Gary Ezzo coauthored Baby Wise which saved our lives when it came to getting Lucy on a sleep schedule as a newborn. I read Toddler Wise and wasn't quite as impressed, but was introduced to Potty Training 1-2-3 and it made sense so I quickly ordered this book. My plan was for Lucy to be potty trained at 18 months (I often set impossible goals) but after reading the 1st chapter, I quickly learned that would not happen. This book presents a checklist of readiness signs. Once the toddler has demonstrated most of these signs, he/she is ready to begin potty training. This book uses basic behavior modification to teach potty training, and since that what I do at work everyday, it seemed appropriate.
Last Friday, on our way out the door to a Carolina baseball game, Lucy happened to see a bag of M&M's on the counter (translation: she caught me eating junk food) and she wanted some. She had just woken up from a long nap and was in a great mood and she just looked so stinkin' cute saying "M M, Mommy?". How could I say no??? So, I put 2 M&M's in her bowl of crackers and off we went. After she ate her 2 M&M's, she said her favorite word, "Moe!" as in "more". Well, lucky for me, I didn't have anymore to give her since I had left the bag on the counter but I told her that if she wanted more, she would need to go tee-tee on the potty. (Side note: I hate all potty names. They just don't sound polite. Does anyone know of any more ladylike potty terms besides "tee-tee" and "poo poo"?) To which she replied, "alwight". Shortly after putting her to bed, I pulled out my copy of Potty Training 1-2-3 and reviewed the checklist that I hadn't looked at in 4 or 5 months. I was delighted to see that Lucy had met all of the behaviors in the checklist and our next weekend was completely open. So, we named the next Saturday "Potty Day" and started talking it up. The next day, we took Lucy to get some big girl panties, a few books, and, of course, her throne.
She chose these Fancy Nancy panties...
Several books including this one, which is my favorite because it emphasizes staying dry and clean just like Potty Training 1-2-3 does...
And, like I said, her throne...
I love this potty!!! It reinforces going potty by immediately playing 1 of 3 princess tunes as soon as she goes, the seat comes off so it can be used on the real potty (hopefully we can begin using this feature soon!), and the lid folds down so it can be used as a stool so she can reach the real potty. And, if you have to have a potty, it may as well be a cute pink one, right?!
All week we talked about Saturday being Potty Day and we got the grandparents to talk it up too. Mini and Big Daddy brought these to her all the way from New York...
And she immediately wanted to try them on...
We left the M&M's in sight so she would want them but didn't let her have a single one all week. Each time she asked, we said, "You can have M&M's on Potty Day!" and she would get really excited.
So, finally, Potty Day came. We started right when she woke up. I had a special potty basket all ready for her (unfortunately, I can't get my picture to download). It includes one of her baby dolls (that I took out of her playroom a week ago so she would be interested in it again), 3 potty books and 1 poop book (that she loves), random toys to keep her busy on the potty, and a timer. We checked the baby to see if she was dry and clean. She was (surprise, surprise) so we gave her an M&M (which Lucy got to eat). Then we gave the baby some milk. We waited a minute or 2 and said, "I think baby needs to potty". We put baby on the potty (that I had already poured water into), waited a minute, then made a tee-tee sound and got really excited. Baby got 2 M&M's for using the potty to stay dry and clean. Then Lucy got a turn on the potty. The first try was a "dry run" but soon after, she looked at Mattie (the dog) and said "I go tee-tee, Mattie" then ran to the bathroom. I helped her get on the potty, and sure enough, she went tee-tee. We set a timer for 20 minutes. After 15 minutes, we asked, "Lucy, are you dry and clean?". If she was then she got an M&M. When the timer went off, it was time to try to go potty. We repeated this process all-day-long (minus the doll part. Once she got the idea, we cut out that step.).
Lucy enjoyed her time on the potty. She explored her new toys and we read the poop book many, many, many, many times. She sang, she talked, she played hide and seek with the shower curtain, and found other ways to entertain herself...
Through the course of the morning, she tee-teed 4 times in the potty, pooped once in the potty, and had 3 accidents. By lunchtime, we figured out that she thought that she would get an M&M anytime she tee-teed whether or not it was in the potty. 1 meltdown and a 3.5 hour nap and she had learned her lesson. She tee-teed in the potty 4 times between nap time and bedtime without a single accident. Now, would I say that she is potty trained in a day like the book says? NO! But I think she has done very well.
FYI-
We decided to go with training pants rather than Pull-ups or Easy-ups during the day because they look and feel too much like diapers and we have heard from many people that toddlers generally perceive them as diapers and don't notice when they are wet or dirty. We are, however, using Pull-ups/Easy-ups at nap time and at night. When I put one on Lucy for her nap, she said, "No diaper, Mommy. Panties." I tried to explain that they are big girl diapers that she will wear when she sleeps. She cried some, but I think that was because she knew it was nap time.
The book doesn't say much about night training so I'm not really sure how that will work. But, I would rather use a Pull-up at night than have her waking me up to go potty. (I like my sleep!)
The fun continues tomorrow so stay tuned for more updates of the weekend-long potty training marathon.
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