My son was the first experience I had with potty training. I researched every book and webpage on the subject and decided that the 3-day naked potty training boot camp was the way to go. I started training him just before he was 2-years old. One morning, we took off the diaper and didn’t put one back on. Yikes! I had a training potty in the bathroom, one in the living room, and one in the kitchen. My son walked around in just a t-shirt. We had many accidents! How many times can you clean up tee-tee from the floor? The sofa? The bar stools??? By the end of the three days, he was NOT potty trained. Eventually, we moved on to undies and pants. But there were many months of accidents. I purchased many disinfecting wipes for that 6-month period. I would not recommend this method of potty training.
Next, was my daughter, Audrey. Girls are supposed to be easier, right? Not necessarily. I did not try the boot camp potty training method I used before. She was easier to train than my son, but I waited until she was almost 3 years old, so I think waiting may have been part of the reason for our success. I put her in training diapers, and then we moved to big-girl panties a few weeks later. Very un-eventful…which is exactly what you want from potty training.
My last baby, my 3-year old daughter, Bri, was potty trained. She was wearing big-girl panties and going to the potty like a champ. Then, one day, she decided that she didn’t care if her diaper weighs 3 pounds and was sagging to her knees. She will go to the potty if she has to do #2 but only that. This is called potty training backsliding, and it’s a thing.
What now? This is baby #3! Shouldn’t I have this figured out by now?! I am out of google searches, I have all the potty-training books, WHAT DO I DO NOW?! I put her back in potty training diapers and she doesn’t mind at all.
My mother gave me the helpful tip that I need to find what motivates her to get her going again. In less than a week, I found that motivation. Bri wanted to participate in her older sister’s gymnastics class. The instructor told me that she had to be potty trained to enter the class.
A-HA! There’s my ticket! I explained this “big girls go to gymnastics class” concept to my headstrong, 3 year-old sweetheart and she was up for the challenge! Each time we went to the potty, we talked about how “big girls” go to the potty and they get to go to gymnastics class because they are “big girls”. In just a few days, her accidents lessened quite substantially. We are almost 100% there– yay for my big girl! She is so excited to start “gn-nastics!”
This past week was her first gymnastics class. She loved it! She went to the potty before class and loved every minute of practice with LSU gymnasts. She is back in big-girl panties and she is back on track! Although I thought I was done with diapers before, it seems that now our family has truly reached this milestone. We have been buying diapers for 6 consecutive years and this part of our family’s lifestyle is now over. I want to be sad, but I just can’t be! I’m so proud of all three of my kiddos and I am looking forward to this new chapter. Yay for going to the bathroom in the potty!!!
Now if mommy could just go to the bathroom by herself…
