J Myster Potty Training Success!

I am soo pleased with my son and his potty training success! We basically can toss out the diaper already even at night and he will be turning 3 next month.

I actually used to EC train him back when I started using cloth diapers when he was about 8 months old. But then the chaos of watching 3 other children left me running ragged and putting him on the potty all the time just got stressful. I didn't have time to stick with the ECing, so things digressed greatly.

Then in March last year I got pregnant and trying to train a toddler to use the potty at that time for me was exhausting with all day morning sickness and fatigue. I was only watching one child at the time, but it was still daunting to put him on the potty every ten to 15 minutes. He'd always say he didn't have to go or didn't want to sit on the potty, even when we'd put a move on and let him read books on the potty, and I was too exhausted to fight him. We did try every thing in the book to get him to go on the potty, but the most we ever got was him sitting down for ten seconds, saying all done, then expecting a treat afterward, or eliminating in his diaper right after the fact.

So we changed the reward system to "YOU MUST ELIMINATE ON THE POTTY" to get a treat. He'd then decide the treat wasn't worth it. Hunky Hubs also created incentive by buying some cheap 99 cent toys that he put up on a high shelf to encourage using the potty. He'd beg for the toy, then just decide it wasn't worth even trying to sit on the potty for the toy. He feigned disinterest pretty well.

We had some set backs in the potty training department when baby B was born, but finally when I got my stamina back up, I was determined to get J back on a scheduled day.  The daily routine had somewhat diminished those first four weeks after baby B arrived, but I was ready to tackle it head on!

I woke up one morning and laid out a game plan. 

First thing in the morning, he would not get breakfast, unless he sat on the potty. I used a timer, he had to sit there for at least 2 minutes before he could get up. I set an alarm on my ipad to go off every hour to put him on the potty.

Before and after each meal...

before and after nap time...

and after about 3 days, he had this routine down and was actually eliminating in the potty each time!

See J Myster has always been a routine oriented baby. The routine is what has saved my sanity in motherhood. By about day 5, he was waking up first thing in the morning and before finding mommy or daddy, we'd find him sitting on his potty. Mommy was doing a happy dance and so proud of her big little boy!

We then focused on #2 eliminations and that came very easy afterward. 

Since he was still a little nervous about doing a #2 on the potty we were still using a reward system every time he went.

Its been about 5 weeks of him being "mostly" potty trained (we've had just 2 accidents, both after we had been out and about and he needed to use the restroom badly!!!).  For public potty use, I have invested in a second potty seat that I keep in the car to use at places and a travel package of Clorox wipes to clean that potty seat and any germy areas my son might touch. Public restrooms terrify me! J has used the potty in public twice without problems so far, also making me do the happy dance and him not the pee pee dance.

Now he wakes up with a dry pull-up every morning and wears underwear during the day. So if he's having dry pull-ups, no need to buy anymore right?

Way to go my big little boy! 


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