I am so proud that I can say Babycake is potty trained. I do not have any tricks to share on how to successfully potty train in one week, let alone a single weekend. I wish I did! No, it took Babycake a solid two weeks before we went out in public and she didn't wet herself. When we are home she very rarely has an accident. She is very good at stopping what she is doing, running to the potty, pulling down her pants, going, and flushing. We're still working on continually remembering to wipe before flushing, and to wash hands. So I wouldn't say she's completely potty trained since we're still working on those, and she doesn't always stay dry during naps, and I'm not even thinking about bedtime dryness. However, I really feel that to get as far as we are is a great achievement.
It has taken three weeks to get to this lovely place in potty training. The first week was by far the worst. This would be b/c we were cooped up in the house the entire week (talk about a mom going crazy!) and I received a lot of discouraging comments about my desire to potty train (this is discussed in my original Potty Training post). The second week is when things really turned around, and the third week is when it all became more habitual- for everyone ;-)
Before I started potty training I googled and researched different ideas and all the quickest ways to do it. I thought we would be ready. Babycake has been sitting on the potty, doing nothing, every night before her bath since she turned one. She has never been afraid of the potty so that wasn't our problem. However, Babycake is not a verbal toddler. She is a physical toddler. There's no way she could string a couple words to make a sentence right now, but by 19 months she knew how to do a somersault on her own. I never figured communication would be our problem in potty training. She understands everything I say, she simply doesn't express herself verbally. How was she to let me know she needed to go?
So I started our potty adventure with high hopes. I started out bribing with candy. That only lasted a couple days. Babycake quickly learned how to get candy while sitting on the potty, then not do anything. Sneaky! So I traded the candy with sticker rewards charts. That has worked pretty well. At first she was motivated to pee to get a sticker, but at this point she'll go with or without the sticker. I'll still offer the stickers and sometimes she'll take them or sometimes she'll leave it to me to put it on the chart. She does like to go up and count all her sticker rewards.
< Left: Upstairs potty station- used at wake up and bedtime.
Right: >
Main floor/ all day potty station. This is the new potty with smaller, cushioned seat.
Both stations have reward sticker charts, books, and wipes.
About half way through the first week of potty training I went and got a smaller potty b/c I'd realized part of the problem was that her tush was just too small for our current potty. Then I went off to the library and got some children's potty books. I was hoping that having this subject mentioned in some fun and colorful books would make it more fun and even exciting. The books did help I think. But by the end of the week they just weren't enough. So, off to the library again. This time to get children's potty training DVDs.
Now let me just add that we do not typically let Babycake watch TV or movies unless she is having a very rough time waking from her afternoon nap- and then its no longer than 30 min (one episode of Curious George).
This potty training thing though, that's a very special circumstance. We needed all the help we could get, or maybe that was just me. Anyway, over the last two weeks she has been watching Potty Time by Two Little Hands in the morning after breakfast, and then watches Bear in the Big Blue House: When You've Got To Go (via YouTube and shared below) after her nap. Since Babycake started watching the videos, and pairing them with the potty books, she really took off with potty training- essentially on her own (while we were home). The videos are great b/c they explain the process of using the potty but they also include songs and dance. Apparently that's way more fun then Mama dancing, singing, and giving stickers when the potty is used properly. ;-)
Babycake loves both videos, but "Bear" is her favorite. I however am so thankful to have found Potty Time. This is because it includes the songs and dances I mentioned before, but also sign language. Sign Language! Perfect for the physical toddler who picked up all the baby signs I taught her with such ease and still uses most of them while saying them. I think it was only after watching this two or three times that she understood and began signing "body," "potty," "wipe," "flush," and "wash."
I am so proud of my big girl. She has learned so much. Every day seemed to take so long, each week ever lasting, but now looking back at it all, it seems to have flown by! Yet another milestone my baby has tackled. Her 2nd birthday is coming up in a couple months and I simply can't believe how fast it's all gone by.
When I started potty training I was thinking I would be giving up the diaper bag and making the move back to my purse. Ha! No, even though I no longer need to lug diapers around (we used cloth so they took up more space than disposable), I still have the extra clothes in case of an accident, a wet bag for wet clothes (if accident occurs), toys, snacks, and drink. I suppose it'll still be a year or so before I can get back to my own bag and Babycake can carry her stuff around. :-)
Our library potty books:
*Have You Seen My Potty?
*It's Potty Time
*No More Diapers For Ducky!
*Potty Time
*Big Girls Go Potty
*The Potty Train
*The Potty Book for girls
It has taken three weeks to get to this lovely place in potty training. The first week was by far the worst. This would be b/c we were cooped up in the house the entire week (talk about a mom going crazy!) and I received a lot of discouraging comments about my desire to potty train (this is discussed in my original Potty Training post). The second week is when things really turned around, and the third week is when it all became more habitual- for everyone ;-)
Before I started potty training I googled and researched different ideas and all the quickest ways to do it. I thought we would be ready. Babycake has been sitting on the potty, doing nothing, every night before her bath since she turned one. She has never been afraid of the potty so that wasn't our problem. However, Babycake is not a verbal toddler. She is a physical toddler. There's no way she could string a couple words to make a sentence right now, but by 19 months she knew how to do a somersault on her own. I never figured communication would be our problem in potty training. She understands everything I say, she simply doesn't express herself verbally. How was she to let me know she needed to go?
So I started our potty adventure with high hopes. I started out bribing with candy. That only lasted a couple days. Babycake quickly learned how to get candy while sitting on the potty, then not do anything. Sneaky! So I traded the candy with sticker rewards charts. That has worked pretty well. At first she was motivated to pee to get a sticker, but at this point she'll go with or without the sticker. I'll still offer the stickers and sometimes she'll take them or sometimes she'll leave it to me to put it on the chart. She does like to go up and count all her sticker rewards.
< Left: Upstairs potty station- used at wake up and bedtime.Right: >
Main floor/ all day potty station. This is the new potty with smaller, cushioned seat.
Both stations have reward sticker charts, books, and wipes.
About half way through the first week of potty training I went and got a smaller potty b/c I'd realized part of the problem was that her tush was just too small for our current potty. Then I went off to the library and got some children's potty books. I was hoping that having this subject mentioned in some fun and colorful books would make it more fun and even exciting. The books did help I think. But by the end of the week they just weren't enough. So, off to the library again. This time to get children's potty training DVDs.
Now let me just add that we do not typically let Babycake watch TV or movies unless she is having a very rough time waking from her afternoon nap- and then its no longer than 30 min (one episode of Curious George).
This potty training thing though, that's a very special circumstance. We needed all the help we could get, or maybe that was just me. Anyway, over the last two weeks she has been watching Potty Time by Two Little Hands in the morning after breakfast, and then watches Bear in the Big Blue House: When You've Got To Go (via YouTube and shared below) after her nap. Since Babycake started watching the videos, and pairing them with the potty books, she really took off with potty training- essentially on her own (while we were home). The videos are great b/c they explain the process of using the potty but they also include songs and dance. Apparently that's way more fun then Mama dancing, singing, and giving stickers when the potty is used properly. ;-)
I am so proud of my big girl. She has learned so much. Every day seemed to take so long, each week ever lasting, but now looking back at it all, it seems to have flown by! Yet another milestone my baby has tackled. Her 2nd birthday is coming up in a couple months and I simply can't believe how fast it's all gone by.
When I started potty training I was thinking I would be giving up the diaper bag and making the move back to my purse. Ha! No, even though I no longer need to lug diapers around (we used cloth so they took up more space than disposable), I still have the extra clothes in case of an accident, a wet bag for wet clothes (if accident occurs), toys, snacks, and drink. I suppose it'll still be a year or so before I can get back to my own bag and Babycake can carry her stuff around. :-)
Our library potty books:*Have You Seen My Potty?
*It's Potty Time
*No More Diapers For Ducky!
*Potty Time
*Big Girls Go Potty
*The Potty Train
*The Potty Book for girls
Thanks for this post! I read it way back in February and we used some of your idea with Eliana. We have been potty training on and off for months now, but the books and videos made a big difference. Just wanted to share that Eliana favorite thing in the whole world now is the Bear in the Big Blue House potty time video. She watches it once a day and would watch it more if I would let her. Isn't that funny? So glad that you shared this.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad our experience could help! Addy was the same way. It was fun at first having me cheer and celebrate her potty successes, but then she was over it and didn't care. The books and videos were life savers! We've noticed now that once she goes about a week without one of the videos she regresses a little. So we've been trying to go a couple days on and off consistently watching the videos to get her to remember to potty on her own.
ReplyDelete