It all started when Aliza was 19 months! I found out I was pregnant with my second baby and I IMMEDIATELY feared having two kids in diapers… my pockets were not that big! So I ran to the nearest baby store and bought our little one a portable potty! AW a big girl potty… for my baby! Ok. I got home and just sat her on the potty… GO PEE PEE! To my surprise, she went PEE!! I was ecstatic. This was going to be a piece of cake. NOT! I had no idea what I was doing. I did not read a single potty training book, blog post or article! I had no idea where to start.

^^^19 months <3^^^

Aliza mastered peeing in the portable potty, but we got nowhere. She was not fully talking so she had no way of telling me she had to go pee. At this time, I had just accepted a new job and was gone all day, everyday. Potty training got pushed all the way to the side between pregnancy, moving, working, wife life, mom life! I mean come on, life was busy! My list of excuses grew and 9 months flew by.

9 months passed and we now had two tiny humans peeing and pooping in DIAPERS! I swear, I have never seen so many diapers used so quickly! My biggest fear came true when I went to the store for the first time and had to buy two BOXES of diapers. $56…. No,no,no! I promise you, I went home that very same day and told my husband this was the LAST box of diapers we were buying Aliza and that I was DETERMINED to potty train her. I took back out that portable potty and sat Aliza on it! GO PEE PEE! The pic below is the exact moment that happened…. She was not happy! She was now two and wanted nothing to do with the potty!

The only thing I knew about potty training was to have your little one sit on it every 15 minutes and that is what I did. She did nothing in the potty….all day! She peed on the couch, she peed on herself, in her pants, everywhere except the potty. I swore she was doing this on purpose. I felt like giving up…AGAIN. I took to facebook for some advice! I felt really discouraged when a bunch of people told me she may not be ready. To be honest, I did not care if SHE was ready, I was ready!! Our pockets were ready! Some of my friends had AWESOME advice! With all the great advice I was able to successfully potty train my 2 year old and now I am here to share it with all you mamas!

POTTY TRAINING 101:

By no means am I a potty training teacher or expert! I know there are tons of mamas who can relate and I hope this can help as many potty training mommy and daddy’s as possible! So lets begin!

SUCCESSFUL POTTY TRAINING NECESSITIES:

For Girls:

Minnie Mouse Soft Potty Seat
Minnie Mouse Step Stool
Faucet Extender (I love these because the water extends far for your little ones to reach to wash their hands)
Travel/Folding Potty (Because EWW public bathrooms)
Lots of Big Girl Underwear (No padding, brief style)
Training Underwear (These are great for when you start stepping out and do not want them to regress back to diapers. These underwear have padding but still look like “big girl panties)
FREE Potty Chart <—(Print)
Stickers
10 prizes from your local dollar store
Candy of choice (we used M&Ms)
Candy Jar
Basket of Potty Toys (will explain this in text)
Night time pull-ups (for naps and night time)-We use Huggies!

For Boys: (Same things listed above, just boy version)

Additional Materials:

Towels
Timer
PATIENCE

HOW TO POTTY TRAIN YOUR TODDLER:

**WARNING**! This can be a FRUSTRATING process, but put your big HAPPY face on because once they are potty trained it will be worth it!**

So before you start, make sure you are prepared! You know your child and you know what they like and how to make this a fun experience for them! Make sure you have a good attitude and do not let them know you are stressed or frustrated. Potty training takes TONS of POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT and PATIENCE. Remember, NO YELLING if they have an accident! It’s an accident, it will happen!

Make sure you block 3 days OFF in your calendar. You need THREE DAYS to make this happen. The consistency is extremely necessary when potty training. Make sure these days are cleared! No doctors appointments, No school, No dance class, NOTHING! Home all day long! If you are a working mama or daddy, try to do this during a holiday weekend. I know it sucks, but this is what it takes!

THE PERFECT POTTY TRAINING SETUP

Set up the BEST potty training bathroom! If it looks FUN and EXCITING they will want to spend some time in there! For us, this included her Minnie Mouse soft potty, Minnie Mouse step stool, extended faucet and potty toys. Her potty toys were placed next to the toilet and I had her potty chart and stickers hanging in her room! When I first showed Aliza her “new” bathroom, my husband and I made it a BIG deal! We covered her eyes and acted like it was Christmas morning! She was SO excited to use all of her new things but we made sure to explain that everything was for BIG girls who use the potty! She was excited to go to the bathroom, which was a great start for us!

POTTY TOYS= These were the toys that we placed next to her potty. She was allowed to play with them while she sat on the potty. This was a great way to keep her little behind ON the potty. Aliza always thought she had somewhere better to be; so potty toys kept her distracted long enough to be able to use the potty!

POTTY TREATS= AFTER Aliza used the potty she would get a potty treat! I almost never give Aliza candy so this was something new to her! She understood REALLY QUICK that if she used the potty she would get an M&M, and boy did she want that candy!

FREE POTTY TRAINING CHART– This chart was GOLDEN! I printed out 4 and glued them onto glittery paper! I taped the chart along with the stickers to her wall so we could easily access it after she used the potty! She would get ONE circle box for pee and TWO circles for poop! Every time she landed on PRIZE she earned one of her DOLLAR STORE prizes! Reward charts are an effective tool to help motivate your little one! My daughter LOVES stickers and prizes so this helped us out tremendously.

POTTY TRAINING 101:

Day 1 Potty Training:

We began our third attempt of potty training! I felt prepared this time around. Our first “official” day started the minute Aliza woke up. I know the first thing I do in the morning is use the bathroom, and the same goes for your little one. It began, she peed! I yelled and screamed and made it a huge deal! I introduced her to her sticker chart and allowed her to fill her circle with stickers. I know it was 8:30am but I gave her an M&M. I was committed to the plan as much as that sucked! I spreaded towels out on all couches and left my baby in nothing but a shirt. I set my alarm for 15 min and once that sucker went off I would scream with joy and say “IT’S POTTTTTTY TIMEEEE.” NO LIE, this is what I did EVERY 15 min ALL DAY LONG! We would run to the potty and wait! She was allowed to play with potty toys while sitting on the potty! Sometimes she would pee, sometimes she didn’t but you better believe I clapped and made a HUGE deal every time she did!! Her little eyes would light up when I clapped for her. She knew she was doing something that made mommy and daddy very happy!

Do you know that potty training song that they play for the pampers pull-up commercial?! We sang it every time she was on the potty! If you do not know it, it goes a little something like this!

“Were going to do this together,

Were gunna stick to the plan,

Do everything we can

To make this easy & fun,

It’s time to potty everyone!

These are just little things we would do to make it fun for her!

This is what we did all day. I made sure she was drinking lots of fluids to help with the process. It quickly became a routine. Running back and fourth to the potty, washing hands, filling out her chart and earning an M&M. She had a couple of accidents, but overall she did more good than bad! Another thing that quickly became routine was me CONSTANTLY asking her if she had to go PEE PEE. Most of the time she would answer no. Sometimes she would say no, yet still pee in the potty. I would explain to her that when mommy or daddy asks if she has to go peepee, she says yes. I had no idea if she was truly understanding me at all but I continued to do so until she got it. I was exhausted and sounded like a crazy parrot but I knew this was going to work and I told you I was determined. PLUS we had no more diapers!

POTTY TRAINING: NIGHTTIME/NAPS

I cut liquids off 1 hour before bed or naps. Easier said then done. All my kid does is drink water. AGUA, AGUA, AGUA is all we hear in our home but I was committed. No liquids an hour before bed AND naps which meant she used the bathroom 4 times before going to sleep. She wears pull-ups to sleep, just in case. If she does not have water an hour before bed she wakes up with a dry pull-up, but not if its been a busy day and she has liquids before sleep. It happens! Always remember to go straight to the potty when they wake up!

Day 2 Potty Training

Day 2 resembled day 1. Constantly asking if she had to pee and sticking her little booty on the potty every 15 minutes! She played with her potty toys on the potty and LOVED washing her hands! The step stool and faucet extender are great tools to help your little one feel INDEPENDENT! Since Aliza LOVED to wash her hands, I, of course used this to my advantage. I told her she could ONLY wash her hands if she did pee in the potty!

Just so you all know, it was not all sweet and easy putting her on the potty every 15 minutes. At the end of the day she is a two year old and disturbing her extremely exciting tv program or play time activity was not easy. She would sometimes here that timer and run away from me! She’s two! She would throw tantrums, because seriously who wants to be on a potty every 15 min! This is just some fancy technique but it works!

I introduced her to her “BIG GIRL UNDERWEAR” on day two. Of course they are covered in Minnie and Moana! How dare she pee on Minnie or Moana’s head! Just kidding, but I totally used this! “Do not pee on Minnie or Moana, they will be VERY sad.” She loved her big girl underwear but most the time she just took them off and ran wild and free! Easier for me! Everyone has their own opinion about potty training naked or with underwear. We did a combination of both! Both methods worked for us. She did not like peeing on herself nor did she like the feelings of peeing in her underwear. Do what works for you mama, YOU GOT THIS!

Day 3 Potty Training

By day three, Aliza was for the most part telling me when she had to go pee pee. I was still constantly asking her but sometimes she would surprise me with “Mama, Pee Pee”! On day three she only had one accident! I extended her timer to 20-25 minutes! Although I was trying to extend the length of time between peeing the routine stayed the same. Alarm goes off, we go to the potty. If she peed (which she usually did) I would jump up and down like a wild animal, she would wash her hands, put a sticker on her chart, get two M&M’s and reset alarm! I promise, if you do this consistently for three days you will get somewhere!!

CACA IN THE POTTY!

I did not discuss caca in the above paragraphs because I feel it deserves its own blurb! Caca is a little more challenging then pee but it comes with the job! Most of the accidents we had during potty training were caca accidents, LITERALLY. She pooped on our floor, she pooped in the corner of her room and sometimes she pooped in her underwear! Each time she HATED it. She had never seen poop before and I think it actually scared her. She would run away from it and cried if it was in her underwear. I literally just laughed. Bad mom! Aliza pooped in the potty for the first time on day two only because I heard her pushing. I was watching her like a hawk for three days so the minute I saw or heard her pushing I quickly picked her up and ran to the potty! I would just try to explain to her that she had to do caca in the potty just like pee. I quickly learned her cues and knew when she had to pee and poop! If I noticed she had to caca we quickly ran to the potty and I would talk her through it. I did not force her but I would rub her tummy and make her feel comfortable. I could tell that she was uncomfortable at times so I would try and comfort her! She got two circles for caca so we would make it a really BIG deal! It took some time but she eventually learned that caca goes in the potty and now she waves goodbye to it when we flush the toilet! WELL, enough about caca because who wants to read about shit 😉

THE DAYS FOLLOWING

It takes 3 days of consistency and routine for your little one to get the hang of potty training but it does not end there! Once they are potty trained it becomes an every day job but not as exhausting. Each day following I extended the timer and lessened the amount of times I asked her if she had to pee. As the week passed, she gradually forgot about her reward chart and M&Ms, so do not worry all this extra stuff wont last forever!

Stepping out requires your travel/folding potty. I absolutely love this thing! It folds and perfectly fits in the front pocket of our baby bag! Its easy to take anywhere and easy to CLEAN! I don’t know about you but I do not want my little one sitting on a public toilet! If we leave the house Aliza wears her training underwear just in case! When we first started she wore a pull-up but now she likes these because they look and feel like her big girl underwear with a little padding, accidents happen!

Aliza has been fully potty trained for a couple months now! She tells me when she has to pee and caca and is not on the potty every second! Although she is able to do this, she still requires mommy and daddy’s help. Our next goal is learning to wipe and dress! Once she can do this she will be 100% independent! We are in NO rush and still consider her our baby <3 We are just thankful she is out of diapers and on to bigger and better things!!

EXTRA TIPS/REMINDERS!

Remember to give your little one lots of water while potty training
Apple juice helps with caca!
Make a potty song and dance!
NO YELLING
MAKE IT FUN!!

Potty training is exhausting especially with a newborn at home! I am extremely thankful for my husbands help! Anything is possible when you really want something! Feel free to comment any questions! I know this was long, but I hope it helps with your potty training journey!

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-@cota_mom

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