On the Potty Train

I had always intended for my girls to be potty trained before they turned three. At the end of August 2012, I decided that I was going to begin potty training. In September, I was in a car accident resulting in a totaled car and a broken wrist. Needless to say, potty training was put on hold.

At the end of February, a couple of weeks after the girls' third birthday, I decided the time was nigh. I would start potty training right after our trip to Florida. Little did I know, Dani wanted to start sooner. While on vacation, we had to buy a potty seat because she wanted to go all the time (including at DisneyWorld). It was definitely a sign of what was to come.

A week and a half ago, Lillie, Dani, Tim & I hopped on the potty train. I told the girls we would start potty training on Thursday. A song happened...and they excitedly performed.

Then Thursday arrived, and the day began. I was armed with stickers, a gallon of lemonade (their favorite), new cups from Universal Studios, a bag of M&Ms that included pink and purple (because my girls are girly girls sometimes), and a giant chart. We put on training pants and started the day.

Dani went right away and didn't have but one accident. Lillie took five times, a change to pull ups (because she didn't like the pink training pants) and me cheering her on before she finally went. And when she went...it was a beautiful moment; I am not joking. She'd been stressed all day--not wanting to sit on the potty and only staying for a minute when she would. I thought about forcing her to either wear the training pants or be naked, but I felt that might be a bad way to go. I finally told her she had to sit on the potty long enough to watch three Elmo videos. I pulled out my phone, she watched, complained, watched another, complained, and halfway through the third, she peed!! Her face lit up, and Dani and I both clapped for her. I could tell she was proud. It was awesome.

This was them at the end of day one...

Now we've been at it for over a week. Five accidents between the two of them--all mild and two occurring in the bathroom. They've been very calm and helped clean up each time. We've gone potty at Taco Bell, Walmart, Target, K-Mart and Publix (twice). I now know that they hate, hate, HATE automatic flush toilets. Dani doesn't want you to look at her while she goes, while Lillie wants everyone to hang out. She demands privacy only when she goes poopy.

I'm thinking about night training, but have no intentions of working on it for at least a few months. I want them to be solid with the daytime thing first.

So what have I learned from this experience? Here's a list, in no particular order:

• It's not as bad as you think. It seems so scary, but if you just find the patience and realize that they will not be in diapers forever, it will happen.
• There's a upside and a downside to every type of potty trainer. Sometimes, you'll have a kid who thinks it's fun to pull down her pants and sit on the big potty, so she'll want to go ALL the time even if she doesn't have to which interrupts meal time, play time, snack time, bed time, and every other time in between. Sometimes, you'll have a kid who's afraid she'll fall in and won't go until you make her sit and sit and sit. 
• M&Ms are amazing motivators.
• No matter how much your child likes a drink or a cool cup, she'll probably be sick of you pushing it on her 10 times a day for two days.
• Letting them pick the stickers and the treats will get them super excited about potty training.
• Distractions for those scared of the potty really does work. I used my trusty iPhone, but reading books, singing songs, doing silly dance--it all works.
• I bought disposable training pants because I was going to transition. I would advise only using them at night and for longer trips. Lillie was less reluctant to go in the potty when she had them on. Once I got her in the cloth ones, she was all about using the potty.
• Buy flushable wipes! They make clean up easy and maybe they'll save you half a roll of toilet paper.

It's Potty Time!

Well...it's almost potty time. The girls are showing an increasing interest in pees and poos and potties, so I know the time is approaching for me to put on my big fat patience hat and get on the potty training...um...train.

As always, I must approach this with a plan as well as an arsenal of supplies. I've started with the supplies because the plan is still overwhelming me.

First up, the actual potty. I looked at a bunch of different ones, but in the end, it came down to price and design. The winner? The Ikea Låttsam. It's $5 and all one piece which makes it easy on the wallet and easy on the clean freak in me. I intended to get two of each in different colors--red and pink--so the girls would know which potty was which.

Ikea had different intentions. After three trips to the Atlanta Ikea, the wonderful guys at ModerNash only found green and black. I asked a friend, and the Austin Ikea only had green. In the end, I settled with four green ones. In typical Faith fashion, I plan to decorate each potty so the girls will know which is which. (I promise to post pics of pretty potties.)

Next up, the trainers. A while back I decided against disposables. Both Lillie and Dani will tell me they are wet, but neither of them seem to really care unless they've leaked. Disposable trainers seem to be glorified disposable diapers (in my opinion), so I thought it would be nicer to go cloth so the girls will be more aware of their wetness. There are a gazillion adorable cloth trainers out there, but most of them cost an arm and a leg. If I were purchasing diapers that would be worn for a couple of years, I'd have no problem paying $12-$15 per diaper, but when I hope training will only take a couple of months, I don't see the need to spend that much.

Gerber and Babies R Us both have some nice inexpensive ones, but all the reviews said they weren't absorbant at all. I don't need them to be super absorbant, but I would prefer not to have lots of puddles to clean. Enter Carter's (extremely adorable) trainers! They cost a little more than Gerber, but far less than some others I'd been eyeing.


Next are the wipes. Toilet paper is fine and dandy, but I think flushable wipes are better. I may change my mind at some point in time, but right now I've planned on using flushables. Both Pampers and Wet Ones make a flushable wipe. The Pampers Kandoo are great because they come is a large tup with a cute picture on the front. (Dani is obsessed with frogs right now, so the frog is a selling point. Sue me.)


This list is still growing. I'd also like to get a step stool so they can wash their hands more easily as well as some potty only toys and/or books. Those parents that have been through the training gauntlet, do you have any advice? I would really appreciate it!