I have tried potty training Livy multiple times and it seems that she just wasn't ready (or maybe I was just a little too lazy). I think a good portion of my failure was the method that I was using. I have potty trained multiple children in the past (daycare) and tried to use those methods on Livy and failed. That particularly bothered me because Livy has made everything in her short two years an easy transition. When we gave up the bottle, there was no fight. Same goes for moving her to a big girl bed. Why did these things work out so well and this wasn't? Perhaps the method used for the bottle and bed was the way to go. I tend to cold-turkey Livy with these things and she did well. Why couldn't this work with potty training?
So after researching some methods that I could do with Livy, I put together something that seemed reasonable after our failed attempts. (Google search potty training, potty training methods, 3 day method. I refuse to purchase anything for something that should come fairly naturally.)
What am I doing? Simple. Yesterday Livy and I threw away all the diapers in the outside trash can. (I did go back and pull them out and have them hidden. I'm not about to get rid of perfectly good diapers when I will have a second child using them.) Next step is spending the entire day by her side. When she starts to go I put her on the potty to finish business. I chose for her to spend the day without a diaper or panties yesterday. I know that for some this could cause problems, but for us I found it very beneficial. It allowed Livy to feel everything which resulted in her using the potty. I am proud to also say that my carpet and couch are in perfect condition after that adventure and by the end of the day, she had gone to the potty on her own without being asked to.
Today is day two and Livy is sick with a high fever, sore throat and cough. In the past I would have put her back into diapers and tried again later, but I am determined that this is it! Happy to say that even though she is sick, it is going just as strong as yesterday. We have been dry all day!
Hopefully tomorrow will bring the same amount of success!
I found that my daughter was LAZY. While transitioning was easy for her, it was sheer laziness that kept her in diapers. So over Christmas break, I REFUSED to put a diaper on her. We had a few accidents for a few days but that was it. It took a little longer to get her to stay dry at night, but I'm happy to say that a full month later, she was staying dry ALL day, ALL night (well, she'll wake us up to go potty), AND even out in public! We've NEVER had an accident in public! Isn't it wonderful??
ReplyDeleteYour carpet and couch survived - you did good. We had plenty of accidents, mostly because I wasn't quite so attentive... I don't think toddler are world weary enough to be lazy about nappies, it's up to us to decide when we are ready to commit to a world without nappies (diapers).
ReplyDeleteGood for you. I think this is the method I will need to do. Abby is very stubborn about going to the potty. I thought girls were easier but I'm not so sure.
ReplyDeleteGreat accomplishment and perfect timing!
Hope she feels better soon!
I am so glad that this is working for you. I know that a potty-trained Livy will make life much easier!
ReplyDeleteYup, we used the naked method with Noah, it worked wonders.
ReplyDeleteHmm interesting. I didn't realize people went Cold Turkey with this.
ReplyDeleteThis is the way I've trained both my kids - I think the mom has to commit to it and just go for it! We didn't even put a diaper on them at night and we're all fine. Good luck - see you on the other end.
ReplyDeleteYay for your success so far and good luck! I'm so glad we did it. We have had some accidents, but it's still been worth it to have him potty trained.
ReplyDeleteAlso, good call on saving the diapers. I didn't do it, just because he was wearing size 6 before and I hope we won't get that far with Claire. Although I did make sure we were basically out of diapers; I think we only threw away five diapers. :)