Potty Training - Elgin,IL

I hate to say it, but I think potty training is one of the toughest things about being a Mum.
I would use the underwear, no diapers - especially through the day. Take him every 20 minutes or so to the potty and get him to sit on it - whether he does anything or not. Set a timer for the 20mins., incase you forget. Are you getting him to sit rather than stand? It's ok for them to sit till they are good at aiming. Have the potty handy. Eventually you'll hit the jackpot and he'll get to understand. Perseverance and lots of patience is the key, it isn't easy when you have a second child too. Even though it feels like all you are doing in the beginning is going to the potty and sitting, it will be worth it. There will be several accidents, and the hardest part is if you have to go out during the day. If possible stay home in the initial days. Good luck and keep your cool - sometimes we take things we have learnt for granted, but we all had to learn things from scratch!

Decide to get serious about it and go straight to underwear, sounds like he's ready. Commit 3 days to doing nothing but hanging out in underwear (him, not you :-) ) and watching for his signs of needing to go, dropping everything and taking him to the potty. Lara Jensens e-book at www.3daypottytraining.com was well worth the 25 bucks. I suggest you go that route. It gives clear guidelines to do day and night training all at once- no diapers, pull-ups, or training pants. My daughter was trained within a week and it was awesome to only have one kid in diapers. Good luck!

C.

He may be interested but not actually ready (meaning he knows going to the potty is something people do occasionally, so he's saying it, but he doesn't know how to actually recognize his body is ready to go.

Given you have a one-month old, and that's a lot of change for a toddler, I'd follow his lead but don't push it. 2 1/2 is pretty young anyway (and I know all kinds of moms are reading me write that and saying that it's not young) imo. If you wait until he's actually using the toilet voluntarily, then going cold turkey (which I did with my son, too) will be quick and a breeze.

I have an almost 3 year old and a 5 month old - so I fully appreciate the volume of diapers you're changing!

Good luck!

I have actually heard that getting them to go in their diapers in the bathroom is a great first step since they have the idea. :) With my son, I let him run "nudy booty" and when he had to go, we didn't have to worry about pulling underpants down or getting a diaper off. If you have a little potty, pull it out of the bathroom so it is closer to where he is playing. Plus when the weather is nice, let him go without a diaper outside and have the potty out there, then accidents are not such a big deal. :) I am not a fan of pullups since they are just like diapers. After he started getting the hang of it (no rewards other than lots of hugs, kisses and cheers!) he started wearing underpants during the awake hours and diapers when he slept. He is 3 and we are still working on the poopy factor...most often he asks for a diaper when he has to go and occasionally, he goes on the potty (often at night before bath for some reason :) I don't pressure him at all and have always let him make the calls feeling that he will do it when he is ready. I want him to know that it is his body and he is in charge of it. I want him to feel that I will support him to take his time working on things. I also didn't want to make a big deal out of it or make him feel stressed about it. I always told him "nice try" that it takes time to learn something new and kept it light and positive. Although I have told him recently that his diapers don't come in a larger size (which is the truth :) so that he has to start practicing poopy on the toliet more. :) Good luck...it sounds like it will not be much longer. :)

he is saying "let's go potty" and you don't think he is ready? What does he need to do to tell you he is ready - write it in smoke with an airplane?

go cold turkey - go to undies. Commit to it. KNOW THAT YOU WILL HAVE AT LEAST 5 DAYS OF ACCIDENTS and go for it.

Try not to force him into if he is not showing that he is ready to use the potty but you could try using the rewards system as incentive for him to use the potty and it could help him to understand that he has to use the toilet to do his business. Here are a few potty training suggestions that might help spark some ideas as well:

http://www.theskinnyscoop.com/search/potty+training?utm_c...

patience mom let him make friends with the potty chair and if he sits on it with his diaper off he gets a tatoo. :) tatoos are great. and if he pees he gets m&ms or a prize. watch him and look for the signs he is ready to go or has gone. mine says that that if he has pooped and pulls the front of his pants if he has or is in the process of peeing. wherer there is pee sometimes there is poop. let him sit on the potty with his diaper on I had to do this for about a month I know your ready to train but its going to have to be his lead and rewards. I swear by tatoos and they wash off if they dont peel them off. :) ps get him out of the pull ups they train faster in potty pants. :) good luck.