But she's having so much fun...

[JMJ]

Isn't that the same problem toddlers have? They're having so much fun that they don't take the time to take a break and go potty. I never thought I would fall into the same trap.

She'll be having so much fun, trying to crawl, exploring a toy or "toy," or looking outside, and here's the conversation I'll have with myself: "I bet she has to go potty. It's been a while, and I really have a hunch. My hunches are normally right, so I'm pretty sure she'd go, but she's not going to be happy when I take her away from exploring the couch. She's so cute, and her giggles are so fun. If I take her to the bathroom, she might not want to go potty, anyway, and I'll have just ruined a beautiful moment. I'll just wait a few minutes until she's ready to move on."

Then, 5 minutes later, her giggles turn to fusses, and I change a wet diaper. What would you do?

[hrsmom]

Have you tried taking her potty at those times anyway to see how she feels about it? You could have toys and things to explore in your potty area and she might be ok with being moved. You could have your potty in the same area so you're not taking her too far away from the couch, etc. And it's ok to have a miss and change the diaper, too. I'm trying to remember when my babe was learning to crawl, about a year ago, seems like forever ago!!

[InMediasRes]

Try taking the potty to her so she doesn't have to stop doing what she's doing. We're in the same stage now.

[JMJ]

We live in a tiny condo and don't have room for a portable potty, so she only uses the toilet, so bringing it to her is really not an option for us. I experimenting with letting her take toys and facing my fear that she'll drop it in. Some of her favorite toys (couch, piano leg, rocking chair, bookshelf, etc) are not portable enough to take with her. She's also been deliberately choosing not to go on the potty recently (like refuse on the potty and then pee on the changing mat before I can get her diaper back on), so I'm really trying to not make it a power struggle, which contributes to my hesitance to take her away from something she's enjoying.

[sgmom]

One of those crib mirror things was my daughters best friend when she was learning to crawl.

You could also try to distract her with toilet paper (if you can keep it out of her mouth). That was (still is) another of my daughter's favorites when she's on the toilet (she uses her potty and will often fight sitting on the toilet). Rip, and drop it in, play peekaboo, fold it into something, suck it onto your mouth to make funny faces... etc.

Edit: Also, taking a bottle of water and slowly pouring it into the toilet is kind of fun for them to watch / listen to. And it might make her pee! LOL

[lisavark]

Also, are you sure you don't have room for a potty? The BBLP (Baby Bjorn Little Potty) is really, really small...I got mine when we lived in a 500 square foot apartment, and I never noticed it as a space-user at all. It's about the size of a dog bowl, maybe.

Actually, you could also just use an old mixing bowl (or dog bowl)...that would be portable, too.

And bring the toys along and help her hold them to prevent them from falling in. Or get a toilet insert. That helps prevent toys falling in, I find...there's less empty space all around the baby, iykwim.

Or offer a special toy that you hold (like a mirror)--or like pps said, toilet paper--that she can look at/play with while she goes potty.

[hrsmom]

BBLPs or similar do come in so handy! I have one in the car, and it doesn't seem to take up space even in the car. It's really nice to have something they can sit on themselves when they get to that stage. My almost 19-month old will sit herself on her potty and go, and there's no way she could crawl up to a toilet herself. Something to think about!

[InMediasRes]

I'm finding that my DD does NOT want to be held to pee now taht she's crawling. Maybe a potty insert and then just let her sit semi-supported?

[JMJ]

I always get such good ideas here. I'm going to have to try some of these to make potty time more fun. We got a toilet seat insert a couple months ago, and she hated it. Maybe it's time to give it another try. The past couple of days have been better. She's signaling more and expecting me to take her. Maybe she got tired of me letting her pee in her diaper if she didn't want to go. It felt like it was getting dangerously close to a power struggle/manipulation game there for a bit, so I backed off, and it seems like she's making her own decision to do it now.