Potty training is so fun... said no one ever! Before I tell you all about our adventure and what we did, know that YOU guys inspired me and gave me the best tips ever. So a huge THANK YOU to all of you who reached out.
I had been pushing off this moment for so long. I secretly was hoping that one day he would just stop using his diapers (like the stories you hear from other people). That obviously didn't happen, and I knew that I'd have to tackle the potty training monster. I don't easily get pressured by others, but it is easy as a mom to compare your child with others. I am fully aware that every child is different, they develop differently and that I had to be patient. I often heard "do it when he is ready", well how do I know he's actually ready?
I was told to read the "how to potty train in 3-days". So I did, and I totally believed I could do it. 7 months ago, we tried and we failed. After one day, there were more accidents than happy potty dances, I was so frustrated and thought to myself this isn't worth it. I still sucked it up because "I'm not a quitter", so the second day was still just as awful. He didn't get it, he didn't understand that he needed to tell me, hold his pee or not pee on the floor. I was devastated at first but quickly realized that things would be okay, I would just have to change his bum for a little longer. I pushed it off, I didn't want to try again, last time was just so painful on both our ends.
Last Thursday, Noah had other plans. He woke up and didn't want to wear his diaper, so quickly I suggested for him to use the potty (without pushing him). I also posted on Facebook for advice and a friend of mine suggested setting a timer every 15 min. Because, lets be honest who can remember what they did an hour ago?
Day 1
I didn't change our schedule at all, except the fact that he was running around the house naked. I was so nervous he would pee all over the place. We had some big boy undies for him with his favorite characters. I told him he could only wear them if he went potty like a big boy. I gave him lots of water/apple juice and I set the timer for 15 min. I asked him if he needed to potty, sometimes he'd say yes and sometimes no but either way I would take him to the potty and he would pee every single time. When he went potty we did our potty dance (it's pretty dang awesome) and I'd give him a treat! We had 3 accidents, and I consider that a success. I was so drained at the end of the day, I was in bed asleep by 9PM :)
Day 2
As soon as he woke up, I told him we needed to take his diaper off and put his big boy pants on (because he was a big boy now). He happily agreed and we went on with our day. This time I let him wear his undies and I did not force liquid on him. I set a timer for every 30min, but I didn't force him to go on the potty if he didn't need to. He would go potty about every hour, he also would tell me "mom, potty" which is a huge improvement from our last try. We stayed inside all day, I didn't dare to go out haha and he had one accident. I also would put a diaper on for nap and bedtime.
Day 3
We were finally at day 3, and I was SO ready to be done. He woke up and wanted his undies with Buzz Lightyear on them. He had gotten really good at holding his pee and only using the potty when he needed to, not just to get a treat haha. I tried to trust him and just let him tell me, or watch for cues (crossing his legs and bouncing up and down). He is such a boy and my anxiety levels would go up whenever he was really into doing something and I KNEW he needed to go. We didn't have any accidents and we even went to costco for 1.5h! I didn't use the timer, I checked on him every hour to see if he needed to go. At the end of this day, I couldn't believe that we actually did it. NOAH did it, he went to the potty every time and let us know. I was so proud of him.
Today is day 6, and he is fully potty trained! HOORAY! I highly recommend doing the 3 day potty training, BUT I think you should do it if your child is ready. I am no expert, heck I just did whatever y'all told me to do. I had a lot of people asking me what we did exactly, so I figured I would let you know and hopefully this will help at least one of you. I know accidents will happen, he is no perfect child, but I am one proud mommy. It took a LOT of patience and commitment, you guys encouraged me to keep going so THANK YOU. I will encourage you who's pushing this off, once you've committed DO NOT QUIT (easier said than done). It's hard, I'm not even going to pretend it was easy! If we could do it, so can you :) Also, allow yourself lots of treats because you deserve it too!
My little big boy <3
