MamaDiaries

…that helped my babies!

1) Timing is everything!

I started out with taking them every 15 minutes. Whether they needed to go or not. Each time was different but most times they did pee a little.
I then worked my way up to every 30 minutes. And then every 60 minutes. They eventually realized the feeling of needing to go.
*This worked for BOTH of my kids.

2) Cheerios and goldfish crackers – boys love to pee on these!

Oliver had such a fun time using these! We started with cheerios and told him to try to pee on them. He giggled every time he hit it. Then, when he seemed to get bored with just the little circles, we decided on something that had more shape. Goldfish crackers. He thought it was hilarious every time he made the fishy swim and dive!
This helped with his aiming, so he wasn’t peeing all over the seat or on the floor. I mean, who wants to scrub the floor or toilet seat every time they go, right?

3) Consistency!

Now, this goes hand-in-hand with the timing. You have to keep asking. Over and over again. Even once you passed the ‘every 60 minutes’ stage. Ask! Once they get the realization of how it feels to have to go, they’ll realize when you ask that they may just have to go potty. Kind of like they’re thinking about if the feeling is there or not.

4) Potty Seat VS Potty Chair

We have tried both of these with both of our kids. The potty chair had started in the living room – bad idea. They just thought it was a toy. Oliver actually dumped his mac and cheese in his right after we got it and ate it out of the potty chair. I couldn’t believe it. Ha!
So, we moved it to the bathroom. They still didn’t seem interested in using it. So, we got a potty seat – one of those seats that goes over top of the toilet seat, so they don’t fall in. Once we put it on and sat them on it, they loved it. They seemed to like feeling more like a big kid and going potty like mommy.
The potty seat was definitely the better option for us.

*Bonus!*

Potty rewards were a thing that helped us for a little bit in the beginning.
Whether it be a small treat for going or just lots of praise – we had to make it fun!
Anything to keep them wanting to try is a good thing.

Now, if memory serves, Oliver was fully potty trained in less than a week. He was about 2 1/2. Abby took longer just because I was back at work for her 2nd year. With Oliver, I was on maternity leave after having Abby, so it was much easier. Once we decided to finally buckle down with Abby, it only took about a week to have her fully trained, as well. She had actually turned 3 a few weeks prior.
So, this is completely 100% possible, even if you’re working and pretty much doing the training all by yourself. Keep at it and it will happen! Good luck, mamas!