I was prepared. I had read the blogs and followed the Pinterest boards. I was going to potty train my 2.5-year-old in a weekend.
I had everything ready; the miniature potty, the potty seat, the pull-ups, training underwear, rewards, and stickers. A set up for success. I knew expectations could be dangerous, but all those other moms on the Internet said it would work. This was supposed to be the best way. I felt confident and ready. Well, that is until I didn’t.
Here’s how it really went.
Potty Training
The first day began with excitement for me and the 2 year old who just received new Minnie Mouse undies.
Some suggest the naked method, but we have carpet and I just couldn’t muster up the courage for that (yet).
Within 15 min we had our first accident, but that was OK. It was supposed to happen. Soon a pattern emerged of sitting on the potty for a good amount of time, not going, getting off the potty, and going within 2 minutes, over and over.
But it was only day one; surely she would pick up on it soon.
Then after nap, the traumatic poop incident occurred. During an attempt to take off the undies after the deed had been done, a leg got caught and my toddler ended up taking a small tumble. She was fine but without getting too graphic you can probably imagine the mess that resulted- on me, on her, on the floor. Honestly, it was traumatic for us both. There wasn’t any coming back from that.
Day 2
We had nowhere to go but up. Or so I thought. Halfway through the day, we switched to the naked method, mostly because we had run out of clean underwear.
I watched her like a hawk. Constantly asking if she needed to go and keeping a towel close by. Our next challenge was the sudden insistence that she pee standing up, like daddy. We had our first success at 7 p.m. on day 2, sitting down may I add.
In that moment there was a slight sense of redemption. I was ready to take on day three!
Day 3
A drought occurred on day three. That’s right, we pushed the fluids and sat on the potty multiple times but nothing. No accidents either, until naptime. I had been outsmarted by a 2-year-old. She held it all morning until naptime then released the floodgates in her pull-up. What was I supposed to do with that?!
I was feeling defeated at the end of it all. Potty training didn’t go how I hoped for or planned.
I wasn’t sure what to do next, and I’m still not.
What did I do wrong?
Was she not ready?
Should I stop or keep going?
Do I push her a little more or will that backfire?
Why was it so hard to teach something that is so natural for me?
At the end of the weekend here is really what I learned. There is no one-size-fits-all potty training technique.
There is no guaranteed way, no sure-fire method. And most of all, no timeline!
Regardless of what the internet says, you can follow the recommendations exactly and no doubt your toddler will humble you, just as mine did. They will throw you for a loop and make you question your parenting abilities, in a loving way of course.
Luckily for me, I have friends who always speak truth to me. They gave me hope that I wasn’t doing anything wrong and I wouldn’t still be changing diapers when my daughter is 11.
Just in case you don’t or you are the first in your group to tackle potty training, know this; if your child potty trains in 3 days you’re a good mom, if it takes 3 weeks, 3 months, or longer you’re still a good mom.
What did potty training teach you?
