Potty Training

No one has good advice about potty training. I've read books, articles and had heart-to-heart conversations with the best and most experienced moms. They always leave out the important stuff.

SO - I have decided to put the MUST-KNOW stuff in my li'l blog here. I will try to keep it basic, because, let's face it, the full experience could be made into an 8-part miniseries on NBC.

The right timing: Resist the temptation to start too early. It's probably the worst thing you can do. The right time is when you KNOW your child is able to control their potty urges, but there's more to it than that. You should be able to see in your child a strong desire to be independent. Does he often ask to do things by himself? Does she become proud when she has done something without any help? If not, begin to encourage independence. Even if it's something as simple as coloring a picture. "Oh, Danny, look! You colored the teddy bear all by yourself! Very good job!" Your kid wants you to be proud of him, so he'll begin to look for ways to impress you with his independence if you are rewarding him with praise. Also, your child should be dry overnights on a consistent basis before you begin. This displays that their bladder is truly under their control.

It's up to you, Mom: The real trick to potty training is for MOM to make a firm decision about it. If you're not ready to make this the focal point of your life, don't start. If you start and then get lazy about it and decide it's easier just to put him in his training pants or diaper, you'll confuse the child and you'll be sorry. Now he thinks it's an option. Mommy wants him to go on the potty, but if he doesn't feel like it, he can just go in his Pull-Ups.

Getting started: Read a book or get a video on potty training from the library. There's one called "Go Potty Go" that is really good and goes over everything from making the kids excited about their "big kid underwear" to remembering to flush and wash their hands after going potty. As you read or watch, talk to your child and say, "Won't that be fun?" Stuff like that. Then wrap a PRESENT with a bow and everything. Get your monkey all excited about opening it and they'll find - BIG KID UNDERWEAR! Make a huge deal! "Oh boy, Sally! You have your very own BIG GIRL UNDERPANTS!" She will be so happy to trade in those diapers.

A Typical Day: As with EVERYTHING (right, moms?), you are really the one who will have to do all the work until Jr. gets it down. When baby wakes up - go straight to the potty. Then watch the clock. Every two hours, announce in your most excited voice, "Let's go try to use the big boy potty!" After a few days, you'll get an idea for how often you need to prompt a pee-pee trip. I suggest using some kind of an award. Some kids are good with stickers. For my son, it had to be candy. Absolutely zero pieces of candy in his life EXCEPT for right after a successful big boy potty escapade. Be sure to take a trip to the bathroom before car rides, trips to the park and naptimes and bedtimes.

As far as potty training for going twosies - you're on your own. I am not the one to ask.


Be prepared: Don't start without all the necessary tools; rewards, big kid pants, etc. And make sure you have babysitters that will stick to it while you're out. It's amazing how so much work with a child can be undone in 4 hours of lazy babysitting.

Good luck. You'll need it :)

A Negative Mixture

This seems weird, I know, but there's a specific babyfood mixture to avoid that you won't know about until you do it - unless you've read it here!

For some reason, a jarred dinner including sweet potatoes and bananas causes some kind of a reaction in some babies. I was feeding Christian and thought that bananas would be a good follow-up to the sweet potatoes. After I wiped up his mouth from the dinner, I noticed red splotches on his chin. Then above his lip. Then ALL around his mouth!

I got online and did a little research and found that other mothers had noticed a similar reaction when combining these two jarred babyfoods in a meal. I gave Christian the sweet potatoes and the bananas in separate feeding sessions and he was fine. There's just something about putting them together...? Bizarre, huh?