20-30 pairs of Minnie Mouse and Disney’s Frozen underwear. Check.
Moist (FLUSHABLE) wipes for post-potty bottom cleaning. Check.
Potty chair AND mini potty seat. Check. (chair for the car, mini seat for the house)
Rewards chart for stickers as well as mini chocolate candies for going in the potty. Check.
Fluids fluids fluids. Check.
Fibrous foods (pears, other fruit, veggies, beans, brown rice). Check. (I am not condoning Metamucil or other like-supplements for your child)
Plan to stay indoors and at home for three consecutive days. Check.
Crossing your fingers that your toddler will pee her entire bladder’s worth in the tub tonight so she doesn’t pee in the bed. Desperate check. Check check check. Please please please (yeah right, wishful thinking)
Well to say that first day of potty training was tiring, is an understatement. Here’s a short (8 min) video recap of how it went: (brief not-at-all-comprehensive-overview of the “3-Day Potty Training” method is described below the video)
Here are some basic pointers that I learned from Lora Jensen’s “3-Day Potty Training” e-book method: (https://www.3daypottytraining.com)
Lora Jensen is a mom of five (!!! FIVE successfully potty-trained) boys and has also potty trained three of their family’s six foster children and has helped guide over 3,000 parents in potty training their children in only three days or less. Her approach guarantees that your 22-month old (or older) will be completely potty trained if you are supportive, loving, positive, and above all else – consistent – in her instruction..
- Your child ideally is 22 months old or older. Younger than 22 months may result in disappointment, despite showing signs of “readiness.” To Lora Jensen, 22 is the golden number.
- Readiness (plus at least 22 months old) means they can communicate their needs (any needs) to you, even if this is through grunting, facial expressions, pointing to objects, etc. It doesn’t matter if they can say “potty” or “pee pee” or “poop” or “bathroom.” The ability to just tell you what they need is enough.
- Stay home for three consecutive days. No outings. No parks, no playdates (even in your own home), no leaving. Sounds intense and it is. At least one parent/caregiver leading the potty training must take a day off work or plan this during a time you’ll be home for three days. Lora says this will. not. work. unless you’re committed to staying home three straight days.
- Underpants dance only. No naked toddler. No pull-ups. Not even during naps or nighttime. Just diaper and t-shirt. All three days.
- No “absorbable training pants” type underpants – daytime or nighttime OR nap time. (we are guilty of this, I don’t really care. If she’s asleep and doesn’t realize she needs to pee, what difference does it make? We use cotton underpants that have a few more layers in the crotch area, so she still definitely feels wet if she’s letting loose. If she’s unconscious, then she can’t consciously decide to hold it in or notify me anyway!)
- Take the phrase “do you need to go to the bathroom?” out of your wheelhouse for the three days. The new mantras are:
- “remember to tell us/mommy/daddy when you have to go pee/poop/potty”
- “it’s important to keep your underpants DRY“
- “remember, you need to tell us BEFORE you go pee/poop/potty”
- Provide “rewards” as positive reinforcement for going to the toilet in time, or in the very least, finishing in the toilet. Stickers, cheap toys, M&M’s, cookies, crackers, etc.
- Provide lots of liquids (water, juice, milk, whatever your child’s favorite drinks are) and high-fiber foods. This is because lots of kids become constipated, becoming afraid to poop and making an accident in their underpants.
- If you’re following a different method, wait 30 days without any formal approach before trying her 3-day method. This doesn’t mean that if you’re encouraging your child to sit on the potty, or asking if they need to “go,” that you need to wait 30 days. But, if you’re following a different formal approach, it’s best to wait it out 30 days so you don’t confuse your kid.
- Potty chair in the BATHROOM. Not in the living room. Not in the bedroom. Potty happens in the bathroom.
- Be inseparable. You and your child will be stuck at the hip, at all times. You need to be able to watch for his/her cues, identify dribbling down the leg, etc. Have to fold laundry? Do it right next to your kid but don’t watch TV while you’re doing it. You’ll most likely miss when your toddler is starting to go! All your activities for the next 3 days will be side-by-side with your little one.
- Do not sit your child on the toilet:
- to “try” going
- anticipating that they may need to go soon
- because they just finished a meal and you know they usually poop after
- to “see” if they will go
- for more than 2 minutes
- with a book
- Do you, first. And as if you don’t do so already, get it done quickly. Figure out your morning routine and get it out of the way before you begin your Day 1. This helps so you’re not pulling attention away from your potty trainee by brushing your teeth or showering, cooking your breakfast, etc.
- “Quietly” set up a sleeping area by your toddler’s bed so you can periodically remind them throughout the night to tell you to use the potty… (But I am not about this life. If this method fails to meet the 3-day guarantee because I failed to do this part, I am okay with that!)
Products we have for this exciting/tiring/messy little chapter of our lives:
Potty Shields toilet seat covers for public toileting
Disney’s Minnie Mouse potty seat (not this exact print)
Target brand up & up flushable toddler wipes (yes, the big box of 432. Try wiping your toddler with dry toilet paper – hint: didn’t go over well for us)
Lots of multi-packs of Minnie Mouse/Frozen underwear from Target. We got 6 packs of Minnie and 1 pack of Frozen. The author recommends 30-50 pairs. We got 35, since we figured we’ll be doing pee-soaked clothes, sheets and mattress pad laundry frequently.
Against the rules, we have Gerber Training Pants purchased from Amazon. Jia weighs around 23 pounds at 32 inches, so after reading reviews, I ordered the 18M size and THANK GOODNESS because they fit her perfectly, over what I can only imagine the 2T size as huge on her!
Extra sheets and waterproof crib mattress pads!
That’s Day 1 in a Nutshell. Oh Day 2, may you be kind to us!