Day 1 Nerves

[bumbums]

Its the first day of potty training my 2.10yr DS. I'm a bag of nerves! He seems keen to do this so hopefully it will work. When he got up this morning I took his nappy off and he sat on potty. He's sort of eager to please and wanted to do a poo, but it didn't come and he would have happily sat there for ages. I convinced him he could come down stairs and play. He got back on the potty half an hour later cos he thought the poo was coming. I was elated by this cos I was out of the room when he went back on.

This is a child who does between 3 and 8 poos a day. So the potty training is as much for me as for him as I'm more than a little tired of spending my days wiping his and his sisters bottoms!

So hope this works.

Good luck, take it easy - he'll get there when he is ready, it's not worth stressing over,

mind you I am amazed at how many poos he does - mine usually manages one a day, and he is still largely breastfed! What does he eat?!

Hi Bumbums - yesterday was our first day too. Hope it went ok with you. Yesterday we had 7 accidents (no poos); today we had one, and she did a poo in the potty too. Trying not to get too upbeat about tomorrow!

Good morning pumperspumkin Day 3 then! Still holding my breath! We had just one accident yesterday and that was at the park. Think it was too early to have left the house.

Don't know how much to be prompting him today. He is going on by himself as well. We'd been giving him a Malteser every time he did anything on potty. But he started pushing out little wees every 5 mins just to get a choccy!! He's not dumb.

So drew up a sticker chart and now he has to get five stickers before he gets a malteser.

Just anxious about leaving the room. And going out will be a worry. What are your plans for venturing out?

We went out this morning to the doctor (she had grommets last week and I was concerned about some oozing - all fine). Couldn't believe it - she did a big wee at 7am when she got up in the potty, then nothing until 11.25 - when she wee'd all over the doctor's floor. That will teach them to keep us waiting for half an hour - we'd have been home again. I'd taken the potty with me too and felt like I had a neon light flashing above the buggy - "Warning - ticking timebomb". Still, it wasn't so bad as had clean clothes with me and feel quite triumphant having ventured out for the first time. Like you we're trying now to just remind her where the potty is and what she needs to do if she needs it rather than frogmarching her over there too much. Now nothing else and she's upstairs having a nap and then this afternoon I'm taking her brother for his 8 month check so the grandparents are in a charge...

Hi PP, What a mixed bag for day 4. Started the day with a big poo. Then not long after pants and trousers on (trousers for first time) he wet him self. Then 2 friends arrived with kids to play. He wet again! Then had two wees on potty unprompted. After lunch, another accident. Then didn't want pants on. I left him a few minutes then he wanted pants on. When I grabbed him and sat on my knee to put pants on discovered poo in his bottom. Now smeared on my jeans. Fxxking marvelous! Then remained bare bottomed friend didn't leave till 3.30pm. So DS exhausted. Cried relentlessly while I battled to make a white sauce and weed all over kitchen floor. Making me mad. Then ran in to living room and weed standing up into potty!!

So ups and downs and still not been out. Friends advising pull-ups for car. What do you think?

Hi BB,

What a day you had. Hope today is going better!

I have been lucky - yesterday was DD's first day at nursery since Operation Pants began. (It was so lovely to hand her over and realise someone else had to be hyper-vigilant for the day.) Anyway, she did a big wee on the potty at 7.15 when I got her up, then nothing until I got a call at about 2.30 from nursery saying they were a bit worried as she hadn't done a wee since she'd been there but she had done a poo in her pants (incredibly, without any wee leaking out). I spent the afternoon worrying about her, but by the time I arrived at 4.30 she'd done three wees and a poo in the toilet, and then another wee in the potty at home before her bath.

I'm umming and erring about the car. We are off to the grandparents for Easter and it's just over an hour/hour and a half depending on traffic. I think I am just going to stick a caremat on the seat and be prepared to pull over, or I may put her in a pair of cloth training pants. Either way it will be interesting - she has proved yesterday that she can certainly hold her wee for a LONG time if she wants to, so we'll see what happens.

Off to the shops this afternoon and umming and erring about what if any other equipment we need. Do you have a travel potty, or a child seat for the toilet yet?

Hi PP, this process is going to take longer than I'd hoped. Day 5 and more success with poo than wee. Challenging times.

I had underestimated the stress DS was feeling about it. After yesterdays melt down he was unsettled in the night, crying out and talking in his sleep in an unhappy way. He does this when he's starting something new or if he's just had alot of info to proccess in one day. Felt guilty about getting cross with him yesterday .

I've got caremats to put on his car seat and buggy. Haven't bought a travel potty yet. Will see how we get on carrying normal potty around. I have a trainer seat to go on toilet. Will wait for DS to show interest in that I think.

Have serious cabin fever. Would have gone for walk to day but its been blowing a hooly all flamin day. If its dry when DD wakes up from nap will walk out. Must leave house!Aaagh!

Hope you get out today, it's a beautiful day here although not super-warm but so much better than yesterday. Sorry to hear he's getting stressed about it and hope today goes better.

Yesterday we had no wee accidents, but she did a poo in her pants again. This morning I was changing DS' nappy and she said "DS poo nappy - DD poo pants" in a proud kind of way. I'm not sure the message is quite sinking in... fingers crossed today's poo ends up in the right place.

Hi, are you still continuing PT?
We had a poo on the floor today but lots of wees in the potty.
DS so SO excited and takes the potty to the toilet, tips the contents in and flushes!
Hoping to take him out to the park tomorrow, don't know what to do in case of emergency: whether to just have him in loose shorts and let him learn about weeing in the bushes, or have him use a potty in the park.

Hi, been away over easter. Don't seem to have made any progress with the potty training. We were busy while away, so had him go on potty before we went out and when we got back in so managed to avoid most accidents. But it was like because he had little time to decide he wanted the potty himself when we were in for a good amount of time he forgot to go on the potty at all.

Really hoping that now we're home we can make some progress.

Been carting the potty with us every where. But not actually used it out and about. He's either held it the whole time or had an accident. Will definately go for weeing in the bushes at park. But as yet still waiting for him to reliably tell me that he needs to go.

Its a hard slog. Will evaluate the situation in a couple of weeks. Can't imagine stopping pt but if it gets no better I think I'll have to.

Hi both,

We've been away for Easter too. Different from your experience BB - she's fine when she's in the house or at nursery and decides for herself when she wants to go and goes and does it, but we cannot get her to sit and perform before we go out for example. We had a run of 3 days with no accidents at all, then when we went out egg-rolling with the inlaws and her little cousin she wouldn't go before we left and then of course had an accident whilst out. And then yesterday she recognised she needed a poo, did it on the potty, but then when I was taking her to wash her hands a bit more caught her by surprise which really upset her and I got her on the potty for the rest of it to come out but she was looking at her soiled pants and crying something like "should be potty". Poor little thing - she sets high standards for herself. Her nappy has been dry every night since we started this except one morning when there was the tiniest amount in there (we'd been a bit later than usual getting up) and she was very very upset by it.

Yesterday we went out to the park and we knew she probably needed a wee (although she held it until we got home) - anyway, I showed her how to go in the bushes (that sounds wrong - ie I pulled her pants down and encouraged her to try, not that I actually demonstrated!) and the rest of the way home she kept stopping to try. She definitely wanted to go out and do the poo mentioned above in the garden.

Hi, day one here. DD is 2.2 and can tell us when she needs to go but so far we've had 4 accidents and no successes. Is the first day meant to be so hard?

We're also giving her a malteser every time she sits on the potty at the moment as she's not too keen on it. Seems quite proud of herself when she does but keeps putting the malteser in the potty when she gets it. That will be interesting when theres actually something in there .

Hollyoaks Hi, is she loving getting lots of chocolate or not too bothered? I can't imagine my DS doing that. He just stuffs the treat in his gob as fast as he can! Are you giving the malteser just for sitting on potty or for producing something in it.

I feel like my DS wouldn't bother with the potty if it weren't for the choccies. Not sure what to do about it really. Give it another week with the choc or stop now. He's not really motivated by stickers and not able to remember about rewards of a different nature.

Bumbums - she's loving the chocolate! At the moment she's being rewarded just for sitting on it as she seems quite frightened of it after she had a poo on it a few weeks back. I think the treats are working and she will now sit on it willingly, but so far we have had 4 accidents and one successful poo.

I've also tried stickers but she just pulls them off the chart or the potty, not much interest in that. Not sure if she will be able to equate a treat that's not given immediately either, like one for a day without accidents etc...

I was also wondering what you do at night, my dm keeps recommending that we cut the nappy completely day and night but we were thinking one for bed would be ok for now.

Hi Hollyoaks,
I've got the Gina Ford potty training book and also been talking on here and to friends alot about pt and night training seems to come long after day training is achieved. I think when you've had 2-3 weeks of dry nappy in the morning then you can think about ditching it. Apparently boys can wet the bed up to the age of 8!
Can't get the smell of poo of my hands today. Even the soap smells like poo.

Hi
Just had a read through your thread. Am on day 10 here with DS who is 3 and 3wks.
For about a year we have been trying to get him to use the potty (just suggestions,not making him or anything!) and it has always been met with a 'No'.
Last saturday he said yes, so we decided to go ahead. He's doing really well now and although a couple of accidents, it does seem to be getting a lot easier.
Chocolate buttons are our maltesers!
One tip for the car that I got from a friend - i have a couple of nappies in the seat of his car seat, so if he does have an accident, the nappies may well soak it up before it gets to the car seat.
Good luck all! The joys of parenting!

Mentalpup

Bumbums - thanks for the advice on night training, thats what we have been doing and shes been in nappies for the last two nights. Not dry yet.

After two days we've managed two poos on the potty but she never quite makes it for a wee. I know she knows its coming as she starts to hold herself and we put her on the potty everytime she says weewee but can't seem to catch it.

Woke up this morning after a successful poo just before bathtime last night thinking she would be looking forward to trying now but she seemed upset when I sat her on it. Wonder if shes just not ready? I will persevere till the weekend when dh is at home and see how we get on. Only two full days is still pretty early isn't it.

that's still quite early for a boy

I've just made the decision to switch to pull up nappies instead of pants.
DS is finding the pt too stressful and is really only going on potty for sweets.
Going for a more natural and gradual approach now. Its been two weeks and I don't think his heart is really in it.
I thought because he's clever and technically he should have no difficulty with pt, that he would just catch on and run with the concept. Turns out he's not emotionally ready for it.
Going to leave[ potty in living room and encourage him to use it but hoping that he will feel less pressure to stay clean and dry with the nappy pants on.
We'll see.
Feels like a bit of a failure on my part to do this. But as people assure me. I have to do what's right for him.

You've given it a good go Bumbums so don't feel a failure. If he's getting upset then keeping going will just make it worse and worse and it'll end up taking longer with him associating the potty with feeling bad. I'm hardly an expert but to be honest in your shoes I think I'd just go back to the beginning, not mention it at all for now and try again in a month or two, so there's a complete break between all of the upset and then when you reintroduce it?

Yeah I think I'll wait till August and if he's not shown an interest before then I'll try again then. Mum will think I've given up too easily. He's happily weed and pooed in pull ups all afternoon and not wanted the potty once. Must put it down to a learning experience. Hope all continues to go well for everyone else.