Possibly stupid potty training question for moms of girls...

[sarahsthreads]

OK, so DD peed in the potty for the first time tonight, and I have to be honest, I was at a complete loss as to how to, well, wipe her. I mean, on the changing table it's really no problem to do the front-to-back thing, but when she's sitting on the potty...how the heck do you do it?!? Should I have her stand up on the step stool (we're using a child-sized seat on our regular toilet instead of a separate potty seat) or...what?

(I suppose I could just call my mom, as she obviously got through it with me, but somehow this is less embarrassing...)

Sarah :)

[squimp]

I tell DD to get off the potty, face me, then put her hands on the ground and her butt in the air. I can wipe her front to back this way. The short-hand is "elephant walk" as in "time to do the elephant walk". You could say downward dog, too. :) If we're out and about, I have her put her hands on my feet rather than the grimy floor.

She's getting better at wiping herself now since she's been PT for about 6 months. But it takes a while, and we're still doing the elephant walk often.

[mudder17]

That's good to know. Generally, I do the same thing, especially for a poopy underwear (she will pee, but not poop in the potty, sigh), but DH says she can't do it herself and admittedly, she does have trouble doing it. How do you teach THEM to wipe that way? I haven't let her touch a poop (unless I've already wiped most of it), but I know it's going to happen at some point.


Eileen

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33734.gif 28 months...
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev317pp___.png
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33732.gif for Leah

[squimp]

Good question Eileen. I've shown her to wipe downward when it's just pee. For poop, we haven't figured this out yet and I still wipe her myself. The teachers at Sophia's school have literally a century of experience between them all, and so I will ask them about this.

It's funny, people talk about PT being this overnight process (as in, "e took away the diapers and were PT in two days"), but for us, full potty independence from start to finish is quite a work in progress.

[bcafe]

I just have DD lean forward, grab my knees, and I wipe front to back. When she gets a little older, I will show her how to wipe front to back (from the front). This works great for us, and we don't have to worry about her getting off the potty and smearing urine/bm on the toilet seat. Good luck!

[sarahsthreads]

I bet she'd adore this move. ;) I was also wondering how/when/how long it takes to teach them to wipe themselves. This is definitely one of those things I never, in a million years, would have thought I'd have to figure out, before I became a mom! :D

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

This sounds pretty easy. I think I'll try this version and the "elephant walk" version and see which one DD handles better. That is, if she ever pees on the potty again - I think the other night was a total fluke!

Sarah :)

[mudder17]

Yeah, actually the book I'm reading (Keys to Toilet Training) says that for some kids PT'ing is just about an overnight process, but Potty independence is definitely a much longer process, even for the "best" of kids.


Eileen

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33734.gif 28 months...
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_-6_Kaya+is.png
http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/p/dev317pp___.png
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/33732.gif for Leah