Pee Pee in the Potty

Friends of ours visited two weeks ago with their adorable 19 month old son, "Epperson" (no, this is not his real name but it is what Abby says) What was really great is that this part of our extended "family" stayed with us and the kids played together pretty well. Of course we are both teaching the kids sharing and while that can be a challenge at this age, all in all, it was a hit. I loved being able to bounce ideas off of them to get differing parenting tips. What I wasn't prepared for was Em's potty seat and how he actually used it. (Just don't ask about the Too Jays experience) I have been reading all the potty books and toilet training tips for kids and constantly wondering if I should start toilet training Ms. Abigail.

One of the major things I have read is that if your child asks you to change them or appears uncomfortable with being wet, then they are ready for the toilet. While I can tell when Abby is stopping to go, I will ask her "Do you have a poopy?" She will just look up and say "No!" and go about playing. Of course I go over to her, confirm my suspicions, and say let's get a clean diaper, she doesn't get the correlation yet. But I figured maybe it was time to start looking into at least getting her to understand what a potty is.

I do have one slight thing working against me. The room that she is currently in at day care (18-24 month old room) does not have a bathroom in it. I feel like I am fighting a battle uphill with only working on toilet training at home for the 2 hours she is home before bed. If the don't reinforce it at day care (they will in the 2 year old room) then are my efforts futile?

I decided to at least get a potty seat so she could see what it was and get used to sitting on it. That would be my first battle. One thing I was adamant about was not having a separate potty seat on the floor. Why get used to something on the floor then have get used to the big toilet. Okay, so my real issue is that I am not cleaning out the potty. I clean enough of that stuff that I don't need a container to clean out too. If you have a little potty, then more power to you. So I got a sit in potty seat and put it in the toilet that is in Abby's bathroom. Since bath time is in that bathroom, I figured it wouldn't be that foreign for her to warm up to the toilet...that just doesn't sound right.

So the other night I put the seat in the toilet and brought her over to meet it. "Abby, Potty...Potty Abby". I asked her if she wanted to sit on it but she wasn't too sure. I figured, no problem, we can work up to it. I did show her the mechanics and even how it flushes. Next night I tried again and this time with luck. I figured if I give her something to do like read a book or brush her teeth, she won't be scared of it. So I sat her down after a few protests and gave her the toothbrush. Of course she started to brush her teeth and then decided to brush everywhere else. Thankfully, I stopped her in time before the brush actually touched anything so don't get grossed out.

Last night I thought we actually had a revelation. I asked her if she wanted to go to the Potty and she said "Pee Pee in the Potty!" Yes! Pee Pee in the potty is exactly what you do. Since it was after dinner, I figured maybe she drank a lot and maybe had to go. Of course we sat on the potty for at least 5 minutes and nothing. I even turned on the bath water to see if that may help move things along...nothing. So finally I gave up and put her in the bathtub for her nightly bath. We played, we sang, and even put the toys away while the water drained. Then Abby stood up in the bathtub waiting for me to dry her off...and peed in the tub.

Guess we will have to try again tonight!