Potty Training: When did you start? When did you finish? - Page 3

[redvlagrl]

We did the 3 day thing and it worked for us at 23 months. 4 days for pees, 8 for poops. Diaper free from the beginning of the 3 days. DD is totally reliable day and night.

We did EC for about 4 montsh for poos only from 4-8 months but I honestly don't think this had any impact.

[karanyavel]

Hmm, let's see.

Started at 18 months, DD grabbed the "potty seat" (seat you put on top of adult toilet) and used it as a hat while giggling hysterically. So we waited to try again until she was almost 2 y/o.

I think 23 months is when we tried again.. no more accidents within a month but it was 2-3 months before she was using the toilet rather than a little toddler potty.

And she was 4 or so before she could wipe her own bottom after #2... and 5 before she would go in a stall at a public restroom alone.

However, she completely stopped wetting the bed before she turned 3, so that was pretty cool. I know I wet the bed occasionally until I was 6 or so, and longer than that for DH.

--K

[tatermom]

Originally Posted by pranava

What about daycare? Have those of you that had good success between 18 and 24 months had your kids in daycare full time? I think daycare is causing DS to regress Not enough pottytunities and too rushed when he does get them. I take him in cloth underware with a cover and he comes home in a disposable diaper. Really irks me!!! I don't care about doing more laundry. I want him to feel wet so he can learn.

I agree that daycare can make a big difference. One of the problems we had with DS1 was that his nursery school was too chaotic for them to ensure that each kid was taken to the potty on a regular schedule (it was a coop and he only went a few times a week). DS2, on the other hand, was in a calm quiet nursery room that only had 8 kids and an easily accessible child-sized toilet that they regularly encouraged all the kids to use. ALL the kids in that class were potty trained by 2.5.

JMO, but if you want your daycare to work with DS on this, you'll need to stop sending him with a cover over the undies. I used to try this with DS1 and they simply treated it as a less-absorbent diaper and changed him when he was wet with no attempt to be pro-active about avoiding accidents. However toddlers in undies DO make a mess with accidents sometimes, so I suspect that would encourage them to pay more attention to his potty opportunities! If it were me (knowing what I know now!) I'd send him in undies (no cover) to be used 100% of the time, and state unequivocally that you do not want him put in diapers ever (or only at naptime)-- and send lots of extra clothes! They probably think you are ambivalent and so they are going the easy route. If you commit to undies 100% then I bet they will too.

[hakeber]

Day care and nursery were blows to our progress as well. A big part of it was that he had to wear clothes. He was fine neked but as soon as clothes went on he'd forget (probably felt too much like a diaper). Switching to boxers for him helped a wee bit.

But yeah, nursery and day care demanded diapers until 24 months, and so did the local pool we used and the play area we went to. It was really silly and annoying, but I can see their point of view. If you had to take a potty learning toddler to the toilet and help with clothes and wiping etc as often as mine needed to...and you had 10-15 OTHER kids doing it too...well you'd practically need one-on-one care and that's not practical for daycare.

I will say that every now and then we used underpants with panty liners (super absorbent super thin pads) and they were none the wiser and he felt big for getting to wear underpants, but also protected and safe having an absorbent barrier for just in cases, or just those initial spurts that warn boys "I have to pee!"

[c'est moi]

Originally Posted by pranava

I should have put this in my original post. . .

What about daycare? Have those of you that had good success between 18 and 24 months had your kids in daycare full time? I think daycare is causing DS to regress Not enough pottytunities and too rushed when he does get them. I take him in cloth underware with a cover and he comes home in a disposable diaper. Really irks me!!! I don't care about doing more laundry. I want him to feel wet so he can learn.

my daughter is not FT, but daycare has not been a problem for us. They actually offer her more opportunities to potty than I do. So far she always comes home in the same outfit and underwear I send her in. This her 6th or 7th week of potty learning/training. i'd firmly tell my care provider that he is not to wear diapers anymore...only what you send with him. they should not fight you on this.

[Surfer Rosa]

Both DD and DS showed signs of readiness/potty interest around 19 mos, and were out of daytime diapers shortly after. We were pretty vigilant about potty reminders/trips for a couple of months after. We spent a couple of days naked around the house, with potties everywhere, and made the switch to undies. DS is 26 mos and hasn't had an accident in ages, and is very good about telling us when he has to go (or he just takes himself).

DD ditched the naptime diaper around 26 mos, DS around 22 mos; DD was dry at night consistently around 30 mos? DS pretty much always wakes up dry, but since he's still in our bed, I am reluctant to ditch the diaper just yet. Nighttime dryness is a physical maturation, not an emotional one (a big distinction from daytime dryness), so it may take a little longer.

[mckittre]

Maybe a dumb question, but how on earth do you start? My 20 month old loves his little potty (because we read him books there), but won't do anything in it. Sometimes he'll ask to go sit there right after he poops. But if we catch him before he poops, it never works. He'll just sit and listen to books seemingly forever, then we'll get tired of it and either diaper him or let him wander off. He poops shortly afterwards (on the floor if we don't diaper him). He barely seems to notice when he pees, except he'll go get a towel and try to wipe up the floor if he was naked. He's peed on the potty maybe once, by accident.

[tracymom1]

Originally Posted by mckittre

Maybe a dumb question, but how on earth do you start? My 20 month old loves his little potty (because we read him books there), but won't do anything in it. Sometimes he'll ask to go sit there right after he poops. But if we catch him before he poops, it never works. He'll just sit and listen to books seemingly forever, then we'll get tired of it and either diaper him or let him wander off. He poops shortly afterwards (on the floor if we don't diaper him). He barely seems to notice when he pees, except he'll go get a towel and try to wipe up the floor if he was naked. He's peed on the potty maybe once, by accident.

Sounds like he just isn't ready yet. I would say keep him in diapers for another month or so and then try a few days of all naked time. Keep talking about going in the potty and how it feels to pee and poop. Or maybe he sees the potty chair as a chair and not a toilet. Maybe that's why he doesn't want to go in there. Maybe back off the reading books there for long lengths of time and just focus on going potty.

[T-man's Mama]

I read about Elimination Communication while pregnant, and so we started practicing this with DS at around 1 month. He was dry during the day (wearing regular undies) by 12 months, and he night-trained himself by 15 months. So he is 100% diaper free, going strong now at 19 months.

Sure, EC can be intensive -- perhaps a little more so than regular diapering initially -- but the payoffs are huge and WELL worth it. We are all in tune with him, the bond and connection is strong and it is simply an extension of AP principles we already practice (baby wearing, co-sleeping, ext. breastfeeding). Also, no diaper rash, no cleaning poopy diapers, and of course, saving LOTS of $$$!.

[es1967]

Since I was SAHM w only one child I was in no hurry. We introduced the Potty at around 2.5 I think. Then slowly at around 3 or later I was working from home and he would just go on the toilet by himself. At home he was fully potty trained but he refused to wear underwear and insisted on a diaper when we left the house. Several months before his 4th b-day he was to start
preschool for a few days. I was worried b/c I had not really pushed the PTing. Then he saw something online he wanted to buy so I made a deal with him that if he wore his underwear until it arrived he could order the toy. So he agreed and started wearing underwear. The good news about starting so late is that I have never had any accidents to clean up. It was really easy b/c I was able to wait until he was ready. Even at night he is dry but I still put him in a diaper just in case.

[T-man's Mama]

Originally Posted by ellemenope

...
I have been told that the ability to sleep through the night and stay dry is purely physiological. At some point the kidneys mature enough to be able to go into nightmode and make urine more potent. So, before that physiological milestone it is just impossible to go dry at night without waking up to go.

As a newborn, my son always woke up and cried out when he had to pee. I think most babies stir, and several EC books I read said that babies almost never pee while in a deep sleep. They have an innate aversion to "soiling the nest" you might say. But over time, as their signals are not responded to by caregivers, I think babies do eventually begin to disregard their own physiological awareness, and lose that awareness of when they need to go. I imagine this is only true for typically diapered children.

My son (19 mos) has been sleeping anywhere from 11-13 hours at night and waking up dry. He has been doing this since 15 months old. He still night-nurses also, anywhere from 2-5 times a night, so it's not a lack of fluids (he has has a huge pee in the potty first thing in the morning!).

[ellemenope]

Originally Posted by T-man's Mama

As a newborn, my son always woke up and cried out when he had to pee. I think most babies stir, and several EC books I read said that babies almost never pee while in a deep sleep. They have an innate aversion to "soiling the nest" you might say. But over time, as their signals are not responded to by caregivers, I think babies do eventually begin to disregard their own physiological awareness, and lose that awareness of when they need to go. I imagine this is only true for typically diapered children.

My son (19 mos) has been sleeping anywhere from 11-13 hours at night and waking up dry. He has been doing this since 15 months old. He still night-nurses also, anywhere from 2-5 times a night, so it's not a lack of fluids (he has has a huge pee in the potty first thing in the morning!).

Ah, so perhaps it is something that can be nurtured. That is so interesting. I had never heard of EC until a couple of months ago. I have to say I am intrigued and will definitely research the subject before arrival of baby #2 (definately more than a couple of years away.) You make it sound so wonderful, although I have to say it seems daunting. But, like I said, I have a lot of reading to do.

[T-man's Mama]

Originally Posted by ellemenope

Ah, so perhaps it is something that can be nurtured. That is so interesting. I had never heard of EC until a couple of months ago. I have to say I am intrigued and will definitely research the subject before arrival of baby #2 (definately more than a couple of years away.) You make it sound so wonderful, although I have to say it seems daunting. But, like I said, I have a lot of reading to do.

Yep! But each child is different, so YMMV of course. And honestly, once you start paying attention you'll find that you are already recognizing the pee/poo signals, so it's much easier to just whip off the diaper and hold your LO over a sink or toilet, rather than just letting him/her soil a diaper and then dealing with THAT mess! It's actually kinda fun, too. :-)

[Abraisme]

With my DS I started at 2.5 and he was fully trained by 3.5yo.

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by tracymom1

Sounds like he just isn't ready yet. I would say keep him in diapers for another month or so and then try a few days of all naked time. Keep talking about going in the potty and how it feels to pee and poop. Or maybe he sees the potty chair as a chair and not a toilet. Maybe that's why he doesn't want to go in there. Maybe back off the reading books there for long lengths of time and just focus on going potty.

I'll ditto that... DS mostly sat on the potty & read forever... then we stopped reading on the potty and he started using it only to pee.

Another thing that seemed to help (and this may seem gross or inappropriate to some but... I'll say it anyway!) -- DH showed DS that it was a potty. He kneeled down & peed in it himself lol. DS got it immediately, that it was just like the big toilet. That didn't potty-train him but it helped him understand what he was expected to do with the potty. Also we later got a potty like this from a friend who no longer needed it: http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...t_adv_XSG10001 Since it looks just like the big potty, he loves it (and he doesn't know there are battery-operated features, shhhh.... ) He pees in there several times a day, though we haven't taken the jump & attempted to help him be full-on potty-trained.

[physmom]

We started with DD at 9 months (EC). She was fully potty trained around 17 months but than regressed due to some traveling and a lot of changes going on. Then around 19-20 months she was fully potty trained again and now we just have maybe 1-3 accidents a week (and that's including nighttime). We still put her in disposables pull-ups at night and when we go out but otherwise she's always in trainers. Sometimes I even go out now with her trainers on.