Ace just turned two years old and had been showing signs of being ready to potty train. So we put potties in every room in the house, and switched from diapers to training pants. We didn’t have any preconceived notions about how long potty training would take or how many accidents he’d have in the process.
Selfishly, I’d love to have him potty-trained before Bea arrives. It’s hard enough to change one kid, let alone two. And after having a c-section, I have no idea how I’ll manage to help him use the potty when my husband is not home.
We’ve been at it for a few months now and without having much else to compare to, I can say that I think it’s going pretty well. Slowly, but surely. But progressing nonetheless. At this point Ace understands that he should tell us when he has to use the potty. Sometimes he does. Sometimes he doesn’t. He’s actually better about telling us he has to use the bathroom when he has to poop. Right now, he’s less likely to tell us he has to go if he only has to pee.
I’ve tried putting him underwear a couple times. He only wore them around the house and I put him on the potty at regular, very short, intervals. He had a few pee pee accidents but at least there was no poop to have to clean up. He hasn’t worn underwear in a while now. I’ve offered them to him again and he says, “No, thank you,” so I don’t force the issue. He’ll put them on when he’s ready.
Today, we were over a friend’s house and he told me had to use the potty four times! And he peed in the toilet every time! The bad news is that his training pants were still soaking wet by the time we left, but again – baby steps.
Sometimes when we’re home in the evenings, I’ll turn on the timer on my phone for every 10 minutes. When it goes off, he recognizes the tune we selected together as the trigger for Potty Time. He pauses what he’s doing and will at least try to use the potty and is usually able to. The problem with this method though is that it completely interrupts my evening cooking routine and makes it so that I can’t do any one activity for more than 10 minutes at a time.
My next move is to get him into underwear more consistently. I have no idea how yet, but I think that’s where we’re headed. Wish me luck.