7 month old on potty – am I mad?

[SAHMof1]

DS is 7 months old, and struggles to poo in his nappy (he produces so much that it really has no-where to go, and I don?t think he can get it all out) so I?ve been lying him down with no nappy on when he wanted to poo, but he didn?t like that either, so I was holding him in a squat position, and he found that easier. So I brought him a potty. He happily sits on it (supported) to poo.

Local mums, HV and MIL have all but told me off for trying to potty-train him too young. I?m not trying to train him, I just want to help him when he strains. Is that so wrong? It works for us - so I?m going to carry on doing it. DH supports me and I think it makes sense. Please comment and stop me going mad!

If it helps him to go, then you're not mad - but be prepared for things to change. My parents' generation used to potty train at 9 months, but it was actually 'parent training' as they grew to learn the signs that a poo/wee was imminent!

have a look at this website

try googling attachment parenting and elimination control x

my mum swears blind that all four of us were potty-trained by 1 year. never mind bumbos, we all used to sit on our potties almost constantly, so i think that was her technique...
can't imagine being able to do it with dd (nearly one) but i do notice a change in her immediately prior to filling her nappy, so i think that's what my mum looked out for before plonking us on the potty. isn't it called Elimination Communication these days?

SAHMof1 - if it works for your ds then you're doing the right thing! Well done for solving the problem! Ignore negetive comments - all mothers get critised for something or other - when really we're only trying to do our best for our children!

I know a few babies potty trained by elimination communication and it works very well for some families.

It doesn't sound as though you are potty training him to me, just that you are trying to solve an issue for him and if you've found a solution that works then well done you! The only thing that I would say is that just because he'll be very familiar with a potty later on (ie. when his peers will start to be potty trained, probably in about 2 years time!) then it won't necessarily follow that he'll potty-train in nano-seconds because of this early familiarity, IYSWIM, BUT ... as long as it works both of you then go for it and don't worry what other people say/think.

sorry... communication,not control !!!

Thanks all ? not sure I could go for elimination communication with weeing too ? but the wearing nappies (we do use real nappies) without a wrap sounds like a good idea ? only it?s rather cold to not wear trousers! Any suggestions?

That suggestion was on lulumama's link BTW!

I put mine on the potty (padded toilet seat actually) since about 4 months old - they always wee or poo when I do so, so whenever I do a nappy change I put them on and they go. Saves me a nappy and familiarises them with toilet protocol. The baby who is now 13 months old now says "poo" when she needs a poo and I stick her on the loo and she does her business and I never have to have stinky poo nappies around the house - hurrah! DD1 was potty trained by 18 months - she wasn't having any wet nappies so I just put her in pants and she was fine (at nursery 2 days a week, so wasn't me hovering over a potty all day, I promise).

Ignore health visitors etc - we are obsessed by toileting our children (I blame Freud!) but in other times and cultures all babies were trained from an early age.

If you want advice - ask someone over 80 and they will probably be able to tell you what you need to know.

ooooh, mp, is that right? you know, i'm seriously considering putting a potty on DD's christmas list. (good old santa, what a marvellous gift)

hi there,

i started putting baby on the potty at around 6 and a half months - as soon as she could sit up unaided and she is much happier (she used to hate nappy changes!!). I just used to put her on after every meal/snack with no fuss or worry if nappy is used but a big kiss if we catch something in the potty.

About four weeks ago, we started going to sing and sign and learned the sign for potty (fist with finger pointing downwards and then circling). Since starting that I used the sign each time I took her to the potty.

Now baby is 9 months and when she needs to go she throws the potty sign (woohoo!). I knew it really meant something to her when she started doing it at other times and not just after meals and not just when asked. She's really got the hang of it now and it's weeks since I changed a pooey nappy . Pees are a bit harder for her to hold on to but she does make the sign for them and we get her to the potty in time to catch at least half of them.

My mum suggested I try early with my baby. She also suggested having a 'cute, easy to say' word for the potty so whenever we ask baby if she needs to go, we say 'potpot' and throw the sign at her. So far not speaking but I'm sure it will come.

Anyway, it's good to hear I'm not the only one. Has anyone seen anywhere they sell knickers for little ones? All the pull-ups I've seen start from around 18 months. I'd prefer a washable version anyway . . . I'd like to start her wearing them in a month or so, round the house anyway.

So glad some of you have had success with early potty training - it drives me mad to see children over 2 and a half still in nappies. Especially the expensive environmentally unfriendly ones!!

The bladder/bowel nerve endings mature in all normal babies between 12 - 18 months so there is no reason why a child over 2 shouldn't be well on their way to being potty trained.

So glad I found this thread! and I apologise for the hijack but can someone guide me on how to potty train my dd, she is 2 now, I had wanted to start earlier due to her severe nappy rash which she still suffers from but on the advice of hvs etc etc I was told to wait until at least 2.5 even better (hv suggestion) to wait until 3. I have introduced her to the potty (dd meet potty, potty meet dd ) but she is scared of it, I leave her nappy off for quite big chunks of the day when we are at home and when she lets me know she needs the loo is ask her to go on the potty but she gets quite upset and screams for her nappy. Can someone point me in the right direction? Sorry again for the hijack

lurkylou, why does it drive you mad to see children over 2.5 in nappies? Sometimes children are not potty trained as easily as their parents might like. Ds1 was 3.5 by the time he got the hang of the wee's and almost 4 by the time he managed the poos. I would have loved for him to have been clean and dry by 2.5 but it didn't work out despite my best efforts which took well over a year. Because of this palaver I left ds2 till he was 3, just couldn't face the whole thing again so soon and he was clean and dry within a couple of weeks. Ds3 is almost 2 and I really don't think he will be ready any time soon, he hasn't got the vocabulary to tell me what's happening in the nappy department for a start. He is in cloth nappies though if that makes things better.

of course all babies are different and i have heard boys take longer to get the hang of the potty than girls but there does seem a lot of bad propaganda out there about early pottying. It seems logical that the earlier you get your child used to the proper way of going, the earlier they are going to not like going in their nappy (i use cloth ones) and will prefer the potty.

I don't know if the methods i use to make my 9 month baby happy on the potty (and help her remember to sit there long enough!) will work on a two year old, but you could give it a go...

Firstly, i never worry at her if she does go in her nappy, i know she doesn't like doing it and there's no way i would want to make her feel guilty. Same about accidental pees on the floor around bath time. I just say 'oh, well. doesn't go there! should go in the potpot!' and i make the potty sign. All in a cheerful manner though (i could have been on playschool me).

Secondly, while she's on the potty, we have mummy and baby time (or daddy and baby time if daddy takes her). This means that all the time she's one there we sing songs ('happy and you know it' is a good one), play clapping games, play peekaboo with a muslin (i put it over my head and go 'where's mummy?' and she pulls it off and there i am, time after time, it's amazing). Basically, loads of games which involve her hands (to stop her being a bit too interested in what's happening down there). Then she just gets up when she's finished and we have a quick look. If there's a result I say 'well done' and she gets a big kiss and if there's nothing in there I just say 'oh well' and that's that. We shut the lid and I get her dressed again.

*very good thing having a potty with a lid I'd say.

The other thing it's important to remember is that you have to be consistent. If she asks for the potty you /have/ to take her. Baby asked four times during one meal and there was something in the potty 3 of the 4 times and the other time she just had wind. It was unusual though to go quite that often.

At first I just pottied at home and nappied out and about but now that she knows how to ask for the potty I've bought one of those potettes and we're going to try our luck with that out and about.

I am also interested in potty training at the moment, dd is 15mths. just googled to get some info and found this quiz... is your child ready?

look at this

Thought it would be a load of rubbish but has actually made me think about dd and her toilet/nappy behaviour .... and even though there outcome was that she's not ready as she basically doesn't understand when she is doing a poo, I am still going to start sitting her on it to see if she shows an interest.

After reading this thread I am actually wishing I had started sooner! Had better go and buy a potty tomorrow!!

My 10month old baby girl has taken a great dislike to having her nappy changed. She screams blue murder when ever I lie her on her changing mat and tries to roll off and crawl away. If I put her back on the mat she screams the house dowm. It is becoming quite stressful particularly when she has had a poo. Has anyone encounterd this problem and is there anything i can do to relieve the stress felt by all? I have just read about some mums potty training as early as 6months! Could it be that she is ready?

we have held ds over tiolet seat for wees.its great,saves on nappies!if hes happy siting on pot why not try wees too?my secret is not to tell anyone who doesnt need to know then they cant complain!also i think potty 'training' is something people do much older now than ever before but mostly because of commitments families have outside the home.