Three-Day Potty Training: Day One
Friday, April 27, 2012 at 11:27PMWelcome to the Nic and Nath potty show! Like Natali, I decided it was wise to attempt potty training before our second baby is born in August. I had always planned to do it this summer, but we’re starting a bit early (he's 25 months) to try to get the habit well-established before the baby comes. 
We went through a lot of clean-up towels on our first day of potty training!
The Program
We’re primarily using the Diaper Free Toddler Method (aka Three-Day Potty Training). It’s a similar, diaper/pull-up-free approach to the one that Nat’s using (and I’m using elements of that one too). I don't expect Nic to be completely potty trained in three days, but I'm hoping that an intense long weekend will set him up for ulitmate success. Here’s a general overview of the program we started today:
- Naked from the waist down (him, not me!).
- Don’t leave the house (on day one, and very limited outings on day two and three).
- Encouraging him to sit on the potty for as long as possible using books, games and iPhone (his favorite, of course).
- When he starts to pee/poop when not on the potty, quickly whisk him to the potty and say “Pee pee/Poo poo goes in the potty.” After done, he helps carry potty insert to the bathroom, dumps it, flushes, and washes and dries his hands.
- We do a crazy potty dance when he gets pee or poop in the potty. I had stockpiled some rewards just in case, but we haven’t had to use them yet. I did pull out a few new small toys though to occupy him on the potty.
- He helps clean up the pee/poop that doesn’t make it in the potty.
- When he has an accident, we say “Pee pee/Poo poo goes in the potty.” Not “It’s ok.”
- Eat lots of salty snacks to encourage drinking/peeing.
Day One Wrap-Up
After only an hour and a half of sleep last night (long story), I decided to stick with our plan to start potty training today. I was worried that I was setting myself up for failure to do it on so little sleep, but I’m happy to say that I count today as a solid success.
Nic is by no definition potty trained, but I feel like we made some real progress. The morning was messy. Really messy (see the load of towels in the photo above). We started out with a few pee pees on the floor, but after an hour or so he learned to hold it when I noticed he had started to go and so I could place him on the potty. He’d then empty his bladder on the potty. I was so proud!
But then there were the poops. The first one surprised him as much as it did me and we managed to get a tiny bit on the potty, it wasn’t so bad. A few hours later, I was feeling a tad over-confident and stepped into the kitchen to put some dishes in the dishwasher. I stepped out of the kitchen and caught him at the end of another poop—one that he’d stepped in. We still managed to get the end of it in the potty, but that one required a waste-down bath and some significant clean-up.
The good news is that the rest of the morning was filled with big pee pees in the potty. Some starting with a few drops somewhere else, and some while he was sitting there playing.
After naptime (he slept in a diaper), he literally begged me to put a diaper back on him, but I resisted. We went outside to look for bugs and eat chocolate chip cookies and he quickly forgot about the diaper. We had more pee-in-the-potty success outside. Being outside was so much easier than being inside! I don't know if it's because we were in a groove or if I was just less nervous about a mess, but it was really enjoyable. Tomorrow, we'll spend most of the day outside (it's supposed to be warmer).
When we moved inside, I realized he had another new skill—he could pee “on-command” while sitting on the potty. Cool!
He still hasn’t “self-initiated” (attempted to get to the potty on his own when he feels the urge), but we didn’t have any full misses with pee except for the very first one of the day. I’ve also learned that when he doesn’t want to sit on the potty, there’s no forcing the issue, and so far it hasn’t resulted in any accidents. He’s willing to sit when he wants or needs to, but otherwise, it’s a no go. Going by the red marks on his tush when he stands up, I’m guessing these hard plastic potties are a bit hard on the bum.
Tomorrow
The plan for tomorrow is about the same as it was for today, with one addition. We get to leave the house for an hour! We’ll take a walk around the block tomorrow (in pants) and see how it goes. Shaun will be home all day, so I'm hoping that the extra set of hands and eyes makes tomorrow even better.
Reader Comments (3)
Way to go, Nic! Isn't it funny how something so funky like potty training can make us so proud of our little ones? It is tough work, no doubt, but I think you're doing the right thing. It's a good process to get started, even if it is hard on everyone for a while.
Miles got a pretty ugly cold this week and it set his potty training back a lot! He was doing so well and then had 3 days without a single score in the potty. It showed me how hard this really is on him, mentally and emotionally. I didn't revert to diapers because I thought that would send the wrong signal but I also just let the accidents happen and didn't push. Set backs are to be expected I guess. It is a hard thing to learn after all and, like I said in one of my posts, one of their first real challenges in life.
I'm proud of both of our boys! Yay for pee pee in the potty! And can you please post a video of that potty success dance for us all to enjoy? :)
I know you can make it. You should be proud for what you have done.
I LOVED reading this post. I read parts of it out loud to my husband and Father-in-law and there were parts that made us all smile and even giggle. More so....just thinking about how very soon, this will be Reese stepping in her own poop. I'm enjoying the overviews and wrap ups you've pulled together. I think they're going to be useful for when I do start to train Reese. So excited for you!