Potty Training - Part 1

I have been dreading this moment since becoming a parent. I watched my sisters going through this with their kids and it didn't look/sound all too pleasant (constant wet beds, peeing in the car, poop found on the floor, etc).  Erin turned two about 2 months ago and she was showing most of the signs for readiness. She was going longer periods of time with a dry diaper, she was showing interest in the potty, she has consistent poo poo diaper times, and she would occasionally let us know before going poo poo.

Some things we purchased to prepare for the training:
1. Potty. We bought the babybjorn one.
2. Books. We bought two books about potty training. 1. Potty book and 2. Big Girl Panties book. She really enjoys reading both of them.
3. Underwear. I'd suggest getting some that your kid finds interesting. Nothing expensive or anything. We bought some frozen themed underwear and she gets excited putting them on.

Prepping for the training: I noticed that sometimes Erin would go for quite a while before letting us know she had a poo poo diaper, so that would lead to her having an "owwie" (getting a rash). I thought that that would be a good starting point, a way to sell potty training. My little motto to her was "No diaper, no owwie!". I'd tell Erin to keep repeating it, letting her know that having a dirty diaper will cause an owwie. It was cute because she'd chant the motto with her fist in the air. To further prepare Erin, Ken and I would read the potty books with her explaining that big girls wear underwear and that babies wear diapers, emphasizing that Erin was now a big girl.

First Attempt: The first real attempt at potty training was roughly a month after a second birthday. Being pregnant, I don't have the energy to devote a whole weekend, so I thought I'd start off slow with just a few hours after dinner. I put some underwear on her and left her pants off. I pointed to the potty and told her that she should only go pee and poo in there and not in her underwear. She'd nod yes. I asked her if she had to use the potty every 10 or so minutes. We loaded her up with lots of liquids and was sure she'd have to go pee soon. About an hour into it, no pee or poo. I thought it'd be ok for me to take a little break and shower, so I left Ken to it. After my shower, I asked Ken if Erin had used the potty and he just kind of stared at me. Apparently, shortly after leaving to shower, Erin had peed in her underwear while playing. I tried talking to Erin and asking her about what happened. I told her that she should've used the potty and that she should've told daddy if she had to go pee pee. She just sort of stared at me, not quite understanding it all. No scolding, just gave her a hug. First attempt: Fail.

Second Attempt: I attempted to potty train her again on a Sunday morning. I took her diaper off and put some Olaf underwear on her (kept her pants off). I pulled the potty out and placed it in a very convenient location. I told her that she shouldn't go pee pee or poo poo in her underwear, but should only go in the potty. She'd nod yes. I would say I asked her if she had to go potty every 15 minutes. She didn't go potty once. I gave her plenty of liquids too and it was after breakfast, so I had high hopes. She'd just sit there a few minutes and "pretend" to do something and tell me she was "all done". At one point, I just had her sit there for a while and told her she couldn't leave till she went pee pee. I busted out the m&m's and told her that if mommy sees pee pee in the potty, she'd get an m&m. It didn't work. Unfortunately, we had to leave for church shortly after so we had to stop the training. It was only roughly an hour and a half, but I was exhausted. Hah. It takes a lot of energy to potty train! Second attempt: Fail. 

Third Attempt: We didn't attempt potty training again till after a few weeks. This second time around wasn't an intentionally planned training, but one evening while eating dinner, Erin looked at me and said "poo poo". I immediately asked her if she had to poo and she didn't really respond, but I checked her diaper and there wasn't any poo poo yet, so I put her on the potty. I gave her a toy to keep her busy and told her to just sit there and play with her toy till she went poo poo. It was cute because she listened and didn't really take notice to being on the potty. After about 5 minutes, Erin said she was "all done" and we checked the potty and sure enough, she went poo poo in the potty. Both Ken and I were ecstatic and showed her much praise. We told her how proud we were and how she was a big girl for using the potty. She was definitely pleased and kept telling us she was a big girl. We rewarded her with a few m&ms as well. Third attempt: Success.

I won't gross you guys out with pics of her poop or her on the potty. Here are some pics from afterwards. She had her babies go to the potty and poop, just like she did (she's wearing her awesome climbing shoes).

I've definitely taken a more relaxed approach to potty training. Won't be attempting the hardcore 3-day training approach (I've heard many success stories with this approach though). It has a lot to do with being pregnant and not having the energy and I just don't have the time to dedicate 3 solid days to it (hopefully I can find time to train for at least a full day). I'm not in an extreme rush and I think Erin will respond better to a more gradual approach, just sorta following her cues. But, I've set the goal of having Erin at least day trained before the end of the year. Not sure how many parts of this training there will be, but stay tuned. I'll be posting a Part 2 soon!