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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Original poster

Started potty training today - anyone else want to give / get a bit of moral support?

469 replies

Biscuitsandtea · 15/10/2011 18:24

Hi, DS is 3 and we've started potty training him today. We were hoping to wait until he woke up one morning and said 'I'm done with nappies thanks very much Mummy - let's go wild with the pants', but this hasn't happened so we thought we'd just try him with nothing on at first and then pants and see how it goes.

Just wondered if anyone else was starting too and wanted to go through it together?

We've done various bits of nappy free time for months with varying amounts of success, but only ever an hour or two here and there with no consistency to see how he was doing and whether we thought he knew when he was weeing or pooing. It's only recently that I've thought that he actually does know hence deciding to give it a go today.

We had a quiet weekend so thought 'no time like the present!'

Now a couple of times in the week we'd had no nappy on and a fair bit of success in the potty. Wednesday = lots of mopping up wees but a few 'hits' at the end of the afternoon. Thursday was better with no accidents. but this was still doing everything bare bum!

Today we were doing pretty well this morning. Everything going in the potty and no accidents, so after lunch we thought we'd try adding pants into the equation. previously pants = accidents (I wonder if he would forget it wasn't a nappy?) so we never persevered with them, but we have this afternoon. Certainly more accidents this afternoon, which is I think a mixture of being tired and the 'pant effect' and we had a very rough few hours between say 3 and 5. Then we've had a few more wees on the potty and going a bit better this evening.

We're planning more of the same tomorrow but we have a birthday party to go to in the afternoon and I'm in a bit of a predicament about that in as much as I don't want to go back to nappies and confuse / demoralise him, but equally don't want loads of accidents at my friend's DDs party so as yet we're undecided. I think at the moment we'll be erring on the side of a nappy as it's just not fair if he has an accident in the middle of the party?

Anyway, anyone who wants to join me for the ride, please come aboard :-)

I'll have Wine, Brew and Biscuit to help the journey go along!

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Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 09:07

Morning everyone. Well, DS has gone off to nursery armed with a lot of pants, socks and trousers! As yet this morning we have had no potty / toilet activity but no accidents either. So I'm hoping he can turn out a few good wees while he's at nursery!

When I dropped him off though he thought he might have wanted a wee so went off to the toilet and managed to go to the toilet, take down pants and trousers and reapply them when he hadn't had a wee, so it was like a dry run I guess! At least I know that (hopefully) when he does want a wee he knows what to do. I think he is a little nervous about it to be honest and keeps going to try for a wee and nothing happening, But I think he is just a bit anxious about being somewhere different and is erring on the side of caution, which is fine.

I'm going to buy a travel potty today, hopefully something like this that also turns into a travel toilet seat thing too. Even if we never use it I'd feel better having it for emergencies I think. On Thursday we are going to a local fair thing with my in-Laws and there will be no loos there, but since he'll be with me and them all the time I'd be reluctant to go back to pants if he is still doing OK, so I think I'd rather find a little corner somewhere and deal with it that way.

Hope everyone else is doing OK too :)

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Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 10:59

Well we had a wee in pull up this morning but since I have put pants on him so far no accidents but he has fallen asleep so this will b a true tester let's see if he rents during his nap which he don't normally but it's the first time with pants so fingers crossed, I have decided that he will be in pants during the day & pull up at nights if he keeps them on Smile but I have 2 go & buy more pants as he has turned fussy & only wear spiderman ones or Thomas the tank anyone know where we can get them from keep you all informed

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 11:33

We got Thomas ones from Sainsburys an I'm sure mothercare would sell them too?

Good luck with the nap Smile

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Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 11:40

Not sure if I've seen spiderman ones anywhere?

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Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 11:49

Mothercare sell spiderman pants too, but on phone so can't link to them - soz

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Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 11:49

Well he has 4 spiderman pants but that's not enough even though I have got him dinosaur & alien pants plus fire engines & plain pants but he won't wear them but I think if I can't get any than he has to wear the ones I have got specially as he has about 25 pairs Smile so far he has not wet yet but he is asleep still

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 12:27

Oooh good effort so far! Grin

Where are the dino pants from? DS loves dinosaurs. Mind you he also has 20+ pairs! Although most of them are 2-3 and might be starting to get a little snug (I've been prepared for ages in case he wanted to) so some roomier ones wouldn't go amiss Smile

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Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 12:34

I got them from sainsburys he woke up & no accident but has now gone out with daddy for the first time in pants so I cant wait to see how he got on but my dh didn't want to take a spare pant so fingers cross he stays dry or goes to the toilet SmileConfused

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 12:38

Ooh your DH is brave! Hope it goes well.

Just phoned the nursery to see how he was doing. 2 wee's in the toilet but 2 poo accidents Confused. One of yesterday's accidents was a poo (and the other was right in front of the potty when he wasn't quick enough) so am wondering if poo is becoming an issue.... Hmm

Not sure if there is something I can do to help with the poo situation - any suggestions?

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Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 14:38

Well all went well out in the car until he got back but couldn't get to the toilet quick enough & than dh didn't get his pants down quick enough Angry so now he is bare bum & no accidents so far.
As for the poo situation it might have something to do with his food but than again they do say poo takes a bit longer try & look for signs e.g pulling faces, going quiet or just put him on the potty after every meal, or if he has an accident put the poo in the potty & explain this is where u do poo's I done that will mine & he is beginning to learn when he needs a poo & we get him to the potty just in time I hope this helps Smile

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 14:54

I think he does know when he wants to poo, I think he's just not wanting to do it in the potty. Still, we'll look at it, over the next few days....

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Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 15:11

Some children are scared going to poo in a potty see how it goes if u r still worried than see hv she might be able to give u some advice

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 15:12

Oh that's a good idea - I'd never even thought of the HV - I think I'd forgotten she existed!

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Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 15:41

So did u get the travel potty? U must tell me what they are like I was thinking about getting one but I heard good & bad things about them so changed my mind

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 15:43

I have indeed got it, not tried it yet but it looks like a clever idea, and changes into a toilet seat thing too which might be useful as DS isn't very good on the toilet (although he's big for his age so not sure how older kids manage it?

My only concern (which is a concern with all potties) is that his bits might not fit in it - we had to buy a Babybjorn potty to get one big enough round for him to just be able to sit down and everything go in, a lot of them are a bit small in terms of the bottom hole (not helped by the fact that DS is just turned 3 and big for his age!)

Anyway, will let you know.....

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Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 15:44

Incidentally, what bad things did you hear about them? Forewarned is forearmed as they say!

I know it might be something we won't use that much, but I thought I'd rather be over prepared than under!

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Kingsroadie · 17/10/2011 16:48

am in the same boat ladies! Well, slightly different here in that I hadn't intended to potty train, have been sitting her on the potty etc but I thought as I was staying in on Sunday I may as well try her without a nappy and see how it goes. No rush as she is only 22 months but thought I'd have a go. Instead of typing out the whole business again here is a link to the thread I started this afternoon. PT accidents thread

Shaz2011 · 17/10/2011 20:08

I heard that they wasn't stable and the bags cost a bit & the fact that some Children's bits cant fit into it

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 20:13

Hi Kingsroady - will read your other thread when I get to sit down (ie when I've got tea cooking!)

Will also update you in our party outing....

Travel potty wise - it looks stable enough if you click the legs in properly, although we haven't road tested it yet. And I imagine if you're using it somewhere uneven, like at the park or similar it might wobble? The bags are expensive - no contest there! But they do have an absorbent bit in the bottom to soak up wee's which I guess is a bit clever? You could perhaps use another bag though and put some kitchen towel or something folded up in the bottom?

Space wise for his bits, again, yet to test it. Might get him to sit on it tomorrow.

Will post more later xx

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Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 20:13

Sorry, I meant Kingsroadie Blush

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Kingsroadie · 17/10/2011 20:33

Thanks Biscuits! We had a really good afternoon actually. I decided not to prompt her or ask her if she needed a wee etc in a bid to discover if she is actually ready, expecting a low success rate! She was naked from the waist down. BUT she did 7 wees (and a poo in three lots, each flushed - she enjoys that) and all but one wee were in the potty. She just went over and sat on it and did what she needed too without me saying a word. So I was quite impressed and am starting to think in fact she is ready (whereas this morning I wasn't so sure anymore).

The one wee she did in her pants was just that - she was wearing pants and trousers as we had just got back from the post office. And was playing getting in and out of her buggy so was distracted. She doesn't seem to get yet that pants don't equal nappy. But I'll let her off as she has rarely worn them without a nappy and we are only on her second day! Grin And she told me as soon as she did it. Does she sound ready?!

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 22:01

Kings (if I may call you that?), I think your dd sounds ready. Doing it unprompted sounds great. It does just take a bit of perseverance I think!

Although I read your other thread and I know what you mean about waiting for them to just 'decide'. It certainly sounds easier! We were kind of waiting for ds to 'decide' but at 3 he still hadn't so we thought we'd give him a push in the right direction Smile. Your dd is a lot younger though and even at 3 ds didn't tell us when he'd done a wee/ poo very much, so your dd seems quite close / more advanced. Maybe she would get there on her own? As you said though, you never know how it would turn out! For all we know, ds could have been going to decide next week and I'd have saved myself a lot of mopping up!!

I think a nice relaxed approach and just see how it goes. And if it doesn't last, then she's still young so plenty of time. I have a friend though who's ds decided at 2 that he was ready and they haven't looked back, so it's not necessarily too early now!

So, we went off to our party and ds decided he wanted pants - eeek! Pants, at soft play, and pregnant mummy who can't follow him round to see if he needs a wee, so this was a bit of a leap of faith! Nursery had gone ok, no wee accidents at all but 3 out of 3 poo accidents. So we went to the party on the understanding that he would come and tell me if he needed a wee or poo. And he did! Twice! Smile. No poo activity (accidental or otherwise). But he tried for a wee before both 30-35 min car journeys (nothing either time but no accidents in the car either). And when we got home he got out of the car and said 'I need a weeeeeee' but managed to hold it until we got in and got sorted etc.

So all in all, not a bad day I think.

Poo wise, I'm not quite sure whether it is an 'issue' or just that he can't tell they're coming as quickly? From what DH said about yesterday's poo accident, he just didn't know in time. So I'm hoping we can keep working on it over the next few days. Handily enough, just as we were leaving the party, my friend's ds came over and announced he'd just done 'a huge poo on the toilet' so I showed lots of enthusiasm and made a big deal of it, and ds seems to have taken it on board. I'm hoping this might help inspire him tomorrow.....

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Kingsroadie · 17/10/2011 22:10

Biscuits - be my guest Grin

Thank you - I think after this afternoon she might be ready. I know some people's kids wake up one morning, say no nappies and that is that, but of course I have no way of knowing if she would do that anyway. Sooooo, seems a bit like carpe diem and as she is getting a fairly good % success rate and this afternoon with no prompting at all I think we will give it a shot, but trying to keep everything in perspective. I think she can do it.

I might attempt pants tomorrow as she really doesn't get that pants don't = nappy. Having said that she has worn pants approximately 3 times in her life without nappies. So she just needs more practice hopefully!

Oh god - scary re soft play! How pregnant are you btw? Congrats! (we are thinking about number two after Christmas - would be good to get this done first!) But that sounds really positive - well done him! Am impressed at him holding it in as well until you got inside. See I don't think my daughter would really understand that yet...

We'll have more tales from tomorrow I am sure!

timetosmile · 17/10/2011 22:16

Just an oldie mum-of-three butting in here with some encouragement....
It can be a really intense period of parenting, and the DCs feel the pressure too, sometimes.
They (almost) all get there in the end, so stay mellow, an if it's a complete disaster, just admit defeat and try again in a month or so!
And good luck!

Original poster
Biscuitsandtea · 17/10/2011 22:29

Thanks timetosmile - words of encouragement always appreciated!

Kings DS was identical with the pants thing! I think he thought pants felt like a nappy and forgot. So we'd got the bare bum thing ok first, and then brought in pants Saturday afternoon. First 3-4 hours were hard! But he did start to get there by the end of the afternoon, and wee-wise we've only had one accident in 2 pant-wearing days (poos obv a different story....)

So you might find she goes back a bit with pants but she is doing so well with nothing, that she might sort it out this time?

Ha ha, look at me talking as if I have any idea, or I'm some old hand! Smile

I think the fact that DS is a bit older, does mean he's a bit better with the understanding, which must help with holding it as it least he kind of understands what has to happen before he can wee, so he's got some sort of timescale! Also a general understanding of there being a 'right' way to do things (if that makes sense?)

I'm so pleased everyone seems to be getting on so well at the moment - long may it continue eh?

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