Potty Time

Abby watching Claire go potty.  She's so proud of her big sister

Claire has been using the potty since the beginning of the month.   She has been doing so well!  We are so proud of the progress she has made.  We have learned a lot along the way.  There is still so much to learn.  For some reason I thought potty training would be a lot harder but it's not too bad.  I guess I have heard so many stories about other little ones who fight it and fight it.  Well here's our potty story.


We thought Claire was ready for the potty when she would go for several hours without wetting her diaper.  She was also asking to sit on the potty by choice.  She also loved reading the book Potty for Me and was interested in wearing panties or as Claire calls them "big girl panties." just like the character in the book. 

Claire's favourite potty book to read

On Friday, June 6th we decided to have her wear panties after her nap in the afternoon.  Once she woke up I told her with great excitement that she was going to wear panties and we were going to use the potty in the afternoon.  She was a little hesitant because she had worn a diaper for so long and this was a big change for her.  I let her pick out a pair of panties to wear, of course the pink princess ones. We went downstairs and I put the white potty in the middle of the living room and had rolled up our carpet.  We have laminate flooring in the living room so that leaves easy clean up when she has an accident.  We have an open floor plan on our main floor but if it was closed off I would have just kept her in one room to contain the mess when it happened. 

Claire wanted 'Claire Bear' to go on the potty with her

I also gave her a sippy cup full of water to drink.  The more she drank the more she would need to go on the potty.  Now when she is on the potty and hasn't peed yet I will often offer her the sippy cup of cold water and I think it helps her go pee. (Maybe I'm just crazy!) 

I found this fun sippy cup at Target for $2.99
If I change up her sippy cups every once in a while I find she drinks more water

On that first day she went on the potty many times and made both a pee and a poo.  We had told her that if she did go on the potty she could have ice cream, so right after she went of course she asked for some ice cream.  I made sure I had some in the freezer. She requested vanilla with sprinkles, her favourite!  Of course there were several accidents that afternoon and evening. I remember we were eating dinner and she was sitting in her high chair and all of a sudden there was a large pool of pee under her chair.  She didn't even realize she had gone pee.  One thing I told myself before starting potty training with Claire was that we were not going to get angry about her having accidents or punish her, because accidents are part of the process and it's not fair to do that.  I think in the long run it will create resentment and she will take longer to train.  Kyle and I just laughed and took her out and cleaned it all up.  We also stuck her right on the potty even though she may have emptied her bladder we wanted to put her there so she knows I go pee on the potty. 

My favourite shot! 

As the days went on she was able to have less accidents and more success going on the potty. During naps and bedtime we still have her in a diaper.  I am still taking her out during the day with a diaper on as well.  I know I should really have her wear panties but it just seems a little too much when I have to go out on my own with both girls.  I think we will try it when Kyle comes out with us so that if she does have an accident there is an extra set of hands there to help clean up.  I need to read up on pointers for night time and naps for potty training.  I think we may leave that part until Abby is sleeping through the night because Claire sleeps great at night and I really need her to continue that until Abby gets the hang of it.  We are also going to a wedding in Vancouver in July and it would be nice to get her potty trained fully before that trip so we don't have to pack lots of diapers, wipes and cream. 


So here is a recap of what I have learned so far about potty training

1) Books we book several books to Claire on potty training and helped her get prepared for the big day by reading them months in advance. 

2) Potty Out we made sure to have a couple potties in both bathrooms for her to see and invited her to take a seat every once in awhile

3) Contained Area we put the potty in the living room where it was easy to clean up an accident. If you have a carpeted living room maybe have your little one hang out in the kitchen, playroom or outside if it's summer time anywhere where there is no carpet. 

4) Antibacterial Wipes I have these on hand at all times for when Claire has an accident it's easy to quickly disinfect the area. 

5) Go with the flow Claire still has accidents but I'm not worried she will eventually get the hang of it. The doctor said we should not push it on her since we just had a baby and most little ones aren't ready until  3 years old. I think she's doing great for her age. 

6) Incentives Claire did well on the potty in the beginning when we used the incentive of ice cream but now she will go without asking at all. I was worried we would need to give her ice cream every time she went but luckily she forgot about it.

How is your little one's potty training going? 

What things have you learned about potty training?

Can you give me any tips or advice for night training?