Potty Training Mikey

Little Mike is definitely the child that gives me a run for my money. He's all boy. Very big and strong for a two year old and he's showing us more of his personality everyday. Because of his size and strength and insane diaper loads I have finally made time to potty train him.

My goal was to have him trained before Moses was born but that didn't happen so here we are...



I actually hate potty training. When Savannah was getting trained I blogged about how potty training is ruining my life. This time around my life isn't totally ruined but these days have certainly been rough. Each child is different and I think I finally figured out what will work for Mikey.

For starters Mikey is not a "sit on the potty every 20 minutes" type of kid, just no. Yesterday I figured out that as long as he's naked he'll hold it. So that's where we are right now. Today is our second day of full on training and he's gone to the potty and remained dry all day today (so far).



His little sticky face and runny nose is keeping me so busy. I wasn't sure how he would respond to boot camp potty training but so far so good. Here's what we've done to potty train Mikey...

1 - Cleared our schedule. You gotta be home to potty train.
2- Determined his process for learning. The naked method seems to be working for him.
3 - Determined how often he needs to be sitting on the potty. I offer the potty every 20 minutes but he doesn't actually do anything on the potty until about the hour mark.
4 - Celebrate his success. We have a potty song that he likes and a sticker chart that seems to be working for him.

I'll keep you posted on his progress and share tips along the way! If you have potty training tips for me please share them in the comments!

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.

Potty Training is Ruining my Life 3

I am so pleased to announce that Saturday was a huge turn in our potty training efforts. Sav has been doing so well on the potty at home this week. I thought it would be good to test the waters by letting her wear regular panties out during our errands. I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

I took her to potty twice in Target. Nothing. We went at least three times at our favorite pizza place. Nothing. We tried the potty at Macy's. Nothing. I thought for sure she was going to wet her pants on the way home. I braced myself for what I thought was going to be a mess as we pulled into the driveway. Pulled her out of her carseat...NOTHING! She was still dry! Once we were inside I took her to the potty and she went right away. I was one proud Momma!

Fast forward to today, we ended up back at the mall. I finally found a dress for our photo shoot. The best part about our visit was that she stayed dry the entire trip. She actually went potty at the mall today, and I was thrilled! We are on day number three of potty success and it feels so good. She's only wearing a diaper at night for a bed. Hopefully we'll be done with diapers for good by the end of summer.

Potty Training is Ruining My Life 2

I thought it would be nice to give you all an update on our potty training succes. Or lack thereof. We have made a little progress. Whenenver she has to go potty I know the signs. She "tells" me that she's about to go or has already gone. I have gotten our timing down. The kitchen stove timer reminds me to grab a book and sit her down every 25 minutes. It has been messy and it hasn't been easy but we are getting there.

We took a little potty break after things got a little too frustrating for the both of us. During that time she became more aware of when she was going "potty" in her diaper. That has made things so much easier this go 'round. I decided over the Memorial Day holiday weekend that when we returned home we would turn a new page and really committ to training. I'd like to think potty training is a lot like dieting. You have your good days and your bad days. Sometimes you follow the plan and sometimes you don't.

Then all of a sudden you get to that day where you say "I've had enough.", "I'm really going to do it this time.". That's where we are. If I could have a svelte Jennifer Hudson playing in the background every 25 minutes that would make the journey a little better. I can hear her singing to Savannah now, "If you want it you got it. You gotta believe." Love those Weight Watchers commercials, so catchy. :-)

Anyway, JHud is right. If our family goal was to get her potty trained by a certain time why not go for it full throttle. I know she's ready. She knows she's ready. Let's do this. Again. :-)

Potty Training is Ruining my Life

See. This is the thing. Potty training is not the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. It doesn't help that I may just be the world's worst potty trainer ever. I've gotten tons of tips and advice and I still haven't been able to make much progress. Some days she goes, most days she doesn't. We've tried Pull-Ups, training pants and au-natural. I've tried rewarding her with candy. (which is a big deal because she NEVER gets candy) We even have a potty song that is sung to the tune of Kim Zolciak's "Don't Be Tardy for the Party". Ours is "Don't Be Tardy for the Potty". I know, I know I'm SO clever. :-)

I say all that to say this. The reason why we are stuck in a potty rut is completely my fault. I don't ask her to go often enough. Quite frankly, we're not even home enough to potty train. That little girl's social calendar would make a Kardashian do a double take. So, here's my pledge for the week. Tomorrow we will potty train. I will set the timer on the stove like all the smart Moms have advised me to do. Got any tips for me? I'll take all the help I can get!