Potty Training help?

[TarzansKat]

My advice would be to take a few day(s) off from work to tackle this. It will likely make you less stressed that you have to do it 'all' in one weekend. Take of whichever days will give you the most # of days to focus on it in a continuous stretch. Then, if he's doing OK - some accidents but some successes by the next time Mom watches him - just send him to her in underwear and about 5 changes of clothes.

FYI - my biggest mistake with my own ds was 'going back' and not sticking with it. I think that if you decide that you need and want to do it - go for it and do NOT turn back - even if the first few day(s) are not very successful. Just put him in underwear and be prepared to deal with the consequences.

I disagree with the pp who says we don't have much control over it - after all, we 'train' our children to eat meals at the dinner table, we 'train' them often thru a lot of trial and error to share their toys, we 'train' them what the letters of the alphabet are. This is very similar, IMO. But I do agree with the pp saying not to listen to others who critisize or anything - potty training is a TOUGH job (especially for those of us who waited until they were older unfortunately) - and it needs to be looked at as an unpleasant job that will be for a short-ish duration. Just make a plan that works best for your family and stick with it and hang in there!!!

Awesome advice, thank you. It just so happens that I have some paid time off that I am required to take before April 1st. I'll be taking of the the Friday and Saturday before Easter, so I'll have Friday through Tuesday off. I don't know if five days will cute it, but I could try it then. I know if I stay on top him, I think he'll get the hang of it, but I know I'll have to stay on top of him all day long. I just want to get this over with, even if it means I'll be doing a lot of

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

You know the best thing a friend of mine told me when I was pregnant was that I had now joined "the club." When I asked what "club" she told me the "club" where, for as long as I had children other people would feel free to tell me exactly what I was doing wrong in raising them club!

I thought it funny at the time. Now, nearly 10 years later, she was sooooo right! When DS was a baby, people criticized me for bottle feeding him (I tried everything, but just didn't produce enough mild). Then the criticized me for starting him on solids too young. Then they criticized me for starting him with vegetables instead of sweets. Then they criticized the potty-training process. Then they criticized the fact I chose to put him in private school at 3 years of age. Then they criticized the fact that I chose not to have anymore children. Then they criticized....

Today, DS is a relatively well adjusted 9 (nearly 10 year old) child. He loves to travel, is outgoing and functions well with adults and children. Now, I can't guarantee what kind of a man he will grow into being, but I think he's on a good track.

So, here's the moral to this long-story. We all do the best we can. Some do it better than others (but even they were criticized in doing it!). Hang in there!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

One last thing I forgot to mention. That same friend that "welcomed me to the club," gave me a great idea. When her oldest graduated from college, she gave him a check (that was rather large) and on the inside of the card told him that he could either use it for therapy for all the things she had done to screw him up, or he could use it for anything he wanted. She just never wanted to hear about the things she had done wrong with him.

I thought it was a great idea.

 

[TarzansKat]

One last thing I forgot to mention. That same friend that "welcomed me to the club," gave me a great idea. When her oldest graduated from college, she gave him a check (that was rather large) and on the inside of the card told him that he could either use it for therapy for all the things she had done to screw him up, or he could use it for anything he wanted. She just never wanted to hear about the things she had done wrong with him.

I thought it was a great idea.

I love the idea of that check! In my family, there are so many people that don't speak to each other (myself included I admit). Most of the ******* is with my sister. She blames our mom for a lot, and she and I can't seem to get along either. One of my biggest fears about having another child is that my DS and new sibling well end up like me and my sis as adults. I know that you just raise them the best you can and hope for the best.

As far as the club, I believed I must have enrolled without realizing it! I could not get DS to nurse as a baby. He did it in the hospital and outright refused at home. I was so convinced he needed to have breast milk (lots of propaganda out there) that I ended up pumping. Then I continued to do so...for nine months. I didn't make it to a year, but when I tell other moms, they say wow. Sometimes I wonder if that wow means, wow, that's great or wow, you're crazy! To each their own. At the time, I did what I felt was best. I should add DS also had a milk allergy. Not lactose, casein, which is in products that are even lactose free. I had to completely change my diet to eliminate all products with casein. Ah those were the days! I was so skinny, all I ate was fruits, veg, meat, no processed food...

Now that I'm totally off topic, let me just say I appreciate the support from another member of the club!

 

[labdogs42]

One last thing I forgot to mention. That same friend that "welcomed me to the club," gave me a great idea. When her oldest graduated from college, she gave him a check (that was rather large) and on the inside of the card told him that he could either use it for therapy for all the things she had done to screw him up, or he could use it for anything he wanted. She just never wanted to hear about the things she had done wrong with him.

I thought it was a great idea.

That IS a great idea. I love it! I'll try and remember that for when my DS graduates from college!! (if he's not still wearing diapers at the time!! )

 

[**eeyore**]

Awesome advice, thank you. It just so happens that I have some paid time off that I am required to take before April 1st. I'll be taking of the the Friday and Saturday before Easter, so I'll have Friday through Tuesday off. I don't know if five days will cute it, but I could try it then. I know if I stay on top him, I think he'll get the hang of it, but I know I'll have to stay on top of him all day long. I just want to get this over with, even if it means I'll be doing a lot of

Best of luck to you! I ended up doing the same thing to train one of my twin DD's. From Thursday afternoon, when she got home from the babysitter's house until the next Thursday when she went back to the sitters, my "job" was potty-training. I'm not going to lie - it was NOT fun! There were a couple of days when my DH would come home from work and find me sitting on the couch and staring into space - I was that "fried" from the day!

But, after about 4-5 days, I could see that we had made some real progress, and within the week, I would say she was 95% there.

So... hopefully this post doesn't scare you, but keep at it during your time off and don't turn back - it is WELL worth the work. The way I look at it - they call it potty "training" for a reason. Good luck!

 

[Kanga+2Roos]

Hello!
I just wanted to add that the White Cloud brand of pull-ups at Walmart work great & you save a lot of money compared to the name brand version. No problem with leaking. They just came out with a new design for boys that have Monster Trucks on them. They are a big hit with my 2yo DS!

 

[labdogs42]

Here's a question. My son doesn't want to get his diaper changed now. He claims, "I like poopy diapers" Do I let him hang out with a poopy diaper until he decides he doesn't want to sit in it anymore? I really think he says this because he wants to be contrary. Should I just ignore it and wait until he wants to be changed or make him get changed? Any suggestions?

 

[TarzansKat]

Here's a question. My son doesn't want to get his diaper changed now. He claims, "I like poopy diapers" Do I let him hang out with a poopy diaper until he decides he doesn't want to sit in it anymore? I really think he says this because he wants to be contrary. Should I just ignore it and wait until he wants to be changed or make him get changed? Any suggestions?

Are we living the same life?

My son has no desire to get changed ever. Not pee, or poops. However, in addition to being Italian, we are also of Irish descent. Irish descent = fair skin = sensitive skin. In this particular case, I am mean mommy and tell him he has no choice and it's too bad, but we're getting changed. If i'm not on top of it, especially with poops, he will get a rash, so for us that's the issue. Pee diapers I go a little longer, obviously, but sometimes even those are a struggle. Especially when he wakes up, in the morning and from his nap. I have no idea where it stems from, but I totally identify with you!

 

[TarzansKat]

Hello!
I just wanted to add that the White Cloud brand of pull-ups at Walmart work great & you save a lot of money compared to the name brand version. No problem with leaking. They just came out with a new design for boys that have Monster Trucks on them. They are a big hit with my 2yo DS!

May I ask how you find their sizing to be compared to Pampers? Do they run similar, bigger, smaller? Thanks!

 

[RRBB]

Here's a question. My son doesn't want to get his diaper changed now. He claims, "I like poopy diapers" Do I let him hang out with a poopy diaper until he decides he doesn't want to sit in it anymore? I really think he says this because he wants to be contrary. Should I just ignore it and wait until he wants to be changed or make him get changed? Any suggestions?

My son was like that for a while, though instead of saying he "liked" the poopy diaper he insisted in WASN'T poopy at all. I found that giving him a choice of a sore butt (from diaper rash) or a clean diaper usually worked. But there were some instances where I just put my foot down. If I didn't we usually ended up with a bigger mess because stuff squooshed out, IYKWIM.

As for PT here, yesterday was the first day of absolutely no diapers during the day. It went pretty well in the morning. I had DS sit on the toilet every hour and a half like they do at school. But after lunch he went with his grandmother to the mall and had a pee accident. And then right before dinner he had a HUGE pee accident, but he was on his way to the toilet at the time. We'll see what happens today since DH and DS have plans with grandma most of the day.

 

[Kanga+2Roos]

They have the White Cloud sizing as 2T-3T & I think the next size up is 3T-4T. My DS is a peanut--just transitioning from clothing size 2T to a 3T (he's almost 3) and I get him the 2T-3T in the White Clouds; it's a perfect fit. Prior to switching to these a couple months ago I was using the Pampers Easy-ups & he was just ready to go up to size 5. Hope this helps!

 

[TarzansKat]

They have the White Cloud sizing as 2T-3T & I think the next size up is 3T-4T. My DS is a peanut--just transitioning from clothing size 2T to a 3T (he's almost 3) and I get him the 2T-3T in the White Clouds; it's a perfect fit. Prior to switching to these a couple months ago I was using the Pampers Easy-ups & he was just ready to go up to size 5. Hope this helps!

Currently DS is wearing size 4 in pampers easy ups, but I'm pretty sure he's ready for size 5. Do you think the 3t-4t would accomodate?

 

[TarzansKat]

My son was like that for a while, though instead of saying he "liked" the poopy diaper he insisted in WASN'T poopy at all. I found that giving him a choice of a sore butt (from diaper rash) or a clean diaper usually worked. But there were some instances where I just put my foot down. If I didn't we usually ended up with a bigger mess because stuff squooshed out, IYKWIM.

As for PT here, yesterday was the first day of absolutely no diapers during the day. It went pretty well in the morning. I had DS sit on the toilet every hour and a half like they do at school. But after lunch he went with his grandmother to the mall and had a pee accident. And then right before dinner he had a HUGE pee accident, but he was on his way to the toilet at the time. We'll see what happens today since DH and DS have plans with grandma most of the day.

Congratulations on your success! Two accidents are not that bad, especially if one was on the way to the potty. Good for you...keep up the good work, and you'll get there!

DS has been doing okay with my working in more and more times at the potty. Every time I bring him there to pee, he goes. I feel like if I can get him to do it 2-3 times a day, it's a precursor to our full force training next week.

Can anyone recommend how many pairs of underwear I should have on hand for when we start with no more diapers? I mean I can do laundry, but what do you like to have during the course of a day?

 

[**eeyore**]

Can anyone recommend how many pairs of underwear I should have on hand for when we start with no more diapers? I mean I can do laundry, but what do you like to have during the course of a day?

I had 8 pairs of "training" underwear and ended up doing laundry about once a day the first couple of days - not because we actually went through all eight, but I didn't like leaving the "wet" clothes sitting around for too long.

FWIW - I really like the thick cotton training paints - they really do absorb a lot if there is an accident, so you don't end up with little lakes throughout your house! We are still using them now - I figure just in case there is an accident, we won't have as much of a mess on our hands. I think the Easter Bunny might be bringing character underwear though.

 

[labdogs42]

FWIW - I really like the thick cotton training paints - they really do absorb a lot if there is an accident, so you don't end up with little lakes throughout your house! We are still using them now - I figure just in case there is an accident, we won't have as much of a mess on our hands. I think the Easter Bunny might be bringing character underwear though.

Where do you get these? Do they need to have rubber pants over them? I hate the idea of rubber pants, but I also hate the idea of pee on my couch!!


As for cheap-o pull-ups, I haven't tried the Wal Mart ones, but the CVS and Target ones work great! I hat the easy-ups because they don't have the velcro-type sides. CVS and Target generics are just like the real Huggies Pull ups and DS likes the Handy Man designs on the CVS ones.

I'd like to hear more about those thick training pants. I haven't seen those around lately, but maybe I'm not looking in the right places. Those sound like something worth trying.

DS does also claim not to be poopy sometimes, but then sometimes when I call him on it, then he goes into the "I like poopy diapers" speech. Ugh.

 

[RRBB]

I almost picked up another set of the thick training pants this afternoon at Target but put them back at the last minute. Now, after reading about how absorbant they really are, I wish I'd purchased them. They were right near the character underpants for toddlers in the baby section. There's not much of a choice - either all white, or pastel blue patterned or pastel pink patterned. And they come in a package of 3 for around $5.50 (I think.)

It seems we go through about 3-4 pair of underpants a day on average. I think we have about 9 pair of the character (thin) kind and 3 of the thick training pants. We also have 2 with vinyl/plastic on the outside, that I got for nap/nighttime, but DS refuses to put those on at all.

I have to say we've been really lucky around here in that all but one of the accidents so far have all been pee only. I'm dreading the cleanup of messy underpants and I know it's coming.

 

[I believe]

I think it just comes down to when they want to do it. The summer before my youngest was going to start her 2.9 year old preschool class (and had to be potty trained) she still wasn't. We were in a store one day and I brought her to the panty section and she pointed to these Winnie the Pooh panties. While she was holding them this woman (very grandmotherly) saw her looking at them and says to her. Wow, are you really ready to start wearing big girl underwear? And my youngest looks at her and says, "Yes, I am a big girl!" She wore them starting that day with few accidents. I think she did this because she wanted to do it (finally). I don't know why the panties I previously bought didn't work or why the big girl words I gave her didn't work or even why the months of pushing her toward this didn't work. For some reason those words from a perfect stranger really changed something in her mind. I hope your child comes across something that helps her make her mind up.... or maybe someone like the Fairy Godmother that visited us in the store will find you as well. Good Luck!

 

[SunnyMama]

I agree with switching to underwear, and getting rid of the diapers/pull-ups. One thing I learned , especially if he is starting preschool, is to make sure to get cool, character underwear. The teachers at my DS4 preschool says that the kind of underwear the boys have is EXTREMELY important. She says that they compare more than the girls do!!! That means no cute undies from gymboree or gap. You have to buy the spiderman or cars undies from Walmart/Target. Good Luck!!!!

 

[HerdOHuds]

You know I am being hardcore 'Potty Mama' today and offered the big bribe to all 4 kids and it has been moderately successful. If I can just keep it together for a whole week, I think that at least 3 of the 4 would get it.

The roughest part right now is that my parents, who live nearby, can't seem to get on board. I took 2 boys to speech this morning and dropped the last two off at my mom's house and I got the pursed lipped frown from my mother when I explained that they couldn't get a reward for just using the potty. They had to keep their pants dry too. Geez! How exactly did she think THAT would work??!! The whole point of dry underwear in my world is 1) less cost in diapers/pull-ups and 2) less laundry!!!

Outside of many trips to WDW with family, my second wish to spend my mythical lottery money would be to have someone else do the dang laundry!!!!