Potty Training Part I: Preparation
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There are highs and lows of parenting; Things you look forward to and things you dread. Potty training was a big dread for me. As excited as I was to be done with diapers, I was more anxious about the whole process. The mess. The struggle. The fights. The POOP.
But we did it, and it went waaaaaaaay smoother than I expected. (To be fair, I had very low expectations.)
Every child is different, obviously, but I found it so helpful to consult with friends who had successfully completed potty training to see what did and didn’t work for them. So that’s what this two-part series of posts are. Hopefully you can find something to help you if you’re getting ready to embark your potty training journey … or if you’re already on the journey but your ship wrecked.
(After you read this post, don’t forget to check out Potty Training Part II: How We Did It and Q&A. I’ll link to it at the bottom, too.)
How We Decided it Was Time for Potty Training
To be honest, we weren’t sure Memphis was ready. He’s 2.5, and some experts say it gets tougher to potty train once they are age 3+. Also, diapers only go up to size 6, and his butt was getting a little big for them.
He didn’t show all the signs. He didn’t hide to poop in privacy. He didn’t show interest in the toilet. He certainly didn’t ask to use the potty. He also has a speech delay, so that made it more difficult to judge. He knows a lot more than he can say, which I have to remind myself all the time.
Here are some signs he did show to indicate he might be ready:
He could tell when he was wet/dirty. Sometimes he requested a diaper change, but if he was really into an activity he couldn’t be bothered to stop.
Sometimes he announced before he peed (in his diaper).
He’s 100% capable of following directions (when he chooses).
He often woke up dry in the morning or after nap.
We decided to go for it. We figured that worst case if he showed he clearly wasn’t ready after a few days, we’d pause and try again later.
How We Prepared for Potty Training
There are a few things we did to prepare before diving in blindly.
Researched
I read and followed many guidelines in the book Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki, which several moms recommended. It’s packed with wonderful information. The writing is… choppy. You can tell it's a book created out of blog posts. But it covers so many scenarios and questions. I honestly had no idea there could be enough potty training content to fill all those pages.
Gathered Supplies
The Little Potty
I was adomately against the little potty. I thought they were gross (they are). But now I think they’re necessary, and temporary. And honestly it’s much less gross when it’s your own kid. I never thought I’d be so excited about dealing with pee and poop, but the excitement of a successful potty outweighs the ick factor of emptying and cleaning the little potty. Also, I find it less gross than changing a poopy diaper, so that’s a win.
We chose this one. It’s very similar to the popular BABYBJORN one, which was sold out at the time. If you have a boy, you’ll want one like this with a pee guard. It’s not a miracle worker but it helps a little. And the book suggests going with a simple one. Nothing fancy. No characters on it. It’s not a toy, it’s a toilet.
Fancy Toilet Seat and Kids Squatty Potty
In addition to the little potty, we also got this toilet seat, which adapts for a kid or an adult. We’ve had this installed for a while. It’s pretty slick. The toddler seat has a magnet so it can be lifted up or pulled down. We’ve also had the kids Squatty Potty for a while because we snagged it on sale. It doubles as a step stool.
A couple of notes on the toilet seat if you’re interested:
Make sure you get the right shape. Our toilet seat is elongated. If yours is round, this one will fit.
Tighten the screws as tight as you can. We didn’t have ours tight enough at first and the seat shifted around every time you sat on it. We tightened it and it’s find now.
Juice
We’ve never purchased juice for home, it’s more of a special treat. But the Oh Crap book suggests giving your child juice in the first few days so they can get more practice in. It helped and Memphis enjoyed the special treat. He earned it for working so hard!
Big Boy/Girl Undies
In the book we follow, the author suggests starting out with a couple of naked days, then moving to pants/shorts but no underwear, then underwear. So we didn’t need these right away, but wanted to have them ready.
We chose designs we knew Memphis would love. He hates getting things dirty, so we knew he’d be more incentivized if he was trying not to pee on his beloved fire truck undies. Ideally we would have taken him shopping to pick his own but, you know, quarantine life.
Assorted little boy briefs on Amazon
Paw Patrol little boy briefs set on Amazon
Relaxation Tools for “Stage Fright”
Poop anxiety is a real issue for a lot of kids. I can’t blame them. I probably would struggle to use the restroom if someone was staring at me, especially if I was new to it all.
For Memphis, this wasn’t a problem. He pooped in the potty just fine from day one. But I prepared for it anyway. Especially since the Oh Crap book dedicated a whole chapter to the subject. I made him this DIY calming jar and purchased this fun bubble timer to help him relax. He may not need them to go No. 2, but they are helpful when I need him to chill out.
Flushable Wipes
I suppose you could use toilet paper, but … nah. Get wipes. You can’t flush baby wipes down the toilet, so we picked up flushable wipes. We picked ours up at Sam’s Club, but here are some similar ones on Amazon.
Items for Travel
We didn’t need to purchase anything for “on-the-go” because we’re quarantined. So we’re not going anywhere. However, I have a few items saved in case we need them later on when we can travel again.
This foldable potty cover for public restrooms
This car seat protector in case of road trip accidents
Prepared our Toddler
Potty Books
We started introducing potty-themed books during story time. The week before our potty training start date, we put these books on a nightly rotation. You don’t have to buy books … if you’re reading this post and the pandemic is behind us, check the library! Unfortunately our library is closed because of COVID-19 so that wasn’t an option for us. Here are the ones we picked:
Potty Superhero - here’s a link to the girl version
Potty Patrol (Memphis is obsessed)
A Heads-Up
In the days leading up to training, we talked to Memphis about it. Explained that we were saying bye-bye to diapers because he was going to learn to use the potty … that we would help him learn how and it was part of growing up and being a big boy. I also made sure to give him warning that he wouldn’t be able to wear pants for a few days. He’s a bit of a fashion diva so I didn’t want that to throw him off.
The Night Before
The night before, I gave Memphis one last heads-up before he went to bed. I told him tomorrow was the big day that we would go diaper and pants-free and that we would teach him how to put his pee and poop in the potty.
Then, I got everything ready. Which wasn’t a lot. I put his little potty, his calming jar, and the wipes in the living room. And then I drank a very full glass of wine. :)