Potty Training

So I am in the middle of potty training my second kid, and so far it is going well.

We are still having trouble getting him to poop in the potty-it seems so far he is just waiting til he has a diaper at nap time or at night time and then pooping-though yesterday he did say he needed to poop, but I think by then he had already started, so it was all in his undies before we made it to the potty.

Pee; however, is going great. Over the last three days he has only had one accident, and that was yesterday while he was playing with a neighbor friend. And we made it through two doctor appointments yesterday (and he told me he had to go!)

Overall, it seems to be a success, and I am positive over the next few weeks-by mid July-we will be all good to go out and about with little worry over accidents. But we will see, that is always up for change; after all, switching it up on you is what 2 year olds do best.

My little bit of advice-which take it as you will, I have only potty trained one child completely-is to make it stress free for your child. It will be for you no matter what, simply because there WILL be accidents at some point, be them on your rug or car or at the store. Even months after you thought you were in the clear of potty accidents. Just realize that, and it makes everything all better.

Little Dude showed displeasure in being wet/poopy when he was about 2 years and 3 months (and I use cloth diapers, not disposables that make your child feel more comfortable)and he was pretty much potty trained in a week. We still had the rare occasional accident for a few months, and those "I need to pee NOW" moments when bathrooms were miles away (maybe yards, but when that moment happens, yards turn into miles) but overall, he was done.

JR is a little younger (just turned 2)and started taking his pants and diapers off when he got wet or poopy, so I took that as a sign to start the potty. JR was also extra motivated to do what his brother was doing, so that has helped with the process.

For the most part, there are no rewards, beyond making a huge event out of picking out big boy undies. No critical statements when accidents occur, no pressure or anger when we don't make it to the potty-just simply saying we will make it next time and "don't wet pants feel bad? Let's try again..." I said that a lot....

But here we are, two weeks from first potty training day, and I think we have hit the success point.

I'll let you know if we are still doing well after our lunch with the local fire fighters today (at LB Park, if you live in my area, around 11am).

And I wish SO badly I could post a picture of JR in his big boy undies or sitting on the potty, but alas, this little boy will be a teenager someday, and those photos are probably just going to have to be saved until he his going to prom. OK, that would be cruel; I guess I'll have to save them until he is potty training kids of his own.... Grandma and I will ooh and ahh over how cute they are until then.