Transforming from Baby to Big Boy: Potty Training

As I described in my last transforming from baby to big boy post, Cody was not always an easy baby! Those first two years, he was very needy. He clung to my leg and did not want me out of his sight! Things started to change when I found out I was pregnant. I think Cody was getting bigger and I started viewing him as a big brother and not as much as a baby. I was getting him prepared for the new baby and I was allowing him to do many more things than I had previously and I think that also helped build his confidence.

Once baby Grayson arrived, I was trying to figure out life as a mom of 2 and Cody decided to spring his next transition on me….going on the potty!!! Any of my friends will tell you, I was DREADING potty training. I had no problem changing diapers and I didn’t want to have to deal with the change! The running joke was that Cody was going to potty train himself….which he kind of did (although I am going to take a little credit)! We did signing with Cody and he started using his potty sign when he was 18 months and started pooping and peeing on the potty. Nothing consistent, but I was relieved because he wasn’t scared of the potty which I know can be an issue for some kids. So, once Grayson hit the 2 month marker, Cody decided he wanted to go on the potty. He said he needed to go on the potty and wanted big boy underwear on so that’s what I did. I followed his lead and my hope on waiting to potty train was that he would find the interest himself and the transition would be easy enough. Thankfully, it really wasn’t that bad. He had some major “pee on the floor” accidents the first few days, but after that he did great making it to the potty to pee. Then, we had to work on pooping. He would not always make it for that. It took about two weeks and it was smooth sailing from there. He did great for 2 months and then regressed for a few weeks, but then was back at it again! I would take him to the potty every couple of hours and ask him constantly if he had to go. Eventually, he just started going on his own. We have very few accidents now, and those are just damp underwear because he doesn’t want to stop playing!! With that being said, I still make him try to go before we get in the car to go anywhere and if I have noticed it has been a while since he last went. Kids don’t want to stop what they are doing so reminding them to go is a must, in my opinion!!

Few things that helped along the way:
*Froggy potty: I am SO happy I had bought a potty that sat on the floor because Cody was old enough (2 1/2) to take himself to the potty, get his underwear off and sit on the potty to go which was super helpful with a newborn, especially when I was nursing!
*Car Seat Cover: I got this at babies-r-us and it just sits in the bottom if the car seat and saves your seat if they have any accidents. Thankfully, we never have had an accident out so we never needed it, but I highly recommend as a “just in case”! It is under 10 bucks too so you can’t beat that.
*Travel potty: The absolute first time we went out in big boy underwear, we were at Buy Buy Baby and I had a travel seat with us that we used when Cody said he needed to go. It was not good….Cody almost fell in! So I found this awesome seat and would highly recommend it! Kim has the same one and loves it too! You can use it as a potty chair when you are out and you can set it on the big germy potty so the kids aren’t touching the seat! Now that Cody is bigger, he stands to potty so I don’t have to worry about the nasty, germy potty seats!!
*Regression: I was sooooooo frustrated when Cody started peeing his pants after 2 months of no issues! I was ready to pull my hair out. From what I read, this is very common and the best advice I read is just continue staying positive, keep reminding them to go, firmly let them know it isn’t o.k. to go in their pants and praise them for going in the potty. Eventually they come around and Cody did so stick with it! Until then….keep lots of wine in the house!!!

In the end, it wasn’t as bad as I had thought (at least what I had made it out to be in my head)! I’m happy I waited until he showed interest because I think that made it a much smoother transition. I will say that this may not work for all kids. They all have different personalities, so some kids may never be ready….we all know our kids best so go with your gut. One positive on waiting until they are a little older is that they are a little more mature so you really only have to show them a few times how to go and they can take it from there. The downside on waiting is the cost of diapers. The longer you wait, the more you have to buy. You have to weigh it all out and decide what works for your family. Keep in mind, do what is best for your child!! Don’t get sucked into the mommy battle….some moms push their kids to do lots of things before they are ready just to say “my kid is doing xyz”. This will only make you and your child miserable and at the end of the day, it is about your family and your precious kids, NOT everyone else :)

Please share your tips, tricks and potty training experiences!!