potty training! (oh what fun)

I decided over the summer that we would not start potty training Z until after the holidays because we planned on going to visit relatives and fun outings like Christmas light walks, festivities on Main Street, and Kiener Plaza activities. There would be so many headaches bringing a potty seat, finding a bathroom, or dealing with port-a-potty (YUCK). So I just wanted to make it easy and after the holiday hooplah start into all that fun stuff, since we don't do much of anything in January and February.

BUT ... little lady decided that after I bought her underwear in September (because I plan that far ahead and I had a coupon!) that she wanted to try them on for a day and thought they were so awesome (like big brothers!), that she only had two accidents that day and she wanted to try again! Well I was pleasantly surprised that after a week of wearing her undies and telling me she felt the urge to potty, she was in undies by the end of the month! Each day she had maybe three accidents but most were small as she was in the bathroom already, just close calls before hoping on the toilet!

I was so proud of her and I couldn't believe it! With S it took a little bit longer and there were more accidents, even after doing really well for a weeks time, so I was expecting about the same for her. With both kids I started just a day here or there putting them in underwear just to see how they would be and so they could get a feel for what it's all about. A few other things I did to get ready for potty training are all the "go-to" standards I've read all around ...

~Let them pick out their underwear

~Have books about the potty and their usual books in the bathroom (Potty by Leslie Patricelli and My Big Girl Undies by Karen Katz are great!)

~Make a chart and get lots of stickers

~Put out the potty seat and step stool all the time everyday so they can see it's easy and ready for them

~Small prizes for sitting and/or using the toilet (we did M&M's, small, not too expensive, always fun!)

~Progressively larger prizes for milestones like staying dry all day, staying dry all week, etc

I also made it a rule to only sit on the carpet with no blankies or pillows or anything else because it would be a hassle to clean up! There were a few days we tried walking abound bottomless but that didn't seem to make any difference to them and did not help the process. Luckily, our September was slowing down from summer craziness and the only thing we had was gymnastics class, so it was a nice ease into making sure we go before we leave the house or before class starts and it was an environment that was familiar, where if there was an accident, it was no big deal! I feel that both of those aspects helped her too.

Now the diaper bag is lighter and it is awesome!! I still feel the need to carry it with a change of clothes for both and I'm so used to carrying it on my back all these years, it would feel weird to change over to a purse!

There is still the hurdle of overnight potty training that we are in the midst of with S who is 6. For awhile we decided to do pull ups and try to keep those dry overnight but there was no difference, so then we moved onto an alarm that he wears around his upper arm that vibrates and lights up when the wetness indicator is tripped. The alarm sometimes wakes him up, so we have determined he is a heavy sleeper. I set the alarm to light up and to beep the last couple weeks and it is loud enough to wake me up and help him get up and go to the bathroom, but most of the time it's just an alarm for me to go get him up to change the sheets and his pj's! {sigh}

There is barely anything to read about how to overnight potty train! I have looked for months and have come up empty handed, so if you have an article to suggest, by all means PLEASE! Basic common sense stuff is all I can find, like no drinks after dinner or just a sip in the evening. Also going potty just before getting into bed and waking him up and taking him to the bathroom just before we go to bed. Which by the way, that only works if you feel like getting kicked in the face at 11-ish at night! He is such a heavy sleeper that he gets angry when woken up and fights me when I gently rub his back and lift him to sitting up!

I'm really at a lose for overnight potty training, so for now it's either washing sheets and pj's all the time or spending money on pull ups! But at least both kiddos are diaper-free during the day now!

ACHIEVING MILESTONES ONE KID AT A TIME

xo