I am getting ready to start potty training Little Man. Most people look at me like I’m nuts, because he is only 16 months old. Well, I actually planned on doing it over the summer, but it was not the right time. I have been doing so much research into this, even though I was there to help potty train my brother who is 13 years younger than me. I am of the mindset that it doesn’t hurt to get as much information as possible; I also want to see what people recommend doing out there.

Most of the literature I have found says there is no way for a child under the age of 2 to be potty trained, but there are also those (a small subset, and I know a few of them) who say it is not only possible, but you can start from birth (it’s called elimination communication). We are late to the e.c. game, so potty training it is. Most parents wait until their child is 2 and then use stickers, candy, toys, prizes, etc. to get their kid to use the toilet. I’m not a fan of rewarding the kid for doing something he should be doing anyway, so that is not the route I plan to go. Will we celebrate the times he goes on the potty? Absolutely! Will this continue? Nope. It will be a dance celebration and fist bumps (Little Man LOVES fist bumps, and will turn your hand into a fist if you try to give him a high five instead).

What is my plan? Well, this latest case of diapers are pull up diapers from Huggies (Little Movers Diaper Pants). We have been using these for two weeks now, and Little Man is getting used to having them pulled up and over his booty, instead of regular diapers. I wanted him to know that big kids use pull up undies, and with these diapers, I put his legs in them while he is lying down, and then stand him up to pull them up and over his booty. He always giggles when I do so, and is happy to be standing up. He no longer does his gator roll when I’m putting his diaper on (it was getting quite difficult to get a diaper on him), and knows it will be nice and quick. I like these diaper pants because they are one piece, but they still open up like a regular diaper for changing time (quite helpful for the poopie diapers!).

We’ve also got a potty for him. It’s been in the bedroom, and he will sit on it, stand in it, etc. I always tell him it’s his potty, and where he will go peeps and poops soon. He usually follows me into the bathroom, so I tell him that Mummy is going potty; he likes to flush the toilet once I’m done. He followed my MIL into her bathroom the other day and she was mortified! Poor thing, she did not know what to do and said she felt super uncomfortable with him in there. Well, that’s how kids learn – they watch what the grown-ups do, and will then try to imitate it. I did sit Little Man on the toilet once, when he looked like he was about to poop. He did not like it, and cried then tooted. It was a start, and we were not worried at all about it. Repeat exposure will get him used to it all.

I’m going to start this weekend, spending the mornings in his training pants. I picked up some training pants from Nicki’s Diapers this summer; they are all cotton with snaps for and easy off (note, these are not the exact ones I purchased; those ones were discontinued for the ones I’ve linked to here). I also got a 3-pack of toddler undies from Walmart when I found them on clearance. The Walmart ones are much thinner than the training pants, but will do well to let Little Man know he needs to be changed if/when he peeps or poops in them.

My goal is to do the 3-day method of potty training: Keep Little Man nakey all day, putting him on his potty every hour. If he starts to pee or poo, he will get put on the potty. From my experience, and what I’ve read, it does not take long for little ones to realize that they need to get to the potty. When I go potty, I will bring him with me, and sit him on his potty as well. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of potty training little boys, they learn to go potty sitting down first. Once they are bigger, they can be taught to go standing up. I’m going to pick up a new laundry basket and some cheap towels (to use for clean up) before we start. The basement here has wood floors, so there is no concern about screwing up any carpeting. I would like to get a second potty, to keep in the bathroom upstairs, but we shall see. The one I currently have is a hand-me-down from my aunt’s great-granddaughter, and since I didn’t have to buy it, I really don’t want to get another one. If anything, I may just get the potty seat that rests on top of the toilet seat. When I get to that decision, I will let y’all know what we do.

Wish us luck as we try the training pants this weekend!!!!