Got Those Potty Time Blues…
This doll will help Calli learn to potty ... right?
OK, I’m pretty sure around the time that Calli was born I read somewhere that girls generally start potty training at 18 months. ‘Woo-hoo!’ My inexperienced father’s brain cried. Only a year and a half of foul-smelling, foul-colored, unidentifiable, unexplainable messes in diapers? I can handle that!
Nearly three years later, I’m still changing diapers. I’ve failed. You can see pictures of the wife and I in the parenting Hall of Shame. There’s a failed potty-trainers wing, and we’re the star attractions.
Then again, maybe not!
I came across an article on WebMD called ‘Potty Training: Seven Surprising Facts’ tonight that gave me some encouraging news. They quote Dr. Andrea McCoy of Temple University as saying:
“Children can’t stay dry at night until they start producing a hormone that signals their body to stop making urine at night, that doesn’t happen until it happens.”
A hormone. A hormone that ‘doesn’t happen until it happens.’ A blessed hormone controls my child’s ability to use the potty! Handel’s ‘Hallelujah’ playing in my head, I can now relax. It’ll all happen when it happens…
That shouldn’t keep me from using all this potty training gear I’ve littered around this post, right?
We would love to achieve potty trained status for Calli before her brother’s born in August, but if that doesn’t happen, it won’t be the end of the world. Our theory for the moment is that she just enjoys being a baby. If she gives up the diapers, she won’t be a baby anymore. Especially with the new baby on the way, I’m sure she’s wanting to hang on to that for just a little longer. We won’t push it or hold our breaths. Well, maybe we’ll still hold our breaths, when appropriate…
Anybody have any ‘tricks of the trade’ to share? I’m always willing to follow the advice of those that have been there, done that!
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Tags: Baby, Children, Diaper, family, Home, Shopping, Temple University, Toilet training
Naked. Go Naked.
Our three year old refused to let us know when she needed to go while still in pull-ups. So once school was over we stripped her naked and if she had to go, she had to go to the potty. We were done in two weeks with just one accident. By done i mean, even going out in public in panties. We still use a pull up for naptime and bedtime (and even our 5yo is still in a pull up at night) but during the day they both go potty.
I do want to add though that if there’s a new baby on the way, you may want to wait until after baby has gotten here to train as any new stress *may* cause regression. We waited until after our daughter’s surgery to potty train to avoid undue stress.
Best of luck to you!
(by the way, our 5 yo wasn’t completely day trained until she was about 4 and a half if that’s any consolation)
Warmest,
Lauren
Lauren Hale’s last blog post..Fatherhood Friday Ponderings 07.03.09
So right there with ya…have tried everything…including Big Girls Go potty, Babies use diapers..to no avail. She will pee pee in the potty, but no poop…yet.
Best wishes to you…especially before little borhter is born…but then agian…this may be the way to go about it…baby vs big girl and all LOL…Good Luck!
Potty training gives me anxiety, and I’m YEARS away from that happening. Good luck! Don’t forget to update once you’ve found the solution!
My son is 15 months old so we are just starting to talk about potty training and have begun purchasing the necessary tools. Of all the things I have to do as a father, this is the one thing I am SO not looking forward to. I’m pretty sure my prayers that he’ll wake up one morning and use the facilities all on his own will go unanswered.
PJ Mullen’s last blog post..The Inedibles
The only thing I can tell you about this is to always encourage, bribe and ask “do you have to go potty?”. My experience tells me that everykid has a switch, like a light switch. It is not until they decide to flip the switch that they stop wetting. It doesn’t matter how long you stand on your head. When they do flip the switch though, you’ve hit paydirt and will have very few if any accidents.
WeaselMomma’s last blog post..Fathering A Nation
I’m sorry, I have no magic solution for your. I had to deal with the hormone thing, too. When it happens, it happens. I remember just following the girls around saying, “Do you have to go potty?” over and over. I think they started running away from me. One of mine was afraid of flushing and watching the water disappear. Go figure. In the end it’s all up to them. Eventually it’s all good. You’re wise not to push with another sibling coming along. Lots of kids regress when this happens. If you expect it, it’s no big deal. Good luck. I’m sure you’ll be celebrating dry nights soon.
SurprisedMom’s last blog post..Living above Grandma
well, with my son, he was about 2…put him on his potty chair once and that was it. was not so lucky with my girls who were trained by the time they were 2(took one wk for my older dd and wk & 1/2 for the 2nd). we basically put big girl panties on them. yeah, we had an accident or two, but we made sure they let us know if they felt they had to go. i also would sit them every couple hours as well regardless of whether they had to or not. no one method works for everyone. you just have to do whatever you think is going to work. good luck. i lost my baby name list :-/ i gotta find it cos i want that spock action figure w the removable hands
ciara’s last blog post..FF-52 and Fatherhood Friday #15
I’m with Lauren. I did the naked thing and it’s been about a month now. He wears big boy underwear at home, pull ups when we go out(just as a safety, they’ve always come home dry), and diapers for nap/overnight. Just be prepared that when she does start going you will see the bathrooms in EVERY store/restaurant you visit. We had to go twice at the grocery store last week and make 2 stops on the way to my parents house this weekend…Potty trained kids is great, but it slows you down more at first. Now we’re working on stamina.