Potty Training

Potty training...oh potty training.  This is not one of those blog posts you see on every mom's blog about how easy potty training was and how their kid just "got it".  More or less potty training did not go smoothly for us at all.  Nathan started showing interest in the toilet just after his second birthday and I thought "Oh this is so awesome I will get him potty trained before my maternity leave ends."  Epic fail.  We let Nathan pick out a potty seat he sat on it at the store he talked and cheered about it the whole way home and then bam! Nathan decided to be scared of the toilet.  Between his fear, taking him off seizure medicine and having a new baby it was just too much and I don't think he was ready any way.  So we gave up.

A few months later Nathan talked about it again, so again we pulled out the seat and we had a repeat of him being too scared to even sit on it.  But at two and a half all my friends started posting about how their two and a half year old was potty trained and I felt the mommy pressure kick in so I made Nathan sit on it.  He would get treats just for sitting on it but never going.  And then my nephew Luke  who still takes a binky got potty trained before Nathan and I really felt like I had failed.  I started really stressing about it but every blog or article I read talked about 3-5 days of straight potty training.  How was I supposed to do that?  Even on a long weekend I would still only have just 3 days and then back to day care.  I couldn't find anything for working moms on how to potty train.

And finally I stopped putting pressure on myself and Nathan. To be honest I totally gave up and just figured it would happen when it happened.  And oh my gosh people the backlash I got was insane!  I had someone *cough cough* tell me they wouldn't let Nathan go to primary in January if he wasn't potty trained so I better start getting him used to the idea of staying in nursery.  (Which by the way isn't true.)  And other someones trying to potty train Nathan when we saw them for a 2 hour visit. Because you know, its just "that easy" (typed with some serious eye roll).  But I was too overwhelmed to listen to them and just blew it off.

I think most of the drama and issues occurred because he just wasn't ready to make the step.  And it wasn't that he couldn't do it, he just wasn't ready.  But a few weeks ago we were up at Traverse Mountain when Nathan started insisting that he needed to go to the restroom RIGHT THEN!  He kept hollering at me that it was an emergency and he needed to go.  So I took him in to the public bathroom and put him on the seat and he actually went.  All by himself with no coaching from me.  And he was the proudest kid I have ever seen and so pleased with himself.

And that's about it.  We got out the potty seat and gave him a sticker chart and he has been doing really really great.  He has only had a couple of accidents and has upgraded from the potty seat to the big toilet with no real problems.  We are still working through it and reminding him to go but he is holding it and getting better at telling me when he needs to go.  I don't think the secret to potty training is having them run around with no pants on for two days or endless stickers on a potty chart or not leaving the house.  I think the whole thing is they have to be ready.  And once they are its amazing how easy it is.

So there is my potty training saga of the past year.  And because I couldn't find a lot of tips for working moms here is a few things that I found helpful.

• Talk about the potty a lot.  I was constantly talking about using the toilet and how great it was without pressuring him to do so.  I would just try to keep potty training in the back of Nathan's mind so that he could come around to the idea on his own.
• Potty books or songs.  Nathan loves to sing so we downloaded some potty songs (seriously they are out there) so that potty training could be more fun and something he would want to do
• Once they start going give them a potty chart.  Nathan loved to put stickers on the chart himself and it was a good way for Nathan to see how great he was doing.  I also made him a Planes chart with planes stickers so that he was more excited about it.
• Get rid of the potty seat as soon as possible.  They get attached to it fast and the sooner they start going on a regular toilet the easier your life will be.
• Listen to your kid.  Encourage them as much as you can but don't force them to do it.  The minute you start forcing them is the minute potty training becomes a nightmare.
• Don't listen to other people who are telling you that you are doing it wrong.  You know your kid better than anyone else and are doing fine.
• Get your daycare on board.  Make sure they will follow through and send your child to the bathroom.
• And most importantly, wait until they are ready.  

The totally awesome potty chart I made!