, but it all just kind of fell into place.  I honestly wasn’t even ready when it happened!  I read no books, had no discussions with friends or any other preparations before the big event.  She just calmly walked over to get her changing pad out of her diaper bag one day, sat on it, looked right at me and the rest is history.  Kieran led the way and I just followed.  It’s my opinion, though, that since she started so young (with exclusively pooping on the toilet from the age of 17 months), the entire process was prolonged.  For full daytime dryness and transition to “big girl underwear”, it was from November to May.  We also have a 3 month old, and are already preparing ourselves that the next time likely won’t be so easy!

Jill’s Story

Potty training did not happen for us the way everyone else said it happened for them. Friends and family provided gentle pressure by telling us their success stories. The “all or nothing” approach, M&Ms, stickers, books, videos and new big kid underwear – nada.

These successes gave us lots of methods to try with my daughter which perhaps made potty training the most talked about subject in our home for about 12 months. We had lots of starts and stops which I felt were necessary to keep potty training from becoming negative for everyone in the family. For us something just clicked and she began exclusively using the potty overnight. I think we can take some credit in preparing her by introducing the equipment and talking so much about it, but the reality is it was only when she made the decision to stop using diapers that we had success. We’ll be trying potty training all over again with our second child and I think this time around I will just be a bit more relaxed as I let him set the time frame for potty training success.

Good luck!!  thatsITmommy & friends