3 Day Potty Training Diary

Potty Training -Day 1
Friday

Good morning! As soon as he woke up, it was time to say goodbye to the diaper.  I had him pick out his underwear.  I took off the diaper and he threw it away.  No more diapers, you're a big boy now.  He said good bye.  Here we go! So we hung out in the house all day with no diaper and no distractions.  My sole focus was to pay attention to him and get him to the potty if he needed to go.    I reminded him to keep his underwear dry and to tell me if he had to use the potty. I did this every few minutes. We had a few accidents in the morning.  We didn’t quite make it to the potty on time.  That’s ok, but at least he was trying.  I had a few successful attempts.  He told me he had to go pee and we ran to the potty.  Over and over all day.

The major challenge came at nap time.  He started freaking out.  He didn’t say he wanted his diaper back, but he did say he didn’t want underwear on.  It took a few bribes before we could get him in his crib with underwear. Good news he did use the potty before sleeping so he made it thru nap time dry.

Then we had a few success and a few misses.  Not too bad for something I had been dreading for so long.  The hard part was getting him to sleep. It took about an hour longer than normal. He still wasn’t used to wearing underwear and since we were potty training, I had to give in and go back into his room everytime he called.  This happened about 5-6 times, but finally he went to sleep.  Will he make it through the night? Seems like an awful long time.  So for the first night we helped him along by going in at about 5 am   (1 1/2  hour earlier than usual) as soon as I heard him stirring.     We put him on the potty and he peed and then went back to sleep.  I was amazed.

Potty Training Day 2
Saturday

The day went  well.  Since it's the weekend I enlisted my husbands help. Not as many accidents, but he had one poop accident -not so fun!  We just continued to remind him all day to tell us when he had to use the potty and as soon as he did-showered him with praise.  I called my mom, we cheered, we danced, we hugged, gave stickers.  Over and over all day long.   Its was all pee and poop all day long.  It seemed to be working, but it was hard to keep him focused.  

Potty Training Day 3

He’s doing so well.  He seems to be getting it.  But we need to get out of the house, we're going stir crazy. Tomorrow is the real test!

Potty Training-Tales from the Potty

My son is now 2 1/2  and is potty trained.  Yea!  Moms keep asking me how I got there.  So now that it’s been about 4 months since I did 3 day potty training, I think I have a better perspective to share the good, the bad and the poopy.  

There is no one right way.  I think it really depends on your child, how much time and commitment you have, and if you have other children.

Here are few links to help you find what is best for you and your child.
Baby Center Advice
Dr. Sears Advice
3-day Potty Training

I did 3 day potty training-which is basically going cold turkey!  No more diapers-not even at night.   Here is the basic rules-you throw away all the diapers in the house, dress you child in big kid underwear, give him liquids, and rush him to the potty when you catch him in the act. Within those first three days of staying home and being positive and focused on your child, something is supposed to "click" and your child will just get it.

This week  I am going to share my potty training diary.  Follow me on my journey.

3 Day Potty Training Diary-The Day Before:

So after putting it off for months, I have decided to do 3 day potty training this weekend.  My son has been ready,  but I wasn’t ready.  With a 9 month old I didn’t have the time or the commitment, but this is the time.  He is 2 1/2 and has all the readiness signs.   I have been gradually getting him ready since he was 18 months old.  We got books, had pottys in the bathroom, showed him how to use it, had stickers and rewards but I never pushed anything and didn’t use any particular method.  I hoped eventually he would just get better, use the potty more often and stay dry.  Didn’t happen.  In fact he got worse.  Not only did he not use the potty, he wouldn’t even tell me when he had a poopy diaper.  We were going backward.  It was time to take away the diapers and let him have a chance to be a big boy.

I was anxious.  I told him soon there would be no more diapers and we would be wearing underwear.   He was excited. He said," Like Calliou and his friend in preschool!"  I said, "Yes, you are a big boy now".  So we made it fun.  We went to the store and bought dozens of pairs of underwear.  Trucks, Elmo, Dinosaurs, Thomas. you name it.  Then I bought stickers, poster board for a reward chart, and a few inexpensive prizes and lots of books and games to keep us busy for 3 days without leaving the house.

I lined the couch where he sits and his crib with a waterproof mattress pad, stocked up on rags, carpet cleaner and clean pants and pjs. Tomorrow it is go time!  See you then.