Excited about...poo

Excited about…POO!!


Oh yea! I’m excited about some poo. When it is in the potty that is and not on the tiles around the pool!!

Lil Mister has done SO SO amazing this weekend. I would never believe that I’ve only been potty training for two weeks!

I got home late from Hubby’s work Friday but he had done very well at school and even came home from school in his underpants!! YAY…at least that is one battle down! It wasn't so bad because while Hubby was working I got some great photo's of the storm moving in!

Saturday he asked for his potty the moment he woke up! He sat on it and watched some cartoons while I debated whether I truly wanted to get out of bed! Next thing I hear is ‘Momma, poo poo!’ And sure enough he had done his business in the potty! I squealed with delight and immediately woke up Hubby. He obviously was not so impressed at being waked up before 7 am on a Saturday to be told about such things!

Afterwards we proceed outside. Coffee and some tea and another go in the potty! He’s getting very good about asking. This time he comes to me to tell me he will pee pee in potty and then runs (literally at sprint like speed for a 22 month old!) to the potty in the bathroom.

Now, Lil Mister has learnt a new trick. He will ‘uit gooi’ his own potty. He takes his inside part from the potty goes to the big toilet and throws in it. Then he flushes and is very proud of himself! At least he is helping out! He also is starting to get used to washing his hands EVERYTIME! This makes me a proud mommy!

The washing the hands is especially fun for him because I got this awesome gift at my baby shower! It is a automatic soap dispenser. Lil Mister loves that Mommy doesn’t have to give him soap anymore. He runs his hand under and out it comes!

After this we had to put a nappy on to go to town and Lil Mister was passed out before we got home!
We spent the rest of the afternoon being extremely lazy and swimming in the pool! It was GREAT!

We had plans for a braai with Mr & Mrs P that night and overall I would say the potty was successful there too! He had a couple of accidents outside but was very good about asking Papa to take him to ‘pee pee on grass’. He even did his business in the BIG BOY toilet that night!! (Imagine a cheesy grin from this Momma!)

Sunday we ended up staying home because Lil Mister had woke up just before midnight at the braai and only fell back asleep around 2am! Tired is an understatement! The screams evoked from him not getting his way and pure exhaustion Sunday morning could have woken George Washington from his grave! Eventually Hubby Dearest and I took a drive with Lil Mister to get him to nap.

BIG MISTAKE! Lil Mister took about an hour and half nap yesterday morning and nothing…I repeat NOTHING the rest of the day. At 7 pm last night he falls asleep between Papa and Oupa while talking to them!

Only one accident really yesterday and that was Mommy’s fault. He did ask to pee pee in potty and I was just too slow! I could tell he wasn’t impressed with me either!

I only had to change his nappy once in the night verses the normal two times! He’s going dry longer. We got two potty’s in this morning before school and made it to school with no accidents!

I know we have a long road ahead of us. But I feel that we deserve to pat ourselves on the backs! My goal is to have the potty training well ahead before Boetie (LJ) comes in the next 3 ½ weeks. I figure the six weeks I will be at home will give us a good amount of time to work out all the kinks and I will have a potty trained kid by the time he returns to school! (Cross your fingers!)


So what do I think has been the overall keys to success???

1) I didn’t read a bunch of books! I read maybe 2 or 3 articles on line but otherwise just dove in. Every child is different and what works for one doesn’t necessarily work for others! When I was pregnant I read EVERY piece of information I could and when things didn’t go the way the “experts” claimed I freaked. This particular extravaganza I have been much more relaxed.

2) Take away nappies. I cannot stress this enough. Explain to your little that they are a big boy/girl and that they don’t need nappies anymore! The only time Lil Mister is in a nappy right now is when he sleeps or if we will be in town for more than 20 minutes. If we are at friends or in the car he is in his underpants. In and out of nappies confuses their minds. Nappies are for DUDU time ONLY!

3) Praise, squeal, jump, clamp, sing, or whatever it takes to make sure your little knows how proud you are when they do use the potty! At first it was just us getting excited that he’d sit. Eventually they come around. Make sure they know they’ve done good!

4) Don’t punish when there are accidents! Don’t even let them know you’re frustrated! It makes it so much harder! They will make mistakes but they already feel bad themselves (they really do! Lil Mister says sorry each time!). Only praise…no punishment!

5) Do it in the warm weather where you can spend lots and lots of time outside. Take a potty outside too! They wee less in warm weather AND the mess is easier to clean up. When they’re playing is when they forget the most.

6) Ask them constantly. I’m talking every 15 minutes I’m asking Lil Mister if he wants to potty. Eventually he says yes. Leads for less accidents because I’m constantly putting it on his mind.

So yea…that is it. I’m a proud mommy today! Are any of you potty training? Have you potty trained? What’s your top tip?

Shana