Let the Potty Training Begin!

Last week, we started potty training in earnest.

We’ve been slowly warming up to this for a few months now. After Isla’s first birthday in March, we purchased a potty chair. While she’s mostly disassembled it and learned to click the sensors in the inside of the toilet seat so it will sing the toilet paper song regardless of whether she’s gone potty, I’d like to think it helped familiarize her with the concept of  a potty. Or it was just another fun toy to distract her in the bathroom while I got things ready for bath time. Either way, it was worthwhile.

I also take Isla to the bathroom with me when I can and explain to her what is going on when I use the toilet, and when she’s been diaper free and she’s had an accident, we’ve made sure to talk to her about what she’s doing and about the potty.

Two weeks ago, the sitter noticed that Isla seemed to be interested in the potty, and since she already has her bathroom set up for potty training, decided to give Isla a go on the toilet. Isla ended up sitting on the potty 6 times the first day and using the potty once. Since then, Isla has peed on the potty half a dozen times at the sitter’s and at our house and is more than happy to sit on the potty as long as she reads a book.

Last Friday, Isla wore big girl panties almost the whole day and only had one accident. She did wear a diaper at nap time, and the sitter said it was pretty wet when she woke up, and I have a feeling we’ll still be using diapers for naps and night time for a while, but I’m so proud that we’re starting to take these small steps toward diaper liberation!

Over the weekend, Isla sat on the potty and had one successful go in the potty. It was a little rough, though, since she’s teething and sick. We also tried out the little potty again, which she was happier to sit on but didn’t go. I think she’s been dehydrated between the heat and her cold. She only had one accident and when she was in her diaper, they never got very heavy, not even at naptime, which makes me think she just didn’t have to go much yesterday. We watched the Once Upon a Potty video with her several times while she was on the potty, and she absolutely loved it.

Today, the sitter is going to make a big deal of going potty, use a doll who wets to show Isla peepeeing in the potty. Because Isla is so little, we’re still not entirely sure she knows what peepee or poopoo is (other than fun things discussed in books and videos), so we’re taking it slow and trying to teach along the way. Physically, she seems to be ready for the potty. I just don’t know if she’s got the communication skills to figure it out yet.

Our main goal is to keep the whole potty training experience low pressure and fun. I don’t want Isla to feel stressed out or pressured to use the potty, because that would put an end to any cooperation with using the potty. Instead, we’ll ease her into it and take it one step at a time, and try to keep things positive and happy. If she goes potty in the potty, great! If she doesn’t, that’s okay, too! We’ll try again next time. If she seems to be getting frustrated, we’ll back things up a step or two and try again in another month.

I’m so proud of my itty bitty. She’s getting to be such a big girl!

Our Potty Training Gear

Our potty training gear is pretty simple: a potty seat for the toilet, training pants, and a few good books to keep Isla entertained and happy to sit on the seat for a few minutes.

1. The Throne

We’re using a Prince Lionheart weePOD. It’s a nice soft seat that’s easy to put on and take off the toilet so Isla has a comfy, cushioned place to sit that keeps her from falling in. It has suction cups that keep it from moving once on the toilet seat, and ours is a pretty bright blue color. When Isla is ready to go potty, she runs to the bathroom door and holds onto the door knob. I open it for her, and she grabs the potty seat from the floor and tries to put it on the toilet herself. It’s very light and simple to use.

2. The Training Pants

Gerber training pants are basically lightly padded underpants, so they really feel like big girl panties. I don’t think Isla has much of an understanding at this point of big girl vs. little girl, but I think this, as opposed to some of the more heavily padded training pants that feel more like a diaper, would definitely be a great way to go for an older child who is being potty trained. Also, I think these won’t be another level of transition between diapers and panties, as some training pants kind of are. They may be a bit messier, but they’re closer to the real deal.

3. The Books

For us, a good potty book gives something Isla to do long enough for her to actually use the toilet. If she’s not entertained, she’s not going to sit there. Isla’s favorite potty book at this point is Where’s the Poop? All those flaps and animals makes for a good quarter hour of entertainment, and her sitter and I are convinced that the main reason Isla likes to go potty is so she can read this book.

4. The Video

Isla loves the Once Upon a Potty video. (There’s also a version for boys.) I think she mostly likes the song with all the babies running around. She claps and dances along with them. The story is good, too, though, and I think it would be even more effective with an older child.

That’s pretty much it for potty training supplies, and if it sticks, we get to say goodbye to diapers, wipes, diaper rash creams, and our smelly old diaper pail! Cloth diapers are cute, but I can honestly say, I won’t miss the extra loads of laundry each week or the smell. Hooray for growing up.