Potty Training is Ruining my Life 4

Well. Not really, but since this has turned into somewhat of a series I didn't want to change the name. It has been a full week since Savannah has been wearing big girl panties. She has done so well! The only accidents that she's had has been due to my husband and I not listening to her. She'll "say" she has to go and I'll say "okay, let me finish this or just one sec".  I know. I know. We only made that mistake once actually. When she says she has to go she means it.

So how is it that we went from pure potty chaos to a partially trained 20 month old? Well it was quite the process. I am happy to share what worked for us. The first thing that we did was decide that we as a family were ready. It is not enough for your toddler to be ready. You have to be ready as well. That's the first mistake I made. While I do believe that Sav was ready over a month ago I wasn't. I wasn't ready to commit to staying home and missing play dates. I was overwhelmed and I had no plan.

So we decided that the Tuesday after Memorial Day would be it. We would officially start training. I printed out a potty chart that I found on pinterest. Sav and I picked out some Abby Cadabby stickers at the grocery store. Then we started the timer on the stove to remind us to sit on the potty every 30 minutes. What I learned during this process was that we were missing her potty time. She was actually ready for the potty about every 20 minutes or so. Once we figured that out I thought we were in the clear. Girl, I could not have been more wrong.

Okay, so we got the timing down but now she was turning into a little monster every time she had to go. She literally did not want to pee in her potty. With that little nugget of knowledge I started sitting her on the toilet. Then the angels began to sing! She went potty! After her success she got a hug, a kiss and a sticker. If she pooped she got all that plus a skittle. We did that for the rest of the week.

By Saturday, it was time to run errands and cure some cabin fever. I decided that Saturday was a good a day as any to leave the pull-ups/diapers behind and upgrade to big girl panties. Not to mention since my husband was with us I had back-up to help if she had an accident. We were out and about for 3 hours with no accidents! I took her to potty several times but she wouldn't go. I think the public restroom was intimidating. As soon as we got home I took her to the bathroom and she went immediately!

She has only been wearing diapers at night to sleep since then. It was messy and it was crazy,  but I am glad we're at a good place on our potty training journey. I could not be more proud of her. This method worked so well for us. In four days we were free from diapers during the day!

Chic Tips for Potty Training

Identify your child's "potty" time. How often does he/she need to go?

Figure out if they prefer the regular toilet over the potty.

Find a reward system that works for you and stick to it. Be consistent with your reward ceremony.

When they tell you they have to go take them that very second.

Be willing to abandon diapers (at least during the day).

Be patient.