Now, just over a month later, I can say that Indiana is fully potty trained in the day - obviously she still wears nappies at nap time and bed time, but that's a whole new journey we'll tackle later on. Looking back it only really took her around a week (probably less) to crack it, and it wasn't the scary task I first thought!
She tells us when she needs to go. The potty lasted about 2/3 days until she shunned it and went straight to the toilet. She's really good at holding her bladder too, although obviously it's still the size of a pea haha.
I thought I'd share some of our top tips (mostly provided by Jack), as I found other people's blog posts about the subject really helpful. Obviously these are just my personal opinion, and Indie's my first potty training experience (although Jack sees potty training kids everyday at work), and I just know Parker's going to be completely different haha.
- The most important thing of all. Wait until your child is ready! Honestly if you try to potty train before it will take much longer, and be harder for both you and your child. We listened to Indie and watched for the signs, to definitely know she was ready.
- Be prepared! Make sure you have a potty close by (more than one if you feel you need one upstairs / downstairs / on the go). Stock up on knickers/pants. If you're going to use them get some pull ups.
- Praise the good and don't focus on the bad. We used chocolate buttons as a 'prize' every time she did a wee/poop on the potty or toilet. This obviously is just how we did it, and I know a lot of people use sticker charts instead. We didn't focus on accidents either. Of course we told her it's not what you do, but we didn't make a big song and dance about it - it happened, we mentioned it, tidied up and moved on!
- Go straight to knickers or pants! Honestly there's no point taking them out of a nappy and putting them into a pull-up, they simply won't learn. Of course we used them for trips in the car, or if we had to walk long distances. But once home or where we were going we whipped it off and she was back in knickers!
- Don't forget the socks!! You'll of course need spare clothes incase there are any accidents, but this isn't just knickers and bottoms - remember their socks will most likely get wet too!
In my next potty training post I'll talk about the products we used and loved. Let me know if you have anything you'd like me to cover!
Oh I can't believe we're getting to the potty training stage already, our babies are growing up!! W is still not quite ready yet but guessing it's just a few months away... Boys are usually slower aren't they?! So it's great to read tips like this... I'd never have thought of skipping pull ups.... And the socks thing!!! Keep us posted, mega handy! Xx
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