Potty Training Paisley

WARNING: nobody likes a post without pictures… and since it would be gross for me to photograph events that I’m about to discuss, I’ve found some fun topic-appropriate images to share for your enjoyment.

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As you know, we potty-trained Paisley 8 days ago. She hasn’t worn a diaper since (except to bed). Seeing as she’s 19 months old, I know it’s pretty remarkable. And it would be easy (and awesome) to take credit for this massive success, but the truth is… SHE WAS JUST READY.

There are lots of signs that your child is ready (waking up from naps with a dry diaper, not liking the feel of a wet diaper, etc) but the way I knew Paisley was ready is that she told me when she was pooping. She would say ‘poo poo’ and grab her diaper. She’s been doing that for months, and in the last few weeks she’s been telling us when she’s been going potty in her diaper.

I attribute this to her intelligence, desire to please, and the fact that ever since she was a little baby I could tell when she was pooping. And when she was pooping, I would say, ‘are you going poo poo? Good girl!’ and I would praise her so she knew it was good! So when she was old enough to communicate with me (ish), she wanted me to know she was pooping! And eventually (to my surprise) peeing too!

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I’ve gotten tons of requests to share our secrets here on the blog, but we don’t have any secrets really. But for posterity, this is how we did it!

We took Adelyn to Grandpa and Grandma’s for the weekend, so we could give our full undivided attention to Paisley. We used the potty-training format from this website, because this lady had had wild success potty training all 4 of her children with this method. I’m not going to go over it with you (your welcome to read the whole thing for yourself), but in the end… we ended up ditching most of the strategies suggested.

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The fact is, Paisley is too young to understand being rewarded. I thought she would totally dig the sticker and single M&M for each potty success, but she didn’t seem to care or understand why she was receiving it. Our excitement was enough of a reward for her. We’re lucky that she has a people-pleasing-spirit!

The one thing that we did find very helpful was having a ‘baby wet doll’ that drinks water from a bottle, and then pees it out. This helped Paisley visualize what was going to happen ‘down there’ and what was expected of her with regards to the toilet. (we ordered our doll here)

Then, we pumped her full of liquids. We normally don’t give the girls juice (just a splash of apple juice with their full sippy-cup of water), but on this day, we wanted her to have TONS of opportunities to ‘learn’! So I bought a couple bottles of generic V8 fruit juice blends, and filled up her sippy cup without diluting at all. SHE CHUGGED IT all day like she had been dehydrated and roaming the desert for days.

We used the adult toilet with a potty ring instead of a potty chair, because we wanted to be able to hear the tinkle tinkle with confidence, so we could immediately praise her! She sat on the potty a couple times with no success, and there were a couple accidents… but eventually we caught her at just the right time and she went potty on the john like a full-blown adult! I was ecstatic. She looked really confused and worried the first time she started peeing. But all the enthusiasm and excitement in the room confirmed to her that she was doing good!

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That’s it my people. After that, she told us every time she had to go. Those first two days, there were a couple accidents… but we kept her in her underwear anyway, and let her know that we loved her anyway. By the end of day two, she was completely potty trained and hasn’t had an accident since.

We’ve even had a couple outings since then, and she’s pulled through with flying stars. She even pooped in the public bathrooms (EW) at a restaurant yesterday! Please pass the hand sanitizer?

Are you rolling your eyes, and disappointed that I don’t have a magical potty-training strategy to share? I told you! It was all her.

Once again, HERE is the link to the potty-training format we used (which I do recommend).

And HERE is a great article that my sister-in-law Kelly wrote on the matter.

Let’s discuss the reasons I think it was beneficial to potty train so early (although some kids just plain aren’t ready or interested, and it’s fine to wait too!):

• They’re not yet at a age of full-blown defiance and tantrums.
• They don’t yet have strong opinions, and if they do… they can’t verbalize them!
• They’re still helpless enough that they know and trust that you’re doing what’s best for them.
• It’ll save you a truckload of money on diapers!

Before you get all hateful… know that I still have one more 19-month-old to train, and she just may give me a run for my money. I’m definitely not getting cocky. I know how lucky I am that Paisley caught on so quick. And the biggest blessing is that she always TELLS us she has to go. None of this setting-the-timer hassle.

Wish me luck with Dell?

I’m happy to answer any and all questions in the comment section!