We started potty training the day after Christmas and here we are at the end of day 4 and I (think) I can say Nathan is now officially potty trained (both day and night). He has been accident free for 2 whole days and he has woken up dry from his last 4 naps (3hrs long each) and the past 4 nights (13hrs each night). I must admit that our method to potty training is not for the light in heart. It is hardcore, serious, focused and requires complete dedication for 48hrs.
Day 1:
*No TV, no going outside, no electronic toys, no talking to friends on the phone, no leaving the house etc. *Basically, we just put Nathan in underwear and set the timer. Then we told Nathan whenever he heard the time, it was time to go potty. So every 15 minutes we stopped what we were doing and headed to the potty. *For the first day we would use a water bottle and drip some warm water on his wiener to encourage him to go potty.
*When he went, we cheered and shouted and danced and gave him an M&M for pee and a Hershey kiss for poopoo.
*On day 1, he had 3 accidents and they were all poopoo. But he was completely dry during his nap and that night. (we didn't wake him up during naptime)
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| Puppies and hedgehogs have to go potty too sometimes, haha |
Day 2:
*Again, no TV, no going outside, no electronic toys, no talking to friends on the phone, no leaving the house etc.
*Again, we put Nathan in underwear and set the timer. Then we told Nathan whenever he heard the time, it was time to go potty.
*On day 2, every 20 minutes we stopped what we were doing and headed to the potty.
*When he went, we cheered and shouted and danced and gave him an M&M for pee and a Hershey kiss for poopoo.
*On day 2, he had 1 accident which was pee pee. But he was completely dry during his nap and that night. (we didn't wake him up during naptime)
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| cute little underwear buns! |
Day 3:
*On day 3, he is allowed to play outside for just a couple minutes at a time. He is allowed to watch 2 shows. We still do not leave the house for errands or anything though.
*On day 3, we set the timer for 45 minutes but we ask often. This is the changing day from parent led to child led initiation.
*When he went, we cheered and shouted and danced and gave him an M&M for pee and a Hershey kiss for poopoo.
*On day 3, Nathan had no accidents all day, initiated all on his own and was dry for nap time and all that night.
Day 4: (today)
*Today we ran errands for about 2 hours but we made sure to go potty at every store we went to. We lived life like a normal day.
*There was no timer, it was all child initiated and Nathan did an excellent job!
*On day 4, Nathan had no accidents all day and no accidents during his nap.
NOTES:
*We used a method based on the book "Toilet Training in less than a Day" by Nathan Arzan
*Although you see on in the picture, we do not use a little potty or a potty ring, (we bought that one before having babies, but then changed our mind about using it). We want our boys to learn on a regular toilet seat so that when we go to other's houses or public restrooms they will be familiar with the potty (not afraid to fall in, etc)
*We made a big deal out of Ben helping and each time he helped or cheered for Nathan he got a treat too. This made it more of a family event and taught Ben to encourage others and helped encouraged Nathan to keep it up.
*For the first couple of days, we used the Gerber Potty Training Pants (extra padding in the pee pee area incase of an accident, so they feel wet but it doesn't run down their legs and all over the floor).
I know that some people might think our method is extreme but it works for our family (both of our boys potty trained completely in less than a week, and Ben has never peed the bed). I gotta say, it is awesome to be done with diapers, wipes, and carrying around a diaper bag. Potty training is not my favorite thing to so to get it all accomplished in 4 days made all that hard work worth it!!! It is also great to see Nathan so proud of himself and cheering for himself. My sweet little boy is growing up and I am so proud of him!!! Great work buddy, I LOVE you!!!
