# Early potty training (20 months). Anyone else doing this?



## RomanGoddess (Mar 16, 2006)

I'm set to switch my DS from cloth diapers to cloth training pants later this month. Anyone else trying to potty train before age 2?


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## MsFortune (Dec 5, 2010)

I tried when DS was 20 mos. We failed. He did not get it. We quit while he still enjoed it.

Ds did not seem to understand concept.

He is now 24 mo. Trying again soon.


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## Fly Girl (Jan 11, 2008)

I did. We started when DD1 was 22 months. She was fully trained day and night at 23 months. But I had been doing EC, she already peed and pooped on the potty every day and she was ready. It doesn't always work that way. Good luck!


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## cparkly (Jul 21, 2009)

DS was completely diaper free at 19-months. It was led by him and we had used EC concepts from the beginning. He is 31-months now and looking back over the last year, I can say that he had no set-backs and very very few "accidents". The two that I can remember were when we were in unfamiliar environments and I think that he was unsure of what to do; on a long hike and at a playdate at a gymnastics center. Those two times taught me the importance of going over the potty options and letting him check them out before he really needed to go.


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## chr157y (May 20, 2009)

We started "training" my son at 11 months. We'd put him on the potty every diaper change and morning and night. The first time we put him on he peed and pooped. We got more and more frequent with potty trips as he got older and poo trained himself by 1 1/2. At 24 months we took away diapers, but probably could have done it much sooner.

Good luck!!


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## plantnerd (Aug 20, 2010)

What did ya'll interpret as signs of readiness before age 2? I would love to try early myself, but it's hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel with a 13 month old who's verbal communication consists of "all done" "uh oh" "dad" and "grunt". He has started hiding when he poops- one minute he's running around the living room, next he's under the coffee table, and then when he runs by PU!


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## tzs (Aug 4, 2009)

i think in the case of really early training....like the pp at 11 months....it might go smoother than at 20 months. i think i read somewhere that kids get control of their bowels/urine somewhere around 12 months. the reason this matters is that it seems like you have to start before then to introduce the idea of "going in the potty" if you want it to go super easily...otherwise it's hard for them to release into the potty.

not sure if i'm right on that but we started letting dd sit on the potty now at 15 months because she's so into imitating and although on of the first times she did pee, since then it's just been "for fun." it's like she knows what goes in there (because she fiddles with her parts and looks down there) but can't let go.) when i briefly did EC with her as an infant, all i'd have to do is turn on the water and she'd release.....not anymore. same with the 20-24 month olds in my preschool class. i've been putting them all on the potty after breakfast including one girl who supposedly goes sometimes at home but no actual pees.

i'm sure it can be done...it's just not going to be as easy as just putting them on at that age. i'm sure you'll get better info from other btdt moms though.

good luck!


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## scottishmommy (Nov 30, 2009)

We started training dd at 18 months. I bought her a bjorn potty and had her sit on it every time I went potty. Then we had her watch "once upon a potty" on YouTube. She loved it and watched it 30 times at least. Then we started taking her diaper off the minute she woke up after naps and in the morning. Then we gave up for a month or two, until one day she ran to her potty before a bath and peed. Then we bit the bullet and switched to gerber training pants. She was done training by 22 months and is now night trained as well (knock on wood!)


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## lifeguard (May 12, 2008)

I started by putting ds on the toilet every morning & after naps at around 16 months. Before long he was dry through naps & we dropped the diaper for these (I liked him having some naked time every day so this seemed like a good way in the winter).

At 22 months I decided to take the leap. I took off the diapers & never looked back. I would say it took about a week for him to really get what was going on & then about a month before I felt really confident in saying he was potty trained. He was dry through the night within the first week & started refusing the diaper at night (I had not planned on trying to stop the diaper at night for quite some time).

When I was doing my reading I found something that said around 22months was actually an optimal time.


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## CrunchyChristianMama (Dec 5, 2008)

Around 18-19 months we started putting DD on the potty at night before bed and she would potty. It was a game to her and she liked all the cheering we did. She knew what tooting was at the time and we would tell her to toot on the potty and that would usually lead to something coming out as well.









At 22 months we took her out of diapers and straight into panties. I have cleaned up more accidents than I care to count, but she's fully potty trained now when awake.

For us, the sign of readiness was that I was pregnant and didn't want 2 kids in diapers.


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## YayJennie (Aug 7, 2008)

We started sitting my son on the potty at 9 months old, first thing in the morning and after every nap. He always had to pee then, so it got him used the concept, and he also pooped a few times. By 17 months he was able to identify when he was peeing and pooping, and we could identify his "poop face" (he would start running back and forth across the house right before he pooped, then stop, stare off and grunt a little sometimes, so it was very easy to read his poop signs). It was over the summer, so we spent a lot of naked time with potties available, and he started going a lot more on his own. Then I bought some underwear and, at 19 months, we were having completely dry days (still needed diapers for naps and nights, but we could catch almost everything else in the potty). However, when he was 20 months old, we welcomed his sister into the world, and that has set the potty training back. He still goes on the potty regularly, but, honestly, I'm too lazy to make sure he gets on the potty for every poop and pee. I'm nursing a lot or carrying the baby around, so it's not always easy to rush at his first sign and get his pants off and get him on the potty before an accident.

I think the main thing with early potty training is that it's way more work for the parents. My son still, at 21 months, can't pull his pants up and down by himself, so we have to get him in and out of his clothes every time we think he has to go. And he's verbal, but doesn't always communicate that he has to go in time, so we have to really be paying attention. If your kid is ready and you have the time/energy to invest in it, I think it's great! I am definitely going to pick back up with the potty soon, I just wanted to adjust to having two and not push the potty when there's so much else going on right now.


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## ledzepplon (Jun 28, 2004)

I just put my 5-month old on the potty for the first time the other day, so I don't think there is such a thing as "too early."







I did the same with my two older ds's, and they were both in underwear full time around 16-18 months. I really think if you introduce the potty in a non-pressure sort of way very early on, potty learning is pretty easy. And I like it better than washing diapers!


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## colsxjack (Dec 9, 2009)

Our DD will be 18months on Monday and we are going to get her a potty this weekend.

I don't really care if she gets potty trained or not. She just seems like she is ready to start the concept. She says potty, she is interested in us going potty and she likes to flush the toilet for us. She has recently over the last month or so been saying poo, pee and fart when she does these things. She also seems to be holding her pee longer because she is dry sometimes even after having a diaper on for 2 hours or more. Even a month or two ago we could change her every 1.5 to 2 hours and she would be soaked. I know it isn't dehydration because she does have many soaked diapers, she just seems to be holding it more and having bigger pees instead of many smaller pees.

I think she will enjoy having a potty. And we will let her go on it anytime she wants to, and may encourage it after naps or meals or some other routine. It would be nice if she took to it, but I do fully expect her to be in diapers for quite some time still.


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## brennan (Feb 1, 2009)

We started at 14 months (I would put her on the potty and encourage her to have diaper free time and say "oh you peed" when she peed), but got serious at 18ish months and were done by 19 months. It took a month for it to click. I hung out over on the EC board because that's basically what we were doing, just pretty late! We had a set back when we moved for the 2nd time in 4 months and are still working through it. She hasn't had a pee accident since 19 months!


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## icy02 (Oct 28, 2008)

It also took my about 1 month to potty train my DS1. I started at 20 months. He now has just turned 2 and is doing great. He is not night-trained and does have an occasional accident, but it is awesome! No more poppy diapers


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## redvlagrl (Dec 2, 2009)

We did the 3 day system at 22 months and it worked perfectly (4 days for pees, 8 for poops) both day and night. I highly recommend it (goodle lori jensen)


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

Diaper Free Before 3 is great. We trained DS at 24 m and just started with DD at 17m. She is figuring it out pretty quickly.


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## beebalmmama (Jul 21, 2005)

We introduced the potty at 18 months and he was was PL'd by 24months (except at daycare, that was another couple of months mainly because he was so reserved about asking his teacher for help. The bathroom was not accesible in the room). He was dry in the morning by 20 months (overnight potty learning was done by him!). We took it pretty easy and he probably was without accidents within a couple of months. But it was summer with lots of outdoor free naked time and all wood floors in our house at the time which made accidents not a big deal. I can see that our approach with ds1 may not work with ds2 if we are in our current rental house....


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## hartfelt (Apr 7, 2009)

Subbing









My dd is 14mo and I am starting to put her on the potty after naps and anytime I am using the bathroom. We are working on the sign for toilet, and now anytime she poops she does the sign. I hope to have her out if diapers by her 2nd b'day. If she isn't, that's okay too.


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## claras_mom (Apr 25, 2006)

Dd2 has just turned 21 months and initiated using the potty starting about 3 weeks ago.

Signs of readiness--she takes off all her clothes. We figured out after about the second time that she sheds her diaper if she needs to go (or if she's just gone; she's still working on the timing) and that she believed, initially, that you have to ditch the shirt as well.

We've got a way to go, but she's peeing in her potty probably once or twice a day and clearly understands all the steps (pee, wipe, flush, wash hands).


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## dex_millie (Oct 19, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess*
> 
> I'm set to switch my DS from cloth diapers to cloth training pants later this month. Anyone else trying to potty train before age 2?


I do. I do not consider it early potty training though. Being potty trained by two(at least in the day time) where I am from is the norm. I think we have trained children that to go in there pampers and now we have to untrain them.

But besides that for my son I did part-time EC and he was day-time trained by 18months and night-time by 21 months.

For DD I didn't do EC as I wanted to I tried when I felt in the mood. I found it took her longer to get comfortable sitting on the potty to just pee. But now at 21months she is using the toliet(she only wants to use the big toliet with the kid seat) in the day time and tells me when she needs to pee. I don't use any diapers on her in the day time now. The poops are different though, she wasn't comfortable sitting and pooping..Yesterday was the first time she pooped in the toliet..yay..I will see if it keeps up. She knows when she has to poop though as she tells us. That is when we put a pamper on her but she always takes it off because she didn't want to poop in it but couldn't get comfortable on the potty as yet..We had a few poops on the floor but good thing it is the normal solid ones we just pick up and sanitize the spot.

When I was starting out with DD I used the EC techniques..making the pss sound when I see her peeing, whether I felt it through her diaper or saw her while she didn't have a diaper on. I would tell her where pee pees go and she would always pretend to go for fun but didn't for months..we just made it familiar for her and then one day like a week before Thanksgiving she actually went and it took off from there.


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## lactatinggirl (Nov 22, 2009)

We just tried at 21 months because DD was so interested, but she didn't seem to be getting it so we stopped after just a couple days. Plan on trying again next month, but also keeping it relaxed.


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## Surfer Rosa (Jun 3, 2005)

Both of my kids started showing signs that they were ready between 18-20 months, and made the transition from full time diapers to undies without too many problems. Although we facilitated them using the potty, we really just followed their lead (they would let us know when they were wet/dirty, were interested in using the toilet, and seemed to get it fairly quickly, once they peed in the potty).

With my daughter, we just let her run around naked for a week, and sat her on the potty every once in a while and she got it; my son got it even more quickly and was in undies on day two (but I think it's easier with boys...though I think that's not the general concensus!)

I think you have a window between 18-24 mos when kids are open to the idea, then not again til closer to three?

Good luck!


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## sharon71 (May 27, 2005)

I have 3 girls and 2 out of 3 were PT before 2 yrs, #2 by 17 mths day and night,#3 by her 2nd birthday.

my 1st was not PT until she was almost 3. IMO each child will potty train when he/she is ready so don't push it.


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## RomanGoddess (Mar 16, 2006)

Thanks for all you replies. I don't think my son will be willing to sit on the the potty at regular intervals just yet, so I'll just wait for him to wet his pants and then show him where the potty is each time.


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## landgyrl (Dec 12, 2009)

DS decided on his own at 19 months he was ready (he went to get the potty I'd bought around 13 months bc he was a nightmare on the change table)...he's had setbacks when he is too tired or in a new environment, but pretty much went from diapers to 100% potty in the first month. We still do diapers at night as we've just returned from a long stretch away (3.5 weeks) and alot of change in the fall, but are getting ready to try night time. Go for it, but read the EC info...it's so much less stressful for everyone than traditional 'potty training'.


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## ElliesMomma (Sep 21, 2006)

we're doing this now. DS just turned 16 months, he started pooping on the potty last month, right before Christmas.

i was home with few activites bringing me out of the house. DS likes his naked time, and he loves to do what his big sister (age 4.5) does.

i started letting him go naked. this is KEY.

you have to just assume that there will be many pees and poops on the floor and accept it.

watch him carefully. the more carefully you can watch him the better. at the first sign of peeing or pooping, run him to the potty, being very positive about it, not freaking out that it got on the floor. hopefully you can get him to finish on the potty. if so, big celebration, high fives all around, maybe take a picture, call grandma. this is all it took for us. luckily DS seems to be a fairly compliant child.

he eats a ton of fruit, so that helps keep the poops coming.

first thing in the morning, i get him on the potty. he will often push it out.

we've had many more misses on the pees. i've lost track of how many poops he's done on the potty.

NO PRESSURE.

he is young. at least he's not scared of the toilet.

once you start though, you should not really stop. we do have to go out and about, activites have started again. so it's diaper on for those things, and i just catch as many as i can once we get back home. diaper on overnight, too.


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## major_mama11 (Apr 13, 2008)

DS (20 mos) has had a few pees on the potty, no poops yet. I feel like this is a good window to try it, as he is able to basically pee on command, and he is still very eager to please and loves all the positive attention he gets for it.

With DD, she was peeing on the potty quite a bit from 12-to 18 mos, then I got really busy with school and we missed our window. Then she completely refused and I had to wait until she was old enough to be able to reason with, closer to 3. I'd really rather not miss the window this time.


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## RomanGoddess (Mar 16, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *major_mama11*
> 
> DS (20 mos) has had a few pees on the potty, no poops yet. I feel like this is a good window to try it, as he is able to basically pee on command, and he is still very eager to please and loves all the positive attention he gets for it.
> 
> With DD, she was peeing on the potty quite a bit from 12-to 18 mos, then I got really busy with school and we missed our window. Then she completely refused and I had to wait until she was old enough to be able to reason with, closer to 3. I'd really rather not miss the window this time.


What is the Elimination Communication approach? My DS doesn't seem to show any signs at all of when he has to go and I have tried making the pssss sound and / or running water but he doesn't pee.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ElliesMomma*
> 
> we're doing this now. DS just turned 16 months, he started pooping on the potty last month, right before Christmas.
> 
> ...


Really? My friends let their kids go naked and it did speed up the process but then when they put underwear on them, the kid assumed it was a diaper and just peed in it again. So then they had to start the whole process again but with underwear on. I've this this happen a few times so it's not rare. I was thinking that I would go with cloth training pants or even just plain underwear.


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## ElliesMomma (Sep 21, 2006)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess*
> 
> Quote:
> What is the Elimination Communication approach? My DS doesn't seem to show any signs at all of when he has to go and I have tried making the pssss sound and / or running water but he doesn't pee.
> ...


nm


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## JudiAU (Jun 29, 2008)

We didn't do naked time really but we transitioned to underwear early. This is key for both of us. A parent or caregiver is much more aware of potty time when underwear are involved. and the kid gets instant feedback which diapers don't give. We do the more expensive training pants with built in PUL (imse vimse) which are totally worth it. He was a regular pooper and always pooped as part of his morning routine. One or two chances to sit and we have had very few accidents.

DD is younger and hasn't figured out the poop on the potty yet. She still wants to stand. She'll probably need more naked time and we've had a few poop accidents that have been very effective. If she poops (we have concrete floors, no big deal) she'll come get me.

And I also agree, this isn't early potty learning. It is regular potty learning. It is much easier than what I've witnessed with parents who start when their kids are much older.


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## RomanGoddess (Mar 16, 2006)

OK ladies, I need your thoughts. DS will be 22 months in a couple of days. At the beginning of this week, we took off his diapers and put him in regular underwear (I prefer him not to sit with a naked bum on furniture or the floor for hygiene reasons, so we are using underwear). He pees in his pants consistently. We show him where the potty is and tell him that this is where he should go pee and poo. Other than that, we don't punish or reprimand when he goes in his underwear. From what I can tell, he still does not have the sensation of having to go pee. He realises that he is peeing when he is in midstream or already done. So if we were really "training" him, he would not be "ready".

I'm just wondering how long, in your experience, this phase takes at this age once the diaper has been removed and they are naked or in underwear. I'm thinking it could take a month.


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## myfairbabies (Jun 4, 2006)

It sounds like you're doing this system? If not, you should look into it because it will probably help you a lot (the idea you are doing is the same). I loved it. Once I put my dd in underwear at 19 months, with diapers still going out or at bed, she was dry in 3 days, including most night but we kept the diapers for a few weeks because I wasn't ready! My niece was 22 months and she was 3-4 days as well. One day, it just clicks! But for us, the magic key was giving up control to her via the 3day system. Before that, we were sitting her on the potty at intervals and while she would go, she would still pee on the floor like it was nothing. Oh, and the wording "Remember to tell mommy when you have to go pee so YOU can keep your pants dry". Then repeat a million times and rush your ds to the potty as soon as you notice he's going. We still say at night "You can keep your pants dry all night long, huh?" and she nods and says "OK!" and we high five. The system says you have to do it full-time, but we still used diapers when leaving the house and at naps and night for those first few days because I didn't want to be stuck at home. It still worked for us, and she actually often kept them dry anyway (I just told her that she could). GL!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess*
> 
> OK ladies, I need your thoughts. DS will be 22 months in a couple of days. At the beginning of this week, we took off his diapers and put him in regular underwear (I prefer him not to sit with a naked bum on furniture or the floor for hygiene reasons, so we are using underwear). He pees in his pants consistently. We show him where the potty is and tell him that this is where he should go pee and poo. Other than that, we don't punish or reprimand when he goes in his underwear. From what I can tell, he still does not have the sensation of having to go pee. He realises that he is peeing when he is in midstream or already done. So if we were really "training" him, he would not be "ready".
> 
> I'm just wondering how long, in your experience, this phase takes at this age once the diaper has been removed and they are naked or in underwear. I'm thinking it could take a month.


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## brennan (Feb 1, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess*
> 
> OK ladies, I need your thoughts. DS will be 22 months in a couple of days. At the beginning of this week, we took off his diapers and put him in regular underwear (I prefer him not to sit with a naked bum on furniture or the floor for hygiene reasons, so we are using underwear). He pees in his pants consistently. We show him where the potty is and tell him that this is where he should go pee and poo. Other than that, we don't punish or reprimand when he goes in his underwear. From what I can tell, he still does not have the sensation of having to go pee. He realises that he is peeing when he is in midstream or already done. So if we were really "training" him, he would not be "ready".
> 
> I'm just wondering how long, in your experience, this phase takes at this age once the diaper has been removed and they are naked or in underwear. I'm thinking it could take a month.


I think it took about a month, but with dd after that month that was it. She was pl'd. We started seeing some success at 2 or 3 weeks, but it was sporadic. What we did though was everytime dd started to pee I got her on the potty. Even mid stream. I would talk about it constantly, while she was peeing, everytime she looked at her potty "pee and poo go on the potty". I think at this age you need to be the one to physically get them to the potty (until it clicks). It's like when I tell dd not to do something, I have to redirect her myself. Words at this age aren't as important as actions. Good luck!


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## RomanGoddess (Mar 16, 2006)

Thanks a lot for your reply. Well, he's been in underwear for a week now and he is nowhere near having learned to go on the potty. I've looked at your link. It interests me but I don't want to invest in it if I am already doing what they recommend. We basically just keep him in underwear, with the potty nearby, and when he pees, we lift him up and put him on the potty (but there is no time to pull down his underwear) and the rest of the pee goes in the potty. Then he takes the potty and dumps the pee in the toilet (this is his absolutely favourite part).

We do not bother trying to sit him on the potty at intervals with one exception. First thing in the morning, I put him on the potty on the off chance that his bladder is full, and run water from the sink. But even when his diaper is dry (which occurs often!), he STILL does not go in the potty. I even read to him for 15 minutes while he is on the potty but nothing comes of it. Then 5 minutes after he is off the potty, he goes in his underwear (and then in the potty once I run to put him on it).

I should add that (so far) he is in no way oppositional to the potty or to not wearing diapers. BUT he also doesn't seem to mind being in wet pants.

He now appears to say "peepee" in mid-stream as opposed to after the fact so I suppose that's some progress. But this is definitely not a three-day program in our case!

I'll remember to use the phrase you mentioned from now on.

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *myfairbabies*
> 
> It sounds like you're doing this system? If not, you should look into it because it will probably help you a lot (the idea you are doing is the same). I loved it. Once I put my dd in underwear at 19 months, with diapers still going out or at bed, she was dry in 3 days, including most night but we kept the diapers for a few weeks because I wasn't ready! My niece was 22 months and she was 3-4 days as well. One day, it just clicks! But for us, the magic key was giving up control to her via the 3day system. Before that, we were sitting her on the potty at intervals and while she would go, she would still pee on the floor like it was nothing. Oh, and the wording "Remember to tell mommy when you have to go pee so YOU can keep your pants dry". Then repeat a million times and rush your ds to the potty as soon as you notice he's going. We still say at night "You can keep your pants dry all night long, huh?" and she nods and says "OK!" and we high five. The system says you have to do it full-time, but we still used diapers when leaving the house and at naps and night for those first few days because I didn't want to be stuck at home. It still worked for us, and she actually often kept them dry anyway (I just told her that she could). GL!


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## lactatinggirl (Nov 22, 2009)

Would you say a toddler isn't ready if she never pees in the potty? She's all for sitting on the potty and wants me to read to her, but she never goes on the potty. She actually doesn't pee for hours and then there's a huge puddle on the floor and she's telling me "Mama pee!" We've never tried for more than a day or two, so is it maybe something that she eventually figures out? She'll be 2 this month and I'm thinking of waiting until I'm out of school for the semester (end of April) and then giving it a real good try. Tips for her to understand actually peeing on the potty?


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## ExuberantDaffodil (May 22, 2005)

My 15m old daughter started showing awareness last month. She would wake up with a dry diaper, and I would set her on the bathroom floor while I did my own business. She would always end up going at the same time. So I bought her the baby bjorn infant potty.  She gets up every morning with a dry diaper, and pees and poops on her little potty. I don't really consider it early training, though. it's more akin to EC (knowing when she needs to go and giving her the potty-tunity).

She does the baby sign for diaper change throughout the day. Sometimes she will give the sign, but when I take off her diaper, it is dry, so I set her on her potty and she goes. Sometimes I will ask her if she wants to sit on her potty, and she will either shake her head yes or no. She can do the sign for poop, but sometimes that means "I just did" instead of "I have to."

One thing that helps keep her interested (though using the potty is a daily habit at this point) is to have a small bucket of potty-only toys in the bathroom. She likes to sit on her potty and go through the bucket. Sometimes we even talk about the toys as she goes. It's so cute... She often gives the sign for "all done" when she is either bored of sitting on the potty or she has completely eliminated.

I would never push her beyond what she is physically and mentally capable. but following her lead has brought us this far, so we will continue the potty-learning process with encouragement on my end and signs of readiness on hers.


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## myfairbabies (Jun 4, 2006)

I actually didnt buy it, I just spent some time searching the internet for reviews and how it worked for other parents. I gleaned enough info from that to implement it, but I really think that phrase is what made it click for dd, rather than asking her if she needed to go since I didn't stick strictly to the system (and I know not all kids are the same!). And dd progressed the same way as your ds, from telling me that she had already peed, to telling me midstream, then finally before she went! One other thing, I always took dd's underwear off before putting her on the potty midstream even if it meant all the pee ended up in front of the potty and she was done by the time she sat down (of course I did it as quickly as possible hoping to make it!). I think it was important in helping her to know that she's not supposed to pee in her underwear and as soon as she does, it comes off. Good luck!

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RomanGoddess*
> 
> Thanks a lot for your reply. Well, he's been in underwear for a week now and he is nowhere near having learned to go on the potty. I've looked at your link. It interests me but I don't want to invest in it if I am already doing what they recommend. We basically just keep him in underwear, with the potty nearby, and when he pees, we lift him up and put him on the potty (but there is no time to pull down his underwear) and the rest of the pee goes in the potty. Then he takes the potty and dumps the pee in the toilet (this is his absolutely favourite part).
> 
> ...


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## egmaranian (Aug 15, 2009)

Subbing...

My DS is 20mo and I've been trying to come up with the best time to try potty learning. I'm a full time WOHM and my MIL watched DS at our home during the day. Even though she says she will be on board with potting learning, I'm not convinced that she will really do what we need her to do during the day. So...I have to try and get it really jump started over a weekend when I can be home with DS all day for a couple of days. I told myself that I would do it over the next three-day weekend that comes up, but then I got sick and just didn't have the energy to go through with it. So now I'm looking at Memorial Day as the next 3-day weekend and that is just a week before we go on a family vacation to Disneyland. Probably not the best time to start.

Does anyone have any advice for potty learning techniques when mom is not the primary weekday caregiver?

Thanks!


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## melon (Sep 16, 2008)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *CrunchyChristianMama*
> 
> For us, the sign of readiness was that I was pregnant and didn't want 2 kids in diapers.


huhuh, Us, too!

I'm starting to wonder if it's really better this way. I mean, I know it is, but, still..... At 31 weeks preggo, it's already exhausting, disgusting and difficult to drop everything in public and take 22 mo DS to the potty in a public restroom.....keep him from sticking his hands in the toilet/trash/tampon receptacle...squatting down and make sure he's pointed into the bowl...and then waiting for it, and explaining that we don't have a book to read in this potty.....and then hoist him up to the sink and scrub those little hands, and get him to now REALLY not touch anything while we dry hands, fold up potty seat and collect our stuff.....

How the heck is this going to work with an infant strapped to me, or whatever?

Also, his new trick when he wants attention (like while i'm cooking), or if he's bored at the store (resulting in the above obnoxiousness), is to tell me he has to pee. So I can only imagine if I'm nursing Baby or whatever, he will claim to have to go.

But we started what I guess would loosely be considered EC somewhere around 9 months.


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## sapphire_chan (May 2, 2005)

My dd started telling me that she had to poop (used the potty sign) when she was 16.5 months old. She didn't even start (and by start I mean like once a week) figuring that she had to pee until about 23 months. Figuring out pee completely took until 27 months.

It made sense to me that she could tell about pooping so much faster, because it was always far more easy for me to tell that she had to poop.


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## slimkins (Dec 22, 2008)

My son just turned 18 months and we are on day 9 of a true potty learning experience. Technically, we have been doing part-time EC since he was a month old. Some times often and some times not at all. Like when he would have major milestones (like walking), he would have nothing to do with his potty. But either way, he has known how to use it for a LONG time. For whatever reason, last week I decided to give it more of a concentrated go. I stopped putting his diaper on him. I would usually put his pajama pants on him since they were tighter at the bottom. The pee wouldn't go all over the floor, and he would still get the same sensation.

It has all gone really fantastic. We bought him undies over the weekend and he as worn them all day. Diaper at night and cloth trainers for naps and some outings.

For the most part, it has been all timing and me reminding him. The first couple of days, I would remind him and take him. Then I started to just remind him and only take him if it had been really long or we were out.

Each day he holds it longer and longer in between and he is starting to say, "I pee" more often these past couple of days.

Today he even started doing a "pee pee dance" which is the cutest thing ever. So, I told him he is doing a pee pee dance because he has to go the potty, and I grab him and say, "run" (in a really fun way) and we scurry off to the bathroom. I want him to understand the urgency of that dance. 

Today he started to pee while I was holding him, but stopped the moment I felt it and said, "oh, your peeing- hold it" and he finished in the potty. This is are first miss/accident in four days, so, I think we are getting close.

I have been writing a blog each day to keep a record of how it all goes.

We are definitely further than I ever expected.

So, my only advice is go for it all the way. Be patient, consistent and just matter of fact. We also have two potties. His old one in our play area, and we recently bought one of the little seats to go on the toilet seat.

I also bribe. I know a lot of other mommies don't, but I found it effective. We keep a box of those little Annie's bunnies (cookies) in the bathroom, and it is truly the only time he ever has cookies. There are times where he pees and wants one, and there are times he pees and just carries on as normal. I usually follow his lead.

I also talk about all of it with him. Do you have to pee? Where do you go pee pee? What do you get when you go pee pee in the potty?

He also gets to flush and likes to say bye bye to his potties and poos.


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## revolting (Sep 10, 2010)

My first daughter I started using elimination communication with at 6 months. She was out of diapers during the day at 17 months and at night at 18 months. My son, we've been doing elimination communication since day one. At almost 13 months, he is out of diapers at home (though we still have misses; gotta love the wood floors, lol!). When we are gone, I potty him right when I get somewhere. If he goes, I'll let him run around without a diaper. If he doesn't, it's a diaper or he can hang out on my back (since he never pees in the carrier). We have bad days where we miss almost half of the pees. We have good days where we might only miss once. He does not sign or say anything to go potty, but about a month ago he started occasionally taking himself to the potty to pee if he was naked butt at home. I don't expect to get done in three days or anything; I'm hoping he's like my daughter and will be done in the next six months. We'll see.


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## Ella Enchanted (Mar 6, 2011)

I've been working on it with my 15-month-old. When she's diaper-free, she squats before she pees, so she knows when she's going to go. But if I put her on her potty, she gets off and pees next to it.

My mom had be completely trained at 13 months, and my brother at 16 months. So I'm a bit behind the curve. Oh well. It'll happen.


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## staryla (Mar 1, 2009)

At 18 months our DS was staying dry through the night. He was also a TERROR to put a diaper on (think two people to hold him down or one person who can restraining him with a leg over his upper body!) So we thought, definitely time to potty train.

Now he's 30 months old and the last 12 months have been hellacious (is that word?). We did cloth diapers so we didn't want to take a step backward by putting him in pull-ups. So we've put him in plain underwear and have a few fancy cloth trainers. With the amount of accidents he sometimes has there's no way we can afford enough cloth trainers. Some days he'll only have 2 or 3 accidents. Other days we'll be changing his clothes 8 or 9 times.

I don't know what we could have done differently seeing as the time was fast approaching when Mommy wouldn't even physically be able to put a diaper on him. But I really really really really wish we had waited. There was even a point where I was worried my stay-at-home DH would get so frustrated/angry/upset on a day with 3 poopy underwear accidents that he'd hurt our son. We got through the worst parts together and have come to emotional acceptance with multiple accidents per day.

We should have waited. Some people can do it earlier, but that wasn't us. And if I could go back in time I would tell myself there's no hurry. 95% of the other 2 years olds out there are still in diapers. I wish mine was one of them.


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## revolting (Sep 10, 2010)

Quote:

Originally Posted by *staryla*  We got through the worst parts together and have come to emotional acceptance with multiple accidents per day.

I think, for me, part of what made the process okay is that I'm fine with misses. I let my son run around naked butt all day every day at home. My son pees on the floor just about every day. Occasionally, he poops on the floor. Cleaning up poop off hardwood floors is easier than cleaning it out of a cloth diaper. Cleaning up pee misses on the floor create just as much laundry and work as pee misses in a diaper. Yeah, the misses on our futon or at night on the bed create more laundry than diapering would have, but considering that he mostly uses the potty and sometimes will take himself without me, I'd consider the whole thing in terms of work to be easier than diapering at this point, even with the misses. The only time I get upset about misses are outside of the home. So, if we are going outside of the home, I will put him in a diaper except under circumstances I'm very sure we will not have a miss.

If a year and a half from now, my son still had multiple accidents a day, I would be kind of disappointed, but I wouldn't regret starting early.


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## redpajama (Jan 22, 2007)

My oldest potty trained at about 22 months. I don't recall that he was showing any particular "interest," but we basically woke up one morning and put him in underwear and never went back. He got peeing down right away, but pooping took him a few weeks, then he got it.

My second child saw her dad on the toilet one day at about 19 months and indicated that she wanted to go potty. He took off her pants and got out our potty chair, but she got up pretty quickly. About 10 minutes later, he walked by the potty and saw that she had pooped in it. I don't think she ever pooped anywhere but the potty after that--we put her in underwear from that day on, too, but she did have peeing accidents pretty regularly for a couple weeks, then occasionally for a couple more.

My youngest is 18 months and occasionally asks to go potty--especially if she sees me using the bathroom, she'll start taking her pants off and saying "Potty! Potty!" I'm not ready to all-out train her right now, but I always help her get undressed and on the potty when she asks; she probably actually goes about every other time. I imagine we'll potty train her in the next month or two--I suspect it will mostly just take a few days of hanging out at home with her in undies.


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## waiting2bemommy (Dec 2, 2007)

I started ds on the potty at 9 months. He was in underwear all day at 15 months, with a few pullups thrown in for long car rides and whatnot.

We got a potty for dd last week but we were trying to hold off on switching to pullups until she was walking independently. (She will only walk if she is holding onto her toy stroller....idk why, she doesn't need it) Well, she pulled her diaper off and peed on my carpets, so shoot, if I'm going to be cleaning pee out the carpets anyway, we might as well get this show on the road! lol

She peed on the potty twice today. It's pretty slow in the beginning, just getting them used to it, creating a routine around the potty, but right around 14 months it just seemed to click for ds and I'm hoping the same will happen with dd.


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## DahliaRW (Apr 16, 2005)

Dd sort of initiated it herself. She started asking to go to the potty. So, I decided to go with it. Got her some padded undies for around the house and she has maybe 1 accident a day (at 20 months) if that. If she wasn't showing signs of readiness, I probably wouldn't have pushed it. Ds1 did the same thing, but he was just a week away from his 2nd birthday. Ds2, well, he finally trained at 3! Every child is different.

I just wish dd ws old enough to do it all herself. She doesn't have the gross/fine motor control to do so...


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