Tuesday, July 14, 2009

If at first you don't succeed, try laziness...

Alternately titled: How I Potty Trained My 2nd Born Child

When Ivy was in school last year her teacher encouraged me to potty train her. I thought it was too early (she was not quite 2 and a half) but because I'm eager to please I complied. I sent her to school in panties. And she had a few accidents every day for a while but eventually she was mostly successful at being potty trained.

Then in October I took her out of school. And being pregnant, exhausted, and (if I'm honest) a little lazy I put her in pull-ups to avoid having to clean up accidents during the day. I still encouraged her to use the potty but the presence of pull-ups lead to her regression into the not-even-remotely-potty-trained stage.

And I didn't care. Because I think it is easier to have a kid in diapers with a new baby than one who is teetering precariously on the edge of being potty trained. I know what you're thinking. But, I'd rather change a diaper than my sofa slipcover. Again. Apparently, though, other people cared. And I got some concerned inquiries into when I was going to start potty training again. I always said I'd tackle it when she turned 3. And then she turned 3. But the process was so overwhelming to me that I just couldn't stick with it. Plus my pediatrician said as long as she was potty trained by the end of summer I'd be fine. I was more than prepared to put it off until the end of summer. Or the beginning of Kindergarten. Whichever.

Then about a month ago, Ivy came up to me and said she needed to go potty. Which was nothing new since she'd been half-heartedly doing this all along. But she did it throughout the day. And the next day. And the next.

So I pulled out the Disney and Nick, Jr. panty collection and prepared myself for the weeks and weeks of accidents that would come next. But they didn't. In fact, in one month the only accident we have had was one where she fell asleep for the night without a pull-up on and woke up wet because she couldn't hold it through the night. Other than that? We've been gold.

It was so easy. So completely natural. And so much less painful than the 6 month process I put Kai through just so I could say my 2-year-old was potty trained. God bless her.

With Ivy, I took the lazy way out. And for once it actually paid off.

What potty training tips worked like magic for you? **Bonus points awarded if you give me tips for training boys to file away for when I have to train Trav!**

3 comments:

Debra said...

J -

See. I disagree. It wasn't 'lazy'. You know her better than anyone else + you and she knew when it was time. It's a "mom" thing + you're really good at it.

*I *loved* your post title yesterday! Green Acres - LOL :)

Carey said...

I don't have any potty training tips, but I had a similar experience - with learning to ride a bike. Long story short, with my daughter (probably around age 5), it was a traumatic and overwhelming feat - for both of us - which we both finally gave up on. I figured FORGET IT, she can be like Phoebe on Friends. One day, out of the blue, at around age 11, she came running into the house in a blur of excitement to tell me that she had just taught herself to ride on her friend's bike. Just like that. She was sick of being the only one of her friends who couldn't ride, and she figured it out herself.

I prefer to think that our 'laziness' has bred independence! Right?

Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said...

I'm a firm believer in child-led training. Not every child is ready at 2..or 2.5, you know? Some not even until after 3. Shoot, some adults can't even hold it!!!

Aiden has NO interest in training. He'll be 3 in November....and is just now starting to understand what poop and pee are.....but he'll sit in a dirty diaper all day if I don't smell him. I don't push it...We talk about it when he's interested...he likes to watch the Elmo Potty DVD (which REALLY did help nudge his interest a little further). But I figure he'll do it when he's ready...