Sara was about a week old when she had her first explosive poop. I’m not talking about the “leaky diaper” kind, I’m talking about the “wide-open, in the middle of changing her, fountain of poop to the window” kind.
I read some books applauding the idea of early potty training practiced in Japan and China where babies are basically “scheduled” to go into the potty. However, the technique required drastic measures of letting the baby sit around diaperless. Thinking back on the first days of Sara’s welcome home poops, there was no way that we were going to do that. My husband and I are not neatfreaks, but I’m a little sensitive to things that smell and the smell of urine and feces was just not something that I could clean up from the couch or carpet. Even Barley, our dog was potty trained in 2 weeks and in 8 years, he’s made a mistake in the house 3 times. Puke is a different story, but I feel that’s easier to clean up.
So we waited. Around 14 months, Sara was so “regular” we could put a clock to her. We started putting her on the potty when expected it was time and read a few books while we waited. By 16 months, she was pooping in the potty 90% of the time using this method. Keep in mind, she didn’t tell us when she would have to go, we just guessed the correct time.
Urinating was still an ‘in-diaper’ thing, but who cared? The smelly stuff was going in the right place!
There was a backslide in the potty training right about when she turned 2. She was going into the potty and for some reason, her bowel movement hurt and she tried to get off the potty without getting cleaned up first. We kind of freaked out trying to get her cleaned up, which in turn freaked her out and she refused to use the toilet for 2 months after that.
I think it was a good thing because 2 months after the incident, she saw a friend of hers use the bathroom to pee and a lightbulb clicked for her. In 2 weeks she was consistently using the potty for pee and poop. Some of the things that helped:
- “Once Upon a Potty” with the potty and the doll. She loved the book and Prudence!
- “Pottywise” – A great book that helped us to get her potty trained.
- Don’t be pushy about it. They’ll go when they’re good and ready and not a moment before.
- All kids are different. Some kids aren’t ready to be potty trained until their 3 or 4, it just depends on the child. Once again, don’t be pushy about it.
- Make it fun! Sara’s potty trained during the day now. She still wears a diaper at night, but she has the hang of it. She doesn’t get a treat every time she goes to the potty, but she gets lots of high fives and sometimes she gets a special treat.
What were your potty training tips? I’d love to hear your stories!
