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Thursday, March 5, 2009

potty training?

so the countdown has begun! less than two months until the soon-to-be pampered princess is scheduled to make her arrival. am i ready? not really. but, that "nesting" urge has definitely started to take over. suddenly i'm feeling the urge to take a toothbrush to the baseboards & make sure they really are clean. the other urge i'm feeling, but trying hard to resist, is the need, no want, to potty-train owen.

with gavin, i didn't even attemp to potty-train until he was 3 - but mostly because i was too lazy, & he had no interest at all. but when i did decide to train him, it was fairly quick & easy. little o has just turned 2. which, in my mind, seems rather young, but he is showing an interest. although, he definitely doesn't really "get it". the idea of only having one in diapers is wonderful, but am i dreaming? if i potty-train with only two months to go, will he just revert to diapers after the baby comes? will all the effort be a waste of time or will this be the best decision i've ever made? thoughts? theories? any experience on the matter you'd like to share?

image via anne taintor

23 comments:

Ashlee said...

My kids are 18 months apart. I started potty training my little boy right after he turned two and it really was one of the best decisions I have made. The first few days are hard, especially when they don't show any interest. But eventually, it clicks and you will be so very glad you did it!

The only time my son asks for a diaper is first thing in the morning as we take his pull up off. I tell him he gets to pick out his favorie pair of undies and that is the end of the argument :)

Suz Broughton said...

I don't know that answer to your question, but I will say that the thought of pregnant you hunched over scrubbing the baseboards with a toothbrush is pretty funny.
I know you don't think it's funny NOW, but after you have the baby you will laugh and laugh!

Maddie Dean Photography said...

My kids are 22 months apart. My son was getting the hang of potty training when the baby arrived. It wasn't long before he regressed. However, the regression only lasted about a month!!! I took him to the store and let him pick out his own underwear. In his mind, peeing on elmo or lightening is the most horrible thing in this world, so as long as he has on his undies, he's accident free!!! He hasn't worn a diaper during the day in 8 months!! So, I only had 2 in diapers for one month! We do pull-ups at night and *most* mornings he wakes up dry!!

Brit said...

My baby was due in September and I decided to potty train my 2 1/2 year old son in July so right around the same time line as you. I used the book Potty Training in Less than a Day and it worked like a charm. By the time the baby got here he was pretty set and was even doing everything by himself which made it very nice! He didn't regress at all. The only hard part was the patience to sit in the bathroom, being 7 months pregnant and trying to lean over. It was well worth it though! I much rather potty train a kid while I was pregnant than with a newborn.

stephanie said...

i think it would be worth it, especially if he is showing an interest. it would be so nice to just have one in diapers.

you could always give it a try and if he just isn't getting it, try again when the baby is a few months old.

Anonymous said...

I potty-trained my second son when he was 2 years and 1 month old. It was much more "parent-directed" potty-training than my older son (who we trained at 2 years 8 months). It took about two days to be accident free and a month of me putting him on the potty when it was "time to go" and now (2 years and 2 1/2 months) he is totally doing everything on his own with no accidents. It's great! I would highly recommend training early. It worked beautifully for us. The big sign for me that he was ready for training was not that he was showing interest in the potty, but that he would have a dry diaper for 2-3 hours. I figured if he was only going that often, I could "catch" most of them in the potty :0)

Anonymous said...

NO way totally do it. I just potty trained my 18 month old son. It was super easy. Bribery does the trick. Find something they LOVE take like two days with NO plans and lots of juice, water, and popsycles...Get his bladder full full full and pretty much live on the potty and every time he does it give him a treat! It's beautiful. And both of my boys haven't reverted when I have given birth to the other ones. Just make sure you keep supporting them and showing them in other ways that they are still your baby and that you still LOVE them!!! You can do it, and only having one in daipers is TOTALLY worth it! Let me know how it goes!!!

And I am posting an award...and I have given it to you!!!

just jen said...

I tried to potty train my son just before my daughter was born. He was two and a few months. He was NOT into it. And really, I didn't want him to regress once he saw his little sister getting all that face time during diaper changes. I say, pick your battles. Maybe his potty training experience can be a moment for he and his big bro to bond while Mom's is lost in pink euphoria. ;) Have Gavin show him how it works. It might make your job a bit easier and give Gavin something to strut about. No matter what, follow your gut. You know you boy. He'll let you know when he's good and ready.

Andrea said...

I think every kid is different but if he is showing interest then try it for a couple weeks. If he doesn't get it then just resolve to wait until after the princess arrives. My daughter started showing interest early too (around 18 months) we tried potty training right when she turned 2 and she caught on so quickly! She would occasionally have pee-pee accidents for the first month but never had one poop accident. Think of it this way, even if he has pee accidents and needs pullups for a while it is way better than poopy diapers.

Good luck either way!

Sharlene said...

My kids are almost 2 1/2 and I am way too lazy to start. I just want it to be easy so for now I am waiting. Best of luck to you!

The Grahams said...

Let me know if you have any luck! I am dying to get Jackson out of diapers..... it is no fun buying diapers for two, but everytime we try to get Jackson to go in the potty he cries and runs away :(

Amber said...

Hi! My youngest daughter just turned 2 in November, and I believe she's ready. She will tell me when she needs a diaper, so yeah, i am sure she's ready. #3 will be here in October, so I have a little time, but it would be nice to get rid of diapers for the most part, for a little while before the baby gets here, instead of having 2 in diapers again. You can always try it for awhile, and if he isnt ready, wait awhile longer! Good luck!

kathryn said...

I have two in diapers right now and am going CRAZY. I'm so tired of double duty. So just tonight I bought Cash some "big boy" training pants and we are going to try them out tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. (He only turned 2 in December-- wish me luck).

Lori R said...

Okay, I am waaaay past the diaper days (youngest is 11) but I went through this potty training thing 6 times. Yes 6. Here's what I can tell ya: every kid is different. Two in diapers is not that big of a deal; you just do what you have to do. It beats doing extra laundry if your kid is not ready to be out of a diaper!
That said, I had the most success with the Potty Training in Less than a Day book. Only it took more than a day. But still, the concept is a really good teaching technique.
Good luck!

Anonymous said...

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Bangkok Escort, A Thai Girls Diary.
http://bangkokescortathaigirlsdiary.blogspot.com/

It's worth a read and she is worth the support she can get.

Thanks,
Robert

The Roberts Rollercoaster RIde said...

Don't do it. Not worth it. MOST kids revert back if potty trained just before a new sibling comes.

Shannon said...

Ahh, it's worth the try. You already know there is a good chance he might revert back but who knows, maybe he won't. I wouldn't stress over it but maybe take baby steps especially if he's showing interest. Mine are 10 years apart so I obviously have no clue what I'm talking about. hehehe!

Shannon said...

My children were born 23 months apart. My oldest was trained within one week when the youngest was born! I COULD NOT deal with TWO DIAPERS! And, frankly, she was quite ready and very easy to train! I think it all depends on your (and your child's) level of motivation! :) Changing two diapers at a time was DEFINITELY enough motivation for ME!!!

Anonymous said...

Give it a burl with Owen and if it works then great. If not, then no stress 'cos at least nappies are readily available. Good luck either way. :o)

Hannah said...

I don't think I will potty train #2 until he is 2 1/2-3. My first was almost 3 before we started and it took 2-3 days from start to finish. I wouldn't want to attempt the clean up when I was pregnant...but you are probably less lazy than I was pregnant.

Anonymous said...

I am "hoping" mine will be potty trained by 3, but that is a month away. boys seem harder then girls. my daughter nearly did it all herself by 2.5

i have heard that they will revert when the next one comes though. it's their little way of getting time alone with mom or dad and being babied.

Randi~Dukes and Duchesses said...

I've potty trained all of mine while they were two. If you do it now, I really don't think he'll revert ... he'll feel like the big kid while the new baby has to have diapers. If you don't do it now, you'll be too tired to do it when you have a newborn. Think how great it will be to have only one in diapers! :) Just be patient because I think every kid is really different. We've potty trained in a day and we've potty trained in six months (yuck) - it depends so much on the personality of the child.

Lynn said...

there's no resaon why you can't give it a go. i think miles and owen are about the same age and miles has been doing pretty well - on the days I make him anyway. Plus o. has a big brother to look up to so he might take to it very easily. sometimes it's best to get them while they are still in the aim to please age instead of the defiant stage.