What's funny is when I was pregnant with Addi I wanted Emma potty trained so I wouldn't have two in diapers. Little did I know I was dumb and didn't realize what that meant for us as parents of 2 under 2. Feel free to read more about Emma's potty training.
Potty training really isn't any fun. Don't get me wrong I LOVE seeing the look on their face when they pee on the potty and how proud they are. The not fun part is when your wiping up the 20th accident that you stepped in or almost stepping in poop because they haven't figured out to go sit on the potty while they're pushing it out. I mean really, why is it so hard to walk an extra 2 feet and sit on the potty chair? Like yesterday I went to the bathroom and came out to poop on the kitchen floor. Really? I was gone for a minute and that's when you decide to go. I should be happy it was in the kitchen and not on the carpet. I just keep holding my breath that each day will bring less accidents.
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| She's so proud! |
Now let's talk about going out in public while potty training. If it was up to me I'd stay home until they were fully trained. But that's not an option at all. Part of potty training is for them to learn to go on the big potty in public. Now Emma was terrified of public restrooms. They were too loud and she would scream if I tried to put her on one. I even got her a potty cover so it would be smaller and less intimidating. No dice. She would straighten her legs and refuse to sit and scream bloody murder. I felt like an awful mom forcing her to go potty. I mean if you were in there with us it would sound like I was torturing my child. I began hating going out with her very quickly and wished I could go back to diapers. One day Hubby had to run errands and took Emma with him and worked his magic and after that she wasn't afraid of using the big potties. Now she just doesn't like how loud they are and from time to time she'll beg me to not flush the toilet.
Obviously accidents are part of the process but when you're out and about and you're completely prepared things go wrong. For example, you're in the back of the store and the bathrooms are in the front and your child says "I have to go potty!!" As we all know when kids want something they mean RIGHT NOW! You drop everything and grab your kids and purse and run to the bathroom and telling them "Just hold it, we're almost there". Sure enough you didn't make it and now have to change their clothes and you're hoping there isn't any pee on you. It didn't take long to learn to have her go potty right when we get to a store to help teach her to pee on demand.
On top of those things we are now dealing with a stripper. Addi won't keep her clothes on which is why we've started potty training. It's a good thing we don't have company all the time but with Christmas coming up we'll have to work on her keeping her clothes on at home. Right now we are on day 5 of potty training and she's doing well. She's starting to say she has to go potty sooner than two seconds before she does, which is great! Today's goal was to run errands with zero accidents. I'll consider it a win because she went potty twice at Target and her pull up was dry.
So word to the wise:
: when you're ready to potty train your child make sure they're ready
: don't expect your child to be perfect at first
: go potty before leaving the house, every time
: hit up the restrooms when you get to your location
: pack extra pants, 3 or 4
: when they say "potty" run like the wind to the closest bathroom
: have extra potty chairs, especially one in the room they spend most of their day. we have 2.
: have carpet/furniture cleaners and clean towels to clean up accidents
: have toilet paper by each potty chair
: don't be afraid to use a reward system to get the to go on the potty. with Emma we used a sticker chart and with Addi we're using candy.
:let them pick out their potty chair, might get them excited to start
I know potty training can be stressful but it can also be fun. Just keep in mind that you're almost done with changing diapers! So after you've cleaned that 10th pee spot or washed the 15th pair of pants just remember your getting closer to freedom and farther away from wiping your child's bum!!
What are some tips you've tried out?
