If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you know that we’ve been taking our shot at potty training and it hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing. I’ve had many people reach out to ask how the process is going so I figured it was time for an update.
About six months ago I bought Vinnie a miniature potty because our pediatrician suggested getting one so he would be familiar with it when we were ready to start training. Vin was SO excited about it. He is great at observing and imitating, so I knew we had to go with the realistic looking toilet rather than one with all the characters. From that point on, Vinnie started going potty in the toilet before bath every night. We made it a game and he looked forward to it. I would take him to his room and undress him and then shout “ready, set, GO!” and he would take off down the hall (butt naked lol) and run as fast as he could to his potty. He’d sit down and go and then my husband and I would cheer. So, a part of me thought it might be easy to fully potty train him since he already understood the concept and had been going for about six months.
Prior to starting the process, I read all of the tips and tricks out there and decided to go with the “naked for 3 days” strategy since it seemed to be the most recommended. I bought pull ups, “big boy underwear,” a cute book about going potty and we were ready to fly.
So, here’s how the first day went…
I woke up that morning and decided on a whim that today was going to be the day. I hadn’t planned it prior but since I already had all of the supplies, I figured ehh, why not? The truth is, I wasn’t fully committed at that point, I just kinda wanted to test out the waters and see what I was in for. That was my first mistake.
So, just like the internet suggested, I made a big deal out of it. We explained that Vinnie was a big boy now and he didn’t need his diapers anymore. We (pretended) to throw his diapers away and I showed him his new undies. He was super stoked on them because they had all of his favorite characters and he seemed like he was on board.
Then I set the timer for every 15 minutes. Mistake number 2. First of all, I’m not sure why this is suggested because the only person that can pee every 15 minutes is a pregnant lady! Every time the timer would go off, I would shout “it’s potty time!” and we would march over to his little toilet and take a seat. This was fun for about the first three timers and then it just became ANNOYING for everyone! Suddenly, this became a chore rather than a new fun activity and Vinnie was not having it. And who could blame him? I was annoying myself lol. I just felt like I was pestering him constantly about peeing and the poor kid didn’t have to go.
Luck was not on our side because this same day, our 13-year-old lab came down with some type of food poisoning. She began puking HUGE piles of vomit all over the house. Luckily, we have all tile floors but between the naked toddler and the sick dog, I spent the entire day on my knees cleaning up puddles of bodily fluids.
By the time we made it to nap time, I was OVER IT.
From that point forward, I decided naked was not for me. And neither was the 15 minute timer. So I started using the pull-ups. And from there, it was hit or miss. One day Vinnie would go 7 times in the potty like a champion. The next, he refused to go even once. I tried praising him, bribing him, pleading with him. Nothing seemed to work consistently.
I knew the process would be difficult because that’s all anyone can tell you after your kid turns one. “Just wait until you try to potty train him!” It’s like a death sentence hanging over your head! But I have one big confession: IT’S MY FAULT IT ISN’T GOING WELL.
Yep, I said it.
It’s my fault because I haven’t been in 100% so why would Vinnie be?
And the reason I haven’t been fully committed is because there is a big loss of freedom that people don’t talk about that comes with potty training. Once Vinnie is potty trained, leaving the house is a whole new ball game. Instead of changing his diaper when it’s convenient, I have to double, triple check that he goes before we leave, when we get there and before we head home. Accidents are a reality, so I’ll have to go back to bringing a change of clothes everywhere we go. It’s just a whole new world and I’m not sure if I’m ready for it!!
So I’ve taken a step back and I’m giving Vinnie a chance to reset. I haven’t given up completely. He is still wearing pull ups and I’m still reminding him every so often that it’s time to use the potty. And he’s been doing pretty well the past couple days. One thing I’ve learned about my son is that you have to convince him that it’s HIS idea to do something so I’ve been bragging on him to everyone we know when he isn’t listening *wink wink* and that seems to be helping.
I’m going to give the “naked for 3 days” strategy another shot (and hopefully the dog will cooperate this time lol) but I’m still wrapping my head around the idea that I can’t leave the house for a solid three days and possibly even longer if it doesn’t work that quickly.
My biggest pieces of advice at this point is to make sure YOU’RE ready before even thinking about if your toddler is ready.
Stay tuned for future updates. Hopefully I’ll figure out all of the kinks before you give it a try yourself!
xoxo
J A M I E L Y N N E