Surviving Potty Training

Ok, so this is in no way a 'this is how you potty train' thing. You can offer tips, sure, but every child is different, so I think it's just best to go with your gut instincts on this one. We could have started potty training Lib much earlier, and I'm sure it would have been fine, but on this one I just thought we'd go with the flow and just wait until she wanted to do it.

It's about a month since, and she still has the odd accident, and very occasionally decides she wants to be in a nappy, but overall it's been a smooth experience with no stress. Which is flipping marvellous, because I was dreading it!

Here are a few things I took note of when the whole thing was going on:

1. Trust that they know when they're ready.
Lib, all of a sudden, took an interest in wanting to use the potty, and finding it horrible being in a dirty nappy, so that was obviously the right time for her. We had the added bonus of not needing to potty train her earlier (for nursery, etc), so we did everything at her own pace. Likewise, I'm learning to trust in the fact that Lib knows when she wants to go. She has a ridiculous capacity to hold it in, so if she doesn't want to go until we get home from somewhere, then fine. I can't say I blame her.

2. Two steps forward, one step back.
A dear friend said this to me when I announced that Lib was potty trained after two days. Ah..the naivety. :) She was right though, it was indeed two steps forward and one back. Just when we thought it was cracked, Lib would go back to wanting a nappy on to do a poo, or just forget that she had no nappy on and have an accident. All reasonable things (because it's such a big change for little ones) and like I said we still have wobbly moments a month on. We've just gone with the flow though and if Lib asks for a nappy, go with it, but make it clear that we're back to pants tomorrow.

3. Training pants don't work
I'm not referring to Pull-Ups (which we decided against because let's face it, it's still a nappy. We just went cold turkey and straight to the pants). Pull-Ups have been great at bed time though because Lib wriggles so much. No, I'm talking about these:

They are a cross between a nappy and pants, with a thick towelling inside, which supposedly deals with any little accidents. They don't. Even the smallest accident will go straight through. They look incredibly comfy, but I think because they felt bulky like a nappy, Lib just forgot that they weren't. So yeah....not a huge help. 

4. Kids get thrown really quickly...

..so don't expect to go through upheaval at home (like us), or go on holiday for a week (like us), or have a house full of illness for a week or so (like us) and not expect it to go back to square one. To Lib's credit, she's picked everything up again quickly, but yeah all of that was certainly a backwards step. 

It's a big milestone to be sure, and I feel comfortable that we're doing it at our own pace. I did find an online book recently that claimed they had the key to potty training within 3 days. Excuse the pun, but I can't help but think that that would have been $27 down the toilet!