Potty Break

Goodbye diapers! Hello... pants? That's right, pants. No cloth pull-ups, no disposable pull-ups, no undies! Yes, when the weather starts to get colder, I will put underwear on him to keep his little heiny nice and cozy, but up until now shedding all the extra layers was the secret ingredient. For the past month, Kai has been living his days diaper free, and for the past week, his nights, too! It wasn't all easy, but through trial and error we finally found success and it went something like this:


Step 1- In-home diaper free: In the house we went diaper/pants free. This made it easy for Kai to just plop down on the toilet when we asked him if he had to go, which we did, a lot! We started out using a reward system, offering him a little treat after a successful potty-go. This fizzled naturally only after about 3 days. He just completely stopped asking for a reward! There were times when he was hesitant about going (even though I knew he hadn't peed in a long time), so I would say something like, "Wouldn't it be nice to show Ernie (or any of his stuffed animals) how you can go potty like such a big boy?" This worked EVERY time!


Step 2- Wearing diapers out of house: At first we still put him in a diaper when we went out. We found he always still went in the diaper out of the house. But when we would come home and remove his diaper, he continued to use the potty. Having a diaper on must be a comforting feeling for them since they've been in one their "entire" lives.


Step 3- Pull-up: I purchased a cloth pull-up (blueberry brand, I think). Kai was excited about the idea of wearing, "big boy undies", as we called it, but in fact, they are just a stand-in diaper. When out of the house, he would still pee in the pull-up. I think I used it about 2 times before deciding to just shed it all!


Step 4- No More Diapers: I decided that I was just going to have to be ok with wet pants and "accidents" and stopped using the pull-up or diapers out of the house, too. Cold turkey. I simply brought an extra pair of pants anywhere and everywhere we went. For the first week or so of this, I definitely used them. Sometimes he would have a full on pee if he was intently distracted by something else, but more often he would have a little tinkle and than run and tell me, "Mommy, I'm going pee pee in my pants." Then we would go to the bathroom and he would finish there.


Step 5- Learning how to pull his own pants down: I think this was the crucial step for our successful potty-training. Kai likes to do things on his terms, so I think our incessant asking about whether or not he had to pee annoyed the bejesus out of him. He wanted to go when he wanted had to go. But in order to be able to run to the potty before it was too late, he had to be able to get his pants down by himself. So, we taught him. It was slightly challenging at first, but after a few tries he finally got it. First, pull your shirt up. Then, grab the sides and pull down. Then, reach around behind and pull down over your butt. Imagine having a pull-up on, too! What a lot of work that would be for the little guy! And, fortunately, pulling up is pretty easy. He always looks especially cute afterward, with the middle of the pants pulled over to one side and his shirt half tucked in to the top.


Step 6- Nighttime diaper-free: I honestly thought nighttime diapering was going to go on for a longgggg time before we even tried to cross that bridge. We did phase out nap-time diapering when he stopped wearing diapers at home, but nighttime, no way! It's such a long chunk of time... and he spends a LoT of it in our bed! We, honestly, did not have any intentions of allowing this to happen. But Kai, and his persistent ways, decided he was simply not going to wear diapers anymore, not even at night. He promised us that when he woke up in the middle of the night he would go potty without fussing. We assumed this would be a challenge because, to put it mildly, Kai is a bit of a "pouty face" when he wakes up... especially in the night. But so far, he's lived up to his word, and we keep the potty right next to the bed so it's a pretty easy transition for him, even when he's half asleep. And, I know I shouldn't be saying this, but knock-on-wood, we've had dry pjs and beds up till now. 


So there you have it, the Rachel/Graham/Kai potty training extravaganza! I should also add that all of this was done in a pretty relaxed and calm atmosphere. There was no pressure, no anger, no irritation. If it happened it happened, if it didn't it didn't. And well, what do you know, but it's seemed to have worked. And maybe, just maybe, some part of this will help you, too. Happy pottying!