A little over a month ago, we embarked on the wild journey that is potty training. I know every child is different and every method is different. I will share with you what worked for us that way you can take what feels right for you and apply it in your journey! But by no means is this the “best” way or the “right” way!!! This is just what worked for us, and I’m so grateful it did lololol.
My Biggest Tip:
BE PREPARED!!! Emotionally. But also with snacks, drinks, juices, toys, stickers, gifts, candy, activities, etc. I’ll go into more detail about all of this later but most importantly just be prepared.
I was going to wait until my little tiny turned 3 but after a series of life events happened, I felt like it was 100% time. I prepped for a week or two and then went for it full-force. I read THIS book on a whim and resonated with most things it said and found it very helpful while prepping for those 3 days. One thing I will say is that poop takes longer than 3 days!!!! And I wish I would have known or realized this beforehand. I would say it took about 2 weeks to be 100% poop potty trained to where he didn’t have any accidents whatsoever. And we haven’t had any since (and we’ve traveled to Disney World and back in that time!)
We bought this book for my boy and he thought it was so funny 🙂 We read it lots leading up to it and lots during the process. We still read it!
Leading up to the “event”:
Talk about it a lot! Get your little excited about it. Build your potty and show them where they will be going. Hype it up. Read books about it. Brag to other people how awesome your child is because they are going to start potty training! We wrapped up his underwear as a gift and let him open it a few days before. I took him to the store and let him pick out his potty training candy. (He picked candy corn haha) So when it came to the day, he was truly so excited!
After doing some deep dives, I chose to not do a little potty because I’ve read that you have to re-train your kid to go on the real toilet after? Not sure… but I felt good about this toilet seat and have seen several friends recommend it! We are loving it still. Easy assembly, folds up, perfect size, comfortable for kids!
My favorite little boys underwear. We ordered 3T and fits great! They shrink a teeny tiny bit in the wash. Not enough to really make a difference but just enough to notice. I am still 100% happy with the size, fit, material, patterns, and quality! We also ordered this brand and I love them, too! Both brands have lots of cute options.
IT’S TIME!!
Okay, I will take you through our process little by little and hopefully it helps in some way or another.
The book we read says to let your child eat breakfast before embarking on the potty training journey so we did that, then took off his last diaper. I let him pick out his favorite pair of underwear and we put those on.
We then went around the whole house and gathered ALL his diapers up. (From his closet, diaper bag, living room, etc) And put them all into a box. We left that box on our front porch for the “Diaper Man” to come pick up. (Diaper Fairy was vetoed by the husband lol) The Diaper Man (husband) took the box of diapers and left a gift in exchange! A few minutes later, we checked our porch to see if the diapers were gone and my boy was so elated to see a present there for him! P.S. ALL the gifts we got were from the dollar store. Figurines, bath toys, cars, new coloring books, etc. Easy, cheap, and all were winners!
As far as day in and day out goes… I would take him to go to the potty every 30 min or so for the first day. If he peed in the toilet he would get one candy and could put a sticker on his chart. If he pooped he would get two candies, a sticker on the chart and could pick a wrapped present out of a bucket of gifts. His chart has a row with a reward at the end, so no matter if it were pees or poops, he would get a prize once that row filled up. Poop=prize or full row=prize. The only times he got a present.
It took a few days to have a successful poop in the potty and that really upset me in the moment. But I wish I could go back and tell myself not to stress so much! I was kicking myself for starting the process only a few weeks prior to a big family vacation but it all ended up being perfectly fine. THERE WILL NEVER BE A PERFECT TIME- so just do it if it feels right!!! P.S. No accidents at all on our family trip! He even pooped in the toilet on the plane there and back!
Download FREE Potty Chart Here
We did no TV, no outside, and no leaving the house for 3 full days. Oh boy that was 100% the hardest part!! But we were prepped with new activities!! I’ll list a few out here for you:
Activities:
Big A little a
Make cookies
Lunch bag puppets
Puzzles
People on a bus
Home made Mr Potato Head
Button B
Coloring
Baths
Halloween Stamps
Paint Pumpkin
I wish you the absolute BEST of luck in your potty training journey and I hope this was helpful for you!! We’re always rooting for you mama. XOXOXO, J
