Potty Traning Questions. Advice for boys specifically Please!

[bumbershoot]

answers inside...

At what age did you begin potty training your son?

18 months. He was finally eating more solids (we delayed and stayed exclusively nursing in order to keep allergies at bay, then he was very slow to eat much food, so his poops switched over much later than many babies change) his poops got more solid, and he was VERY obvious when he was about to poop. So when I could, instead of letting him go in dipes, I'd just put him on the Baby Bjorn Little Potty (BBLP) that I'd heard about from Elimination Communication circles. It was terrific. And it was simply following his lead.

But that was just poops, and poops were easy for him (he went backwards from others).

The true training was for US. We co-sleep, and it seemed that every night he would wake up all squirmy and restless. I'd nurse him back to sleep, then not half an hour later he'd wake with a VERY wet diaper. I'd get up, change him, then nurse him down again, which took a long time. FINALLY I got it through my head that he was squirming b/c of a full bladder, so I'd take him to the master bathroom to pee. He hated going into that darkened room, and hated using the toilet. So I bought a second BBLP, put it next to the bed. When he'd squirm, I'd get him off the bed, pull down his dipe, he'd squat and pee (I usually had to hold his boybits down otherwise he'd go on the carpet), I'd get him back up to the bed, pull up his dipe, and....sleep.

It was me holding him back from both sleeping more and not using the potty for pee. Once I learned it was great.

Did you use a potty chair?

Yes, b/c the toilet was just so big!

If yes, which one worked best for you?

Only used the BBLP mentioned above.

Did you use a potty seat at some point?

Nope. Thought about it, but never found one that was as basic as I wanted it, and by the time I was OK with a Disney themed one, he truly didn't need it.

Did you offer any rewards and if so, what?

The reward of not having to deal with a dirty diaper, or the diaper change! We used cloth with snaps on the sides, and he'd just pull the dipe down and go, then pull the dipe back up. He HATED dipe changes so this was great for him. I never even though to put something as a reward that had nothing to do with the natural consequences of either peeing in dipes or going in the potty.

What books came in handy in the process?

I checked out the Dr Sears potty book. It was cool, but I think that's mainly b/c it was a red-head in the book with longer hair, and DS resonated with the boy using a potty that looked a lot like the BBLP.

What if any children's books did you find helpful?

See above. I think we read it through twice with him and that was that for books.

Did you use pull ups or underwear?

Over the course of him learning about the potty, we got some Gerbers padded-crotch underwear, and he LOVED those. Before I was ready to admit that he had figured it all out, I got Bumkins brand cloth-with-nylon training pants, and he loved those (though I loved the patterns more). That was for nighttime "just in case", but he NEVER used them. It was for my peace of mind.

What process did you follow?

see above

How long did it take your son to become fully potty trained?

I did the final wash and dry and put-away of the cloth dipes when he was 2.5. So it was a year.

However, that really depends on what you mean by fully. I mean, if you mean "wiping" then he's still not. He tells us that the simple poops are for him to wipe, but the difficult ones are for us. Fine with us. We have read trusted sources say that it's totally normal for poop-wiping to be naturally finished with around 5 or so, so we're good.

Please give any other suggestions you may have. DD and I will welcome any and alll advice. Thank you.

Following his lead will be best!

Don't stress about starting him with sitting to pee. He'll figure it out. Now he stands all the time, except for when there's a poop and pee together (though he will often stand to pee first, THEN sit to poop!). Lots of people stress about it, but it was such a non-issue for us that it's really hard to imagine that it's an issue for anyone. Some things, like the backwards way he did nighttime, I can see that there are issues...but the standing vs sitting I can't figure out. Plus, if he wanted to sit? Who really cares?

 

[mjkacmom]

I began at 3 with my 2 oldest, 2 1/2 with my 3 youngest, and found that the younger ones were much faster. I did traditional underpants method with 2 oldest, having them sit when I told them, and it was hard. I did nakey butt with potty seat in the room with 3 youngest, never made them sit, and it only took a few days (ds6 failed the nakey butt test the first time, but passed 3 months later, and he was my fastest). Once Upon a Potty was our DVD. M&Ms are a great potty treat. We started nakey, went to pants (no underwear), then underwear/pants. Pullups were for outings only, and my kids were told they weren't for peeing in (ds6 never, ever, peed in one). Poop training can come later than pee, and the same with sleep.

 

[Beavers5]

With my DS, we started at 18 months and were accident free by 21 months. Yes, we used a potty chair; but I can not remember what type. We went straight to training pants and didn't use rewards, just lots of praise.

With DD, we started at 24 months and were accident free within a week. She still uses a potty chair for pooping, but uses the toilet for peeing. The first potty chair we tried was one with a lid, she hated it. Then I got one that looks like a frog from Wal-Mart, she really likes this one--I think because it is smaller and has a small back to lean against. With her, we went straight to training pants again and no rewards. The first two days were a lot of laundry, but after that she was fine.

Good luck

PS. To those who think that people whose kids are trained by 1 and 2 are trying to "say their kids are better", I assure you that in some cases you are simply taking it too personally. I say my kids were potty trained at 1 and 2, because they were indeed trained at 1 and 2. If I were trying to brag about myself or them, I would find something else to use; because my 10yo, his friends, and their parents couldn't care less who was trained at what age. And do not always believe the myth that boys are so much harder than girls, potty training has a lot more to do with the child's personality than their gender.

PPS. Sorry for the PS rant, I just hate it when people try to turn parenting into a competition.

 

[Disneychix]

I want to thank all the parents who've responded to this thread! I have a 2.5yr old who is NOT interested in potty training. He'll sit and keep telling me he's gone but there's nothing in the potty. I feel bad sometimes because he won't get his 'reward'. (had to throw out a mini pancake the other day and it was heartbreaking, DS tried to get it from the garbage!)

I think I'll stop for a month or so and try again later. No sense stressing us both out!

 

[WantToGoNow]

At what age did you begin potty training your son? I started with my ds at 22 months.

Did you use a potty chair? We had one, but he preferred the regular toilet.

If yes, which one worked best for you? It was the fancy Fisher Price one with a flusher - but as stated above, he never used it. I brought it out again for dd 2 years later and she didn't use it either.

Did you use a potty seat at some point? Yes, when he had no interest in the potty chair - be careful of the ones that fold up, they tend to pinch the bottom.

Did you offer any rewards and if so, what? Not with ds. Dd got stickers at daycare when she went.

What books came in handy in the process? Never used any books.

What if any children's books did you find helpful? Didn't use books.

Did you use pull ups or underwear? Underwear. Used Pull-Ups at night only. My ds hated to be dirty, so pee running down his leg was enough incentive to use the toilet. Pull-ups are just expensive diapers.

What process did you follow? Took him every 15 minutes at first until he just started going in and going by himself.

How long did it take your son to become fully potty trained? Are we talking day or day and night. Generally, night time takes much longer. My ds was completely potty trained during the day by his 2nd birthday. Took another 6 months before he was night trained.

 

[abcboys]

And do not always believe the myth that boys are so much harder than girls, potty training has a lot more to do with the child's personality than their gender.

I agree. I had always heard boys were so much harder than girls and with my first it really was not a big deal. We started around 2y3m and he was fully potty trained by 2 1/2. I do not remember it being a very big deal at all. My other 2 were harder but they were still trained before the age of 3. I know people say not to push them and they will do it on their own time but I myself did not want almost 4 year old kids just waiting for them to potty train on their own!! (that's just me)

Also some say that the parents are trained and not the kids if you take them to the potty on schedule but for me this is the way to get them used to going and get them used to feeling what its like. After a while of taking them on a schedule they pick up on it and start going on their own.