The Potty Olympics BEGIN!

Potty training has been a topic we have been pretty relaxed about. Maybe to so? Leo has been ready to give it a proper go for the last 8 weeks, ever since he first decided he was ready to wee on the potty for that very first time. It is something that I haven’t wanted to rush, something that I have put off not wanting scare him with information over load. But really Leo has been ready for me to take him by the hand and help guide him through this latest milestone.

It all started on Sunday (25^th May) when I asked Leo how he felt about the possibility of wearing pants. Of course Leo said ‘NO! Nappy!’ and I left it. Leo carried on playing and I sorted out clothes for the day ahead. I left a variety of pants on the bed, blue ones and red ones, all with Leo’s favourite characters on. These one’s of course had Lightning McQueen on the front.

Leo looked at them and even told me he would wear a pair, only to change his mind at the very last moment. I knew that if I forced the issue that it was only going to make Leo un-happy ,and I had less of a chance to persuade him to wear them. So I may have dazzled a few treats… (I know… Bribery is bad.. But it works!). On this occasion a small gift I had bought months ago in preparation for Leo’s birthday was the bait. A Thomas The Tank Engine Mega Blok set that I knew would get Leo excited enough to put on the pants.

Upon seeing the new Thomas Set Leo decided that he was happy to put on his new pants. In fact he looked really pleased with himself. There he was, my baby boy who had aged considerably just by wearing his pants for the first time. I explained that nappies were for babies, and now that he was getting bigger we should really consider using the potty and wearing big boy pants. I told Leo that we would get some stickers and set up a reward chart, and each time Leo used the potty he would gain a sticker to place on his new chart.

Leo was excited by the chart, but within a few minutes we had already had our first pants casualty. He stood there and began to pee right there and then in my bedroom. He stopped when I said ‘Come on you! Let’s get you on the potty’. We made it just in time and he did his first wee on the potty there and then. This was before we had picked up his stickers and his new chart, so we had lots of praise and a big high five!

We were heading to see Leo’s Nanny on Sunday and I was in two minds as to whether I should put Leo in a nappy for the 40 minute drive. In the end we decided to leave him in his pants to try and save confusion. Before we had even left the house though we had lost another two pairs of pants to wet accidents, but we dried him off and put some new pants on and tried again.

Before we left the house I made sure Leo had used the potty, in an attempt to keep him dry for the car journey. I explained that if he needed to go to the toilet that he should let us know and we would get him to the potty. Leo did so well for the entire drive, he was still dry when we pulled up at Nanny’s house and happily used the potty when prompted with the promise of a shiny new sticker at the end of it.

There were a few more accident’s during the course of the afternoon, but we pretty much just let Leo run around naked. Leo even attempted to use the potty for a number 2 for the first time, each and every other time this has been brought up he has always asked for a nappy on. On this occasion he told me that he needed to go, and lead me out to the potty where he began to sit down. I ran back in to get baby wipes in preparation when Leo began to cry and get really upset. It turns out that it had caught Leo off guard and arrived earlier than planned in his big boy pants..

Leo was so upset about this and he really thought he was in trouble. I gave him a big cuddle and told him that it was ok and accidents happen and not to worry. I called to Luke to get the wipes I hadn't been able to get in time, and Nanny very kindly took the pants away for a quick rinse.

I was just so pleased that Leo had given it a try, and for his brave attempt he gained himself 2 stickers for his chart.

Leo has been doing so well, and as long as we keep asking Leo whether he needs to go then we are getting a good response from him. Were now on day 3 of our official potty training, and yes we are still having accidents but I can see him getting more confident about using the potty all of the time.

We are now on the right path to eliminate nappies from our day to day lives, I know they will be sticking around for bedtime for a while yet, but it is such a good start.

How old was your little on when you began potty training? And what did you do to assist the transition? I have found that stickers are the currency of the toddler world, and these have been a godsend in getting Leo to the potty.

The plan is to keep going, we are already 3 days in and it can only improve. We do have a couple of occasions coming up that may prove interesting… A day at Alton Towers and a 4 hour drive to Cornwall.. What would you advise?