Advice on Potty Training

Hi there! We've got 5 children...all potty trained now. We used a book called "Toilet Training in less than a Day". Sounds kind of hoaky, but it works! Best wishes!

A lot of times our desire just doesn't match the child's time frame. :) Particularly my boys delayed their potty training. I wish you the best! LOL. If he is a bed wetter, you could try crushing one half of a Shaklee B complex into some apple sauce or juice daily. I once listened to a nurse tell her personal story to that effect. I was so excited, for I had an adopted child still wetting the bed at 7. I wasn't sure if it was just emotional. Anyways, she started taking B complex the next day. That was the end of her bed wetting. http://www.shaklee.net/landofand/product/20198
T.

That's quite an undertaking! A lot is going to depend on your son. Is he showing signs of readiness? Does he have any older friends who are potty-training or potty-trained? I have a feeling that you may possibly experience a bit of a back-slide after the baby comes even if you do get him trained by then. I know it's a hassle (and expensive) to have two kids in diapers, but that may just be what happens... I really hope you get better answers than mine from other moms!

The thing that worked best for friends of mine with boys was naked from the waist down and kiddie potties in the living room, kids' rooms, and bathroom. Big positive reinforcement and NO negative stuff when messes happen. "Oh well! You'll do better next time!"

Good luck.

J.,

Sorry to say this but boys generally do not finish potty training until they are almost 4. They don't get the concept of even going potty until 2 1/2. I wouldn't push it with him. I know it's going to be hard with 2 babies in diapers but that's my experience. Both my boys weren't potty trained until almost 4 and they are 5 years apart.

My suggestion, pray for more patience!

Best regards,
L. R.

I wouldn't push it too hard. 18-20 months is very young, especially for a boy. You don't want to push and then spend the next year and a half worrying about him messing up (and they will at the worst possible time). They may show some interest in it at that age, but they may not, especially if it's a first child who doesn't have a sibling to mimic. I would also suggest that you use cloth diapers if you're interested in having a child go earlier. Since they tend to keep moisture on the skin (as opposed to a disposable diaper), training an easier sell to a child who wants to be "dry." I wish I'd done cloth diapering on my boys. My next door neighbor does with her son.

It sounds like you're taking on a lot to push him to the next level of independence before the baby comes. Unfortunately, boys are usually around 2 1/2 - 3 years old before they're ready to be potty trained. He'll probably revert to soiling his pants when the baby comes anyway, so you may want to wait until he's a little older before you try. I have two boys, both were trained immediately after I started, but both were almost 3. My daughter was potty trained around 2. My daughter is 2 1/2 years older than her brother and she reverted back to sucking on his pacifier and having "accidents" after his birth. It's natural for them to still want to be a baby when a new one comes along. You know your child best, if you think he's ready for the challenges of sleeping in a new bed and being potty trained, go for it, but don't be surprised if it takes longer than usual to get him adjusted. Best of luck to you!

Sink or swim. I potty trained my son around 18 months and it only took a weekend of wet under wear. He hated walking around the house wet. And as for number 2, I think he hated the itching.
I now have a daughter that is almost 3 and we had a lot of difficulty potty training her. The daycare helped a lot because we have her on a routine of going to the potty several times a day. Plus seeing other kids in her class going encourages her to go as well.

The thing that helped us was spending a lot of time time outside and letting him go out there. He thought it was such a fun thing to do to be able to potty outside. I also tried sitting him to go and that was a nightmare. He didn't have the time to sit there and wait for something to happen. He wanted to stand like daddy so he did. We were completely potty trained in 3 days. I don't do any diapers at night either. We just decided one day to go cold turkey. We have had accidents and I have had to pull over or stop at a gas station but in the end just getting rid of the diapers all at once and never touching a pull up was the best thing for us. However, he was a little older than your son he was 2 1/2.

Good Luck. Don't get frustrated it will happen!

B. M.

You might get him sleeping in the big boy bed but don't hold your breath with the potty training. Is he showing signs that he is ready? Shows intrest in the toilet, brings you diapers when he has pooped or peed, tells you he is dirty? If not, then I wouldn't even start right yet. If he is, then I'd say get him either a potty seat or a ring that sits on the toilet. Ask him if he wants to sit on it and if he does, great, if not, don't force the issue. You'll only make him regress. Also, something to think about is that even if you do get him trained or make great progress, he might regress when the baby comes because the baby wears diapers or he feels left out. And with that, you might be better off waiting till after the baby is born and your house is on a schedule again and you can tell him that babies wear diapers and he is a big boy now and how big boys use the potty, etc. I know diapers aren't cheap so I can totally understand your thinking here.

Good luck!!
S.

I started potty training at 22 months (2 months after my 2nd baby was born and the same week we moved her to a big girl bed) it took a few days and she has done great. Just remember they need to be ready, so interested and willing. if you think he is ready i would do the big boy undies or the cotton ones and just let him have accidents. he will not like the feeling and having to be cleaned up. also talking about the special things big boy can do that babies can't. also try doing something small when he does go (we did 1 mm for pee and 2 for bm) We only did the mm's about 2 months. just be patient and try to be as positive as possible.good luck, M. j

J.,

Unless he's ready and wanting to be potty trained you may have it difficult. However, who knows, right?

What made it easier for me was to keep a potty in the back of my SUV so when the urge hit we could stop anywhere (usually a parking lot, but sometimes on the side of the freeway...yikes!) and he was able to go right away. I had to ask all the time if he needed to go potty and when he answered yes I'd quickly (and safely) get off the road to let him go (all the while giving him encouraging words that he can hold it in like a big boy for a couple of minutes until I can park).

I also kept a roll of paper towels, gallon ziploc bags, antibacterial spray (409 or something) and wipies. This way if he did use the potty I can clean it out and put the waste in the ziploc bag (I'd pour urine outside) and my car wouldn't stink for the rest of the drive. I would usually look for a garbage can to throw out the bag asap.

Also, we had a great video about a little girl (it was used by his older sister, but I think they may have one for boys) called something like "Potty Time." It was red tape cover and a cartoon (not real people). It had a very catchy song that my kids loved.

Don't forget the encouraging words and never get upset when he has an accident (it will happen more than you'll want it to). Just tell him it's okay, everyone has accidents.

Also, it may help if you get him excited...take him to Target and let him pick out his big boy underwear. My son loved that.
Hope this helps.

Good luck!

L.

Congrats on number two coming!!!

My advice, since you asked, don't do it. It will be so much faster, easier for you and him, less stressful all around if you wait until he's ready (which is probably a long ways away). There was a period of time, right around 18 months, when I thought our son was ready. He actually used the potty for awhile and we were so thrilled that he was going to be potty trained before our daughter was born. However, in retrospect, he was really just curious. It didn't stick. It was very, very, stressful with all the back sliding, etc. Just let him be a baby for a little longer. Two in diapers isn't really that bad and it's way better than one in diapers and one in "training". - Good luck with whatever you decide !

Is he at all ready , intrest in the potty, telling you when he's gone, etc, cause if they arent ready they wont train. and the earlier you start the longer it takes.

start by having him go potty with daddy.

edited to add, changes in life can give them set backs and relapses so dont be surprised if you do get him potty trained , when baby is born he goes back to having accidents all the time.