Potty Training - Cypress, TX

Every child is different, and she will do it when she is ready. Keep asking, talking, and taking her to the potty.
She may, as my daughter did, not be so interested when the baby comes. Do not stress about it. Try pull-ups, or big girl panties (and have extra laundry). I have one in diapers, and she is in a pull-up. She is 2 1/2. She is does not tell us, and is not bothered when she poops. It is no big deal at this time. When she is ready, she will be ready to move to the next step. I tried setting a timer for myself and taking her every 45 minutes with good success, but without my initiative, she would just have accidents.

My daughter decided when she was and wasn't ready to potty train. The one thing I did do that seemed to help was to buy pretty big girl panties. We let her pick them out, her favorite character, and made a HUGE deal about not messing in her Big Girl Panties and it really seemed to help.

Kindra, congratulations on baby number 2! It sounds like your daughter is right on track. Toddlers can't really do what they're not ready to do. To avoid frustration on your part and feelings of disapointment on her part, I would let the goal of April go. It will only add more stress to the new born schedule. It's not the worst thing in the world and eventually she will go on her own. Besides, it's never a good time to start a new thing when her home life is about to be disrupted as she knows it (when the new little one comes). The last thing you want is to force potty train and then she regress when the baby comes.

She probably won't tell you when she has to pee. You have to instill in her that she will probably have to go every 45 minutes or so. So take her whether she tells you or not. That's how I got my boy trained..and he was way hard. I understand it's hard though, I was pregnant and also potty training, for the same reason. I wasn't on bedrest but I was huge, nearly half of double my weight. Try to be consistant as possible.

I have a 2 year old also and we did the same thing but she would never tell me when she had to go and would have accidents in diapers. We just started putting her in panties and she picked it right up only 3 accidents. I think they start to feel big and understand if they dont go in potty they get wet.

My pediatrician told me that the best indicator that a child is ready to potty train is that he or she wakes up consistently in the morning or from naps with a dry diaper. This means that their bladder and spinchter muscles are developed enough to hold everything in until they are awake. I waited until my son consistenly woke up with dry diapers to start potty training him, and it has worked well. Within a week he was going by himself then calling to me to help him put his underwear back on.

It sounds like your daughter may already be doing this, so I would advise taking her out of the diapers, and no pull-ups either. Those both keep kids so dry that they don't realize when they pee. In my opinion, if a child can't realize that they have wet themselves, it prolongs them learning the sensation that they need to go potty. My son never told me before we potty trained that he had a wet diaper, but the first time he had an accident in his underwear and could feel that his clothes were all wet he shout,"Mommy, I tee-teed in my underwear!!!"

I hope this helps. I know it will be difficult on bed rest. Good Luck!!!

We put my daughter into training pants with plastic pants over them and when she had an accident she had to change them. We didn't scold or get mad at her...changing her own pants was the consequence of not using the potty. We also brought her potty chair into our family room (we have a wood floor) and had her sit on it every hour. She got rewarded with an M&M each time she went. She was fully trained during the day within 3 days. It took another week and a half for her to stay dry at night. We found that we couldn't use pull-ups because they were the same as diapers to her. Also every bathroom in our house has a Dora seat and a step stool for her. The potty chair is in the master bath.

Good luck on your bed rest! I was on bed rest for 3 weeks at the beginning and 6 weeks at the end. It was tough but so worth it!

Honestly, you can't push the issue. She'll do it when she's ready. And though I think that potty training 10 month olds is, um, not truly potty training, I do agree with pp's statement that your daughter could backslide when the baby is born anyway.

A lot of people asked if I was going to start potty training my son before the new baby came (he was 2, and was 27 months when she was born). I knew that there was no way I would try that, only to have him revert! He has had some surprising reactions to the new baby...some just recently (she's 7 months old). I wouldn't push the issue.

Something to consider about "2 in diapers"...have you ever thought about cloth diapers? They are really so much easier now, and if you get the "one size" diapers, both your children can use them! My 38 lb 2 1/2 yr old son and my 7 month daughter can wear the same diaper in 2 different brands of one size diapers, with just the adjustment of snaps! Please email me if you would like more info (I am not selling, I just love using cloth, and I wish more people knew how easy it really is!). The savings are astronimical when you think about it (though I did use disposables for DD when she was a newborn) and you can use the same diapers for both of them. What's more is there is a great resale value on cloth, so when you're finished with diapers you can sell them and get back some of your cost. You can even buy them used (which may sound weird, but back in the day of diaper services, those diapers were washed and reused all the time. there are a lot of ways to disinfect). Disposables can't say all of that!

I think you will have a harder job trying to get a not-ready (or even a kind of ready) toddler to potty train while taking care of a newborn. Having 2 in diapers isn't that much harder, except on the pocketbook. I'd be happy to give you names of diapers, where you can buy new, where you can buy used, and even what I think of a lot of diapers. GL!

Believe it or not, potty training is one of those developmental things children have to go through WHEN they are ready. Just like crawling, standing and walking. She WILL eventually be able to tell you when she needs to potty. The urge to have a bowel movement is easier to recognize than the urge to urinate. If the child is not ready, then you are the only one "being trained", and it ends up being more work for you. Encourage her, and she will let you know when she's ready. It WILL happen.

Hey, two in diapers isn't such a bad thing! Try bringing an infant into a public restroom with a 2 yr old who has to potty. I've HAD to do it and it isn't pretty!

Don't rush things. By always putting her on the potty you're training yourself, not her. Let her have a couple accidents and if she doesn't get it in the next month, I'd suggest waiting until after the baby is born. You don't want to add any more stress than you have to. She should feel excited about a new baby sister, not as though she's being pushed out of her baby role to make way for her replacement.

By the way, you're very lucky to have the poo poo thing down. 3 of mine couldn't/wouldn't control that for nearly a year after they were pee pee trained. That is an AWFUL mess to clean out of panties every day! (We threw alot away!)
Good luck!

Hi K.~
Do you have her in "big girl" underwear yet? That seemed to be a very big deal to my girls. We went to Target and I let them pick out their own "panties." We made a big todo about the whole thing. Having underwear made a difference I think for two reasons; they didn't like to be wet when they did urinate and their underwear was so special to them that it was at the forefront of their thoughts. Too, we kept a special ink stamp by the potty and everytime they were successful they got a stamp on their hand....also a big deal!
Hope this helps!

Best,
R.

I tried and tried, but finally the thing that worked for me was this little Fisher Price Potty that played a royal "da da da da" when the motion sensor detected my kiddo was urinating.

The immediate gratification and instant reward of acknowledgement seemed to do it for him.

It's a little thrown. Very cute. It also comes with stickers and a chart. P.S. I traded in another potty seat for this one.

I had the same problem this winter. My almost 3 year old just refused to be potty trained and we had another one coming in December! We ended up setting the timer for 15 mintues and giving her lots to drink. Everytime the timer went off we took her to the potty to pee. I suppose she got used to the sensation of having to go pee. She would just go a tiny bit everytime. After a few days of this it just snapped in and she started going all the time by herself without any accidents. It was amazing. But you really have to be on top of it. Sorry about the bed rest, I was on bed rest for my first child. It sucks... Good luck!

Take it from one who has two in diapers.... the more you push the more they push back. (I am pushing a little harder since my oldest is 3 and 1/2) and he will go if we put him on as well but will not tell me. She just might not be ready. I know that the cost is an issue (I also am a SAHM) but that is something that will get worked out as well. You should keep doing what you are doing... but she also may totally have nothing to do with it when the baby comes... just be prepared. It could, however, lead to her wanting to do it "cuz she's the big girl"... who knows?

Kydra,

you are in a really difficult situation because you are on bed-rest. One suggestion is trying to reward her when she goes pee pee. Maybe M&M's or gummie bears. Whatever she loves. Just be advised, once the new baby gets here she may regress so don't stress yourself out about getting her fully potty trained before the new baby comes.

Good luck!

K.,
I have a four year old that we potty trained in about 2 weeks. I find that it is easier when you pick a long weekend we're your DH may be able to help. I know this is strange (but we let him run around in his birthday suit). That we he had easier access. We did this for like three days and it wrapped it up quickly. I strongly suggest the royal potty by Fisher Price. It has a light sensor that sings when they go! He really found that to be a novelty. Hope that helps.
G.

I have a 2 1/2 year old boy and another baby due in September. I also dread having two in diapers.

I've read up on potty training and the conclusion I have come to is this: Until she has the "signal" that she needs to go, she is not quite ready. My little guy is very verbal and aware of the world. If I sit him on the potty, he very often goes. But he doesn't know when he's about to go. I think that's what they mean when they say that sometimes mommy is trained, not the kid.

We are planning a move soon. I have decided to wait to officially start the major potty training until we are settled in our new city. A major change (like a move, or maybe a new little sibling) could be too stressful for a kid to focus on potty training.
Good luck.

I found the hardest part of potty training was training myself to ask him consistently. I had tried all sorts of rewards in the past but they never worked because I wasn't consistently asking him if he had to go. So, I found a cool "potty watch" with a 30, 60, or 90 min timer. At the time we set, 30 mins at first, it would play a little tune to remind us both that it was time to try to go potty. We didn't make a deal if he didn't have to go at first but asked him to sit each time. And we then went to a teacher supply store and bought him a dinosaur sticker chart with dinosaur stickers -- he earned a nice prize when he filled it with 30 stickers. He got 2 stickers when he told us he had to go or when he pooped on the potty. He's still wearing pull ups to bed but we have turned the corner to a potty trained life!

You may have 2 in diapers. Adding a baby will chang her routine and cause stress in her life, and although she could come through it with out any problems, she may.

We didn't start potty learning until my son was telling us he had to use the potty. Potty training was quick and painless for us, but he was more than ready. He was around 2.5 at the time. Every child is different though, and my son disliked being wet or dirty, so he had some personal motivation.

Someone told me recently about 3 day potty training. It's a book she did online. She said it was pricey and very worth it. Her daughter potty trained in 3 days and has been accident free for a month or two now...even at bedtime!

Our little 3 yr old grandson had the two mixed up for so long, until this week when he had to do both and did a "real big job" for the poop and then pee peed. He then got it. We have been working to consistently ask him and the day school staff place him on the potty every 2 hours if he asks or not. They have been helpful. He was late in showing any interest at all in potty training. I;m the Mimi and bought him a music box potty, but that has'nt helped much. Being around other kids helps a lot and clapping and making a big deal out of it when he is successfull! It is so much fun and such a relief when they finally do get it!!

I've fully potty trained children as early as 10 months of age up to 18 months. As a daycare director, children are all I know, so believe me when I tell you this: No matter how potty trained the child is, I've seen children as old a 6 year old revert when mommy becomes pregnant. I once had a 5 year old revert to pooping as well as having "tinkle-on-myself" accidents and I asked mommy if she thought she were pregnant. She found out 2 weeks later that she was. It is possible that potty training right now could be toughest because something instinctive in this child knows its place is moving up. Just keep it on her mind like you've been doing, but it could be 2-4 months after birth before she really takes to it.

You can try all different kinds of thngs, but what it comes down to is that she will do it when she is ready, and not all kids are ready at the same time. Keep in mind that her world has changed because her mommy can't do everything she used to. It's unfair to expect her to do something she is n ot ready for just because you don't want two children in diapers... I hope this doesn't soundmean, but she didn't ask you to get pregnant at this time, and shouldn't pay the price for it. There is also often some regression when a new baby comes into the house, so she may very well go back to diapers full time until she adjusts. Remember that toddlers don't know how to express feelings very well, so their frustrations with change and jeallousy come out through their actions. Just be patient and maybe wait until you have a good schedule going with the new baby after he/she is born, when things are in a state of calm for your daughter before trying to fully potty train her.