Today we celebrate the 100th nappy free day! No drama, no accidents! Yay!! Since the 10th May, he has been visiting the toilet for his number 1s alone. Standing up. Without a mess. From the 29th May onwards, he has done all his number 2’s on a full sized toilet! No potty. No training seat. Flush and washes his hand. All this, without any help from us! Potty training success!

My baby has truly left the building! O.M.G.

Of course, all healthy children grow up and learn personal hygiene at their own rate. Here are some of the thing’s we did to prepare #JasperBean (in no particular order).

Baby-Led Pottying

We started baby-led pottying since #JasperBean was 6 weeks old. This might sound intense, but it actually makes sense. Disposable nappies weren’t invented until 1946 (cloth in 1590s). So in the history of mankind, nappies are very modern.

With #JasperBean, we noticed that he showed signs that he needed to potty, such as a look of pure concentration and sometimes straining. So when this happened, we promptly put him over the toilet in a squat like position, sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. We would also repeat this action about an hour or so after a feed and upon waking from a nap. After a while, we got his natural body rhythm and could almost time his potties. This has helped us massively in reducing the amount of nappies we used.

However, thing’s did get harder when he started nursery at 1. It was just impossible for them to have the same set up as we did at home. Also, the emphasis on baby led pottying is on the parent/carer and not on the child. This is very different from potty training a toddler where you would want the child to learn independently how and when to use the toilet. So although he didn’t stop using nappies until recently, #JasperBean also hasn’t had any number 2 accidents in his pants/nappies for 10 months now (since 2yrs 7m old).

Read potty training related books together

There are so many on the market, but we liked these ones.
 

Choose special underwear

This is the same as choosing their own potty (if you’re not going straight for the toilet). Getting them involved and excited is such an important step in successful potty training. They are less likely going to wet themselves because they know they are wearing underwear that they like and chose themselves. Of course, accidents will happen, so this is not a guarantee, but a good positive reinforcement.

Lead by example

I’m a great advocate of being role models for your little ones. They follow everything we do, so why not show them how it should be done. Simples.

Give it time – If they’re not ready, they’re not ready. Regardless of what other people say about their children, or how quick they were potty trained, they are not your child. Just because an older generation did it differently or your other child potty trained within 3 days, that means nothing. If you try and force it before they are ready, I can promise you, there will be alot of defiant wees.

Protective mattress covers

For when accidents do happen, you do not want the smell to linger! Especially in bed. So protective mattress covers have been a blessing for us, even if it’s only happened once. Ikea sells cheap reusable ones. Or if you’re not into washing and prefer disposable ones, I recommend using puppy training mats instead of baby changing mats. This is because they are the same, but WAY cheaper (Pets at Home sell 100 for £11.99, whereas Pampers sells 12 for £4). BUT, before you start Googling or putting this down on your shopping list, think about all the plastic rubbish you are creating. Absolutely avoidable, so I say go for reusable whenever possible. #BeatPlasticPollution

Potties Everywhere

I made sure I had a potty seat upstairs, downstairs, in the kitchen, at grandparents. When he’s gotta go, he’s gotta go. It will take them a bit of practice to hone down their bladder skills. Best be prepared. The potties haven’t gone to waste though, #JasperBean uses the green/blue potty below as a step stool for the toilet and to wash his hands. He’s also known to use them as a makeshift bridge for his trains. LOL

These are the potties we used at home and when out and about:

Toilet Talk

It just seemed normal for us to talk about our body parts and bodily functions when we started our potty training journey. At first he found it very funny for us to talk about our bottoms/bum bums/tushy/gelgel etc. Actually he still finds it funny. But on a serious note, it also started our conversation about body privacy. We started talking about how under no circumstances can anyone else, apart from mummy, daddy and grandparents touch or see what’s in his pants, and only for cleaning purposes as well. Of course, with permission from him and us, if required to show any medical authority. Toilet talk is a great conversation starter in our household, it’s funny and silly, but can also help a child come to terms with cultural taboos about our bodies.

Rewards

This kind of backfired for us a bit. We would give #JasperBean a little sweet of some sort if he went and did a pee/poo in the potty/toilet, which worked a treat in the beginning. However, once he realised that potty=sweet, he would tinkle a little bit every 15 minutes or so and expected the sweets to roll in. Needless to say, I swiftly stopped rewarding with sugar and the tantrums reared their ugly heads. Lucky for me, this didn’t last long. He wasn’t a fan of stickers, so a reward chart never worked with him. In the end, praise and knowing he made mummy happy was the best reward.

Let him feel what it’s like to be wet and uncomfortable

Okay, before you call social services. I don’t mean leaving them in soiled clothing for any long period. This happened to us when we were out shopping once and I didn’t do this on purpose. LOL. But, it worked! He wet himself in the middle of the shopping centre and I hadn’t brought any spare clothes for him, so unfortunately for him, he had to walk around for a bit in his own pee. Fortunately for us, he remembered this uncomfortable sensation and to this day, he still talks about it.

Don’t make a fuss when accidents happen

It happens, probably alot in the beginning. So focus on the positive and let them know they are doing a great job when they are doing it right. No one like’s their ‘faults’ being pointed out.

Always have a wee just before bedtime

You do it, so they should too. It makes all the difference in having a dry night.

Lastly, be patient

If potty training hasn’t gone according to your plans or mad schedule, then step back and revisit it later. Every child is different and yours might just happen to take a little bit longer. It’s okay, don’t stress or get frustrated, your child will sense it and this will make them even more anxious about potty training. Their time will come when they will just magically get it.

Potty training is a process and there are so many more things you can do to help your child. These are just a few of the things we implemented that I think really helped us. I’m keen to find out what other tips you have as well?

Thanks for reading and until next time…

Love, MsMamaBean x