I decided to potty train Grace on the earlier side (under two-years-old) for a number of reasons, but first and foremost because I knew she was ready. She started showing signs like hiding in a corner to go #2 and pulling down on her diaper when there was #1 because she was uncomfortable being wet. As soon as I picked up on these signs, I started being enthusiastic around the potty (I’d say this was around 20-22 months). Anytime anyone in the house went to the potty, Grace came along. I started pointing things out, letting her flush, pulling the toilet paper, tearing it off, washing hands, etc…basically just making it an event and letting her be a part of it (I promise we were sanitary about it all, lots of hand-washing!). I bought a little potty and started just randomly putting her on that as well as the normal toilet, and of course, she likes the big one because that’s what we all use.
As the days went on, I put her on the potty more and more, starting right when she woke up and as often as I could during the day, especially when we went, or when I could sense she had to go. I really wanted her to be trained for her second birthday and got serious around the time she was 23 months, serious being no more diaper. I just took it off when she woke up and put her in undies during the day when we were at home. I kept a close eye on her and just on kept on asking (yes, it gets incredibly annoying). Little Brian and I would clap and cheer for the tiniest little tinkle and she got excited about it. I think the trick is really just keeping a very close eye and getting to her before it comes. She quickly started telling me, peepee or poopoo, and we would rush onto the toilet and she would go.
So right about the week before she turned two, I felt comfortable leaving the house without diapers. I always bring a change of clothes and a pull-up just in case, and I also keep the potty in the trunk of the car. Our one problem area is the public bathrooms, she HATES them. She does NOT like the loud automatic flushing, the echo, the other people coming in, she’s just not comfortable with them yet, understandable. So if we’re at the pool or running errands and I sense she has to go, I first bring her to the public bathroom and if she doesn’t go, I bring her out to my car, open up the trunk, and she goes on that. She also wears a pull-up at night because she’s definitely not ready to stay dry all night. Brian was a little shy of 3 before I got him to stay dry through the night.
I trained Brian completely different because he was older (2.5), you can read about that here. But with Grace, since she was young I knew that the only way it would get done is slow and steady. I am still really consistent about taking her to the bathroom often throughout the day, even if she says she doesn’t have to go, and trying to stay on top of her patterns. Actually she has to go now, BRB. Okay, another thing, she sits on the toilet for a while but I think she enjoys that time because it’s just me and her. We make funny faces, talk, sing, etc…so she has fun.
Lastly, she’s probably had between 10-15 accidents since we started which isn’t bad, and it’s usually when we’re out and about and not around our bathroom. Sometimes it’s at home when she’s so busy playing with something and she catches herself mid-pee. It’s definitely less and less and I was totally anticipating that because she’s on the younger side.
SO that’s how we did it! If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below and Grace and I will do our best to answer 😉
