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View Full Version : Starting potty training soon



juliajaj
09-08-2004, 03:37 PM
DD (who turned 2 on 8/9) is starting to show an interest in potty training. I'd be interested in some advice from those parents who are potty training their toddler now or who already have.

1. Did you buy a potty training seat that fits on top of the regular toilet seat or did you buy a potty training chair.

2. Did you buy regular washable training pants or the diapers that are designed for potty training.

3. What books/videos did you use.

4. Do you have any helpful hints.

Thanks.

Mommie2MadLyn
09-08-2004, 03:45 PM
Hi Julie, We are in the process now so I am by no means an expert! But to answer some of your questions:

We bought the potty seat that fits right on top of the regular toilet. DD likes it and its less mess for me! ;-)

We put her straight into regular underwear. The training diapers didn't seem to make much sense to us, because they seem a little confusing for the child. Although, we do use pull-ups for naptime and bedtime. Not that daring yet!!!

We didn't use any books/or videos. She just saw us using the potty, and she copied what she saw!

The only thing that I think worked really well for us was that I stayed home for about 5 days straight and just focused on the potty training that entire time. It was stressful for me not leaving the house, but it gave her a chance to get used to the whole idea without all of the distractions in public. Its been 2 weeks and she is doing GREAT, we have gone to the mall, she even was at a birthday party this past weekend ALL DAY with no accidents!

Good Luck!!!

mamahill
09-08-2004, 07:17 PM
We bought a potty training chair (well, 2 actually - one Graco and one The First Years). Ainsleigh loved to sit while we sat, so it was kind of nice to have one for her. She does sit on the regular toilet, though, and just holds herself up. She likes to sit on her own one when she's got to work on a big poop or if she wants to read (lol).

I bought the training pants, but then also underwear, which she mostly wore. I did buy the training pants with the plastic outside for when we did errands those first few weeks. That way, if she went, it wasn't as big a mess, and it didn't get the car seat cover (what a PITA it is to wash!).

We bought "The Potty Book" and Ainsleigh loves reading it, though we call urine "water" and in the book she calls it "pee," but it's a minor annoyance.
http://tinyurl.com/7yqc6 - this is the book

Other hints? Be prepared for it to take a while - then let her surprise you if it's quicker. Ainsleigh moved to underwear pretty easily and we had few accidents, but she still wears a diaper for nap and bedtime. Sometimes she's dry when she wakes up, but not always. I'll move her to nap/night underwear when she's in a regular bed (a couple months) and can get up and use her potty chair on her own. For now, she's still in her crib.

And I agree that it's really good to set aside a few days (or a large chunk of a few days) to just be at home. I let Ainsleigh just run around and play pants-less for several days. They get the idea real quick when it's running down their leg that this is not something they enjoy. Oh, and stickers. Those are a great incentive for Ainsleigh.

Welcome to the world of potty training - it's fun, and makes for many proud moments!