Ready for potty training: what do I need?

[maylips]

Okay, DD is now 2 and both babysitters (she is watched by two women during the week while I work from home - both of whom are grandmothers, so they've been through this before) tell me she's ready to start potty training.

We have a BB toilet that goes on the big toilet and a clear little toilet. No training pants as of yet, no books, no DVD's, no nothing else.

Looking to hear from wise mamas!

Thanks in advance!

[infomama]

Dare I say it....M&M's. one for potty, two for poo-poo.
GL!

[amandabea]

Things that worked for us:
Baby Bjorn potty chairs (upstairs & downstairs)
HA training unders (we had 8 and I thought that was just enough plus we had character panties as backup at school)
Occassional naked time
Self motivation and desire from DD
Support from daycare
Patience & consistency (started with a lot of asking "are you dry?" Followed by frequent bathroom trips)
Clorox wipes, vinegar & hot water (for accidents on the tile floor)
NO pull ups!!

Seriously, I would not underestimate any of these things. We tried a sticker reward chart, but I didn't find it to be very motivating for my DD.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Here's my list:

We had this book on hand when DD was about 18 mos. and at 21 mos, she started taking her wet diaper off. She trained at 22 mos, and finished with #2 before 25 mos. DD was motivated and just started going there on her own while I was nursing DS. I had to jump up and run to the restroom with her. I hadn't read up, but the whole thing went fairly smoothly because she was leading it. We did not use pullups. I HIGHLY recommend these specific items.

book - http://www.amazon.com/Big-Girl-Potty...1368753&sr=8-1

insert that doesn't wobble - we got the matching stool so she could climb up easier- http://www.amazon.com/BabyBj%C3%B6rn...1368780&sr=8-1

little potty to keep in the car: http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Bjorn-050...1368802&sr=8-3

training underwear to get her through the process - we had 6 pairs http://www.hannaandersson.com/Style....tyleRef=32684g

[citymama]

Basic necessities/must-haves:

-- Lots of patience!
-- BB stand-alone potty with insert that can be washed and at least one other potty in the home (either BB insert in regular toilet or another stand-alone)
-- cotton training underwear (we had 6 Hannas size XS). We didn't do pull-ups.
-- extra clothes, plastic bag, wipes, Purell and small roll of TP for the diaper bag

If your girl is anything like ours then:
-- girl book or books about PTing - we used the "Once Upon a Potty" book and DVD and they worked like a charm. To this day, over a year later, she still says "Bye bye pee pee, bye bye poo poo" just like Prudence! We just did the one kid book. Believe it or not, I didn't read any parent guides.
-- Stickers for motivation! We didn't go the candy route. We made a sticker chart (card stock paper and markers) and she got a sticker each time she sat on the pot, another one if she peed and 2 for poop. Eventually she only got stickers for actually going, and she also wanted them on her hands not the chart. We got a $5 book of stickers at Target.

Method we used: started with consistent potty time at the same time of the day - end of day in our case. Once she started to "go" at that time, we added in a morning time. Definitely a lot/most of it was done bare-bottom, which is why this is a great time of year to do it - when it's warmer. Don't expect her to tell you when she needs to go - either have lots of potties conveniently located and no clothes so she can go by herself, or put her on the pot at regular intervals. Don't expect night-time or naptime PTing for a long while. And expect accidents! Good luck!

ETA: WtG, ditto!

[jtannerchs]

This is a great post/list. DD is 13 months, and I know I have a while to go, but I want to be prepared. I was thinking of buying a potty and just having her get used to sitting on it, etc.

It sounds like the Baby Bjorn Potty is the way to go, does that sound right? Is that what the BB stands for?

Why no pull-ups?

Thanks!

[o_mom]

Generally, most kids see pull-ups as diapers (which they are) and since there is no immediate feedback (as in wet pants) they don't help training and are more expensive.

We never used pull-ups or training pants while PTing - just went naked, then commando, then underwear. We used them at night only after we were done with daytime training, mainly because with three to get ready I can't put a diaper on everyone and they can put the pull-ups on themselves.

[Clarity]

Generally, most kids see pull-ups as diapers (which they are) and since there is no immediate feedback (as in wet pants) they don't help training and are more expensive.

We never used pull-ups or training pants while PTing - just went naked, then commando, then underwear. We used them at night only after we were done with daytime training, mainly because with three to get ready I can't put a diaper on everyone and they can put the pull-ups on themselves.

We didn't use pullups either and my dd pt'd at 22 months. We did naked time, she was naked from the waist down as much as possible. A potty in the living room, a potty upstairs in our bathroom.

So for us, we used 2 pottys, 2 potty books, lots of cheering, applause and general enthusiasm. We bought trainers but dd treated them like diapers so we went from naked at home to hanes panties. That's it. It all depends on the kid.

[citymama]

This is a great post/list. DD is 13 months, and I know I have a while to go, but I want to be prepared. I was thinking of buying a potty and just having her get used to sitting on it, etc.

It sounds like the Baby Bjorn Potty is the way to go, does that sound right? Is that what the BB stands for?

Why no pull-ups?

Thanks!

Yes, BB was short-hand for Baby Bjorn! I liked both the stand-alone potty (with removable insert, which makes it easier to wash) and the insert for the grown-up toilet.

[DrSally]

We just got the insert for the big toilet and it's really nice. A tad expensive, but really nice.