Potty Talk- Training Early, Part 1

As my son was nearing 6-months, I started thinking about potty training.  If you think that sounds crazy, that's ok, because so did my husband.

I didn't start potty training because I despised changing diapers, but because I couldn't imagine a baby being comfortable, even for a few minutes, in a dirty diaper. I purchased the most plain looking potty I could find, the BabyBjorn Potty Chair in white.  Less bells and whistles = less distractions.  It has a high splash guard for boys which was a life saver and was super easy to clean.  I took it home and the process began.
  

I started the first week by sitting him on the potty while he was dressed for a few minutes each day.  This familiarized him with the potty and gave him a chance to practice sitting on it.  While he was able to sit on his own he could not stand.  I think beginning this process before the child has mobility helps.  

Somedays he wasn't a fan

The following week I began putting him on the potty first thing in the morning without a diaper.  While he was on there I began (don't laugh) making grunting noises.  This is the best way I could think of to communicate what he was supposed to do while sitting there.  My husband was skeptical and worried I was going to be let down when it didn't work.  After a week of grunting a few minutes a day, the progress was in the pot.  I will spare you the picture, but the almost 7 month old had pooped in the potty.  Everyone said it was a fluke and it probably wouldn't happen again.  We continued this process for the next month, every morning, sitting on the potty, grunting.  By 8 months he was trained to poop on the potty.  He had maybe 5 accidents that resulted in me changing a poopy diapers.  My husband apologized for thinking the process was crazy and our days of changing poopy diapers were over.
  

At 8 months I stepped up the training to sitting him on the potty for a few minutes, every 2 hours, each day.  This is roughly when he would need a diaper change anyway, so why not spend an extra few minutes letting him sit on the potty.  I would make the "S" sound with my lips to associate a peeing sound.  After a few weeks he would frequently pee while on the potty.  At this point he was only peeing in his diapers 1/2 the time.  The potty was kept in the living room as that is where we spent most our day and it was convenient.

At a year and a half he was using the potty almost every time I placed him on it.  It was very rare that he initiated needing the potty on his own, but it occasionally happened.  I could tell by his movement (the pee pee dance) when he needed to sit. I also began introducing him to the big potty with the Arm and Hammer Secure Comfort Potty Seat.  This seat has handles for him to hold while in the seated position, a splash guard, and it was easy to clean.  This seat was also easier to take with us when visiting friends/family than the BabyBjorn potty.

At 2 years old, he no longer needed diapers during the day (we hadn't even thought about staying dry at night yet).  He switched to wearing underwear and we began the process of leaving the house in underwear.  I moved the BabyBjorn potty into the back of our SUV and would make sure he would pee before we left the house.  While running errands I would make him sit on the potty in the back of the vehicle every few hours.  This kept any accidents from happening.

To wrap up our Training Early Part 1, I want to breakdown the process in a few steps.

• Start early if possible.  They can't run away from you and they are interested in this new seat they're sitting on.  
• Be consistent.  Find a time that is easy to stick to and put them on the potty every day at the same time.  Somedays they will like it, somedays they will despise it.  Stick with it.  
• Make a BIG deal when they go on the potty! Lots of cheers, claps and happy faces.
• The potty is not a toy and not to be played with.  If they go to it, put them on it for a few minutes.  
• They will have accidents.  Don't get discouraged.  Stick with it.  

Each kid is different and each parent is different.  I used this same process on my daughter starting at 8 months and had semi different results.  She was pee trained well before she liked pooping on the potty.  She also was less agreeable about sitting on the potty then her brother, but with persistence she was also out of diapers during the day by her 2nd birthday.  

Next week I'll talk more about staying dry at night.  In the meantime if you have any questions please leave me a comment below!  Or if you have a potty training tip that may help other parents, please leave that below as well!

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