So we’ve finally conquered potty training… (fingers crossed). Mason will be 3 years old in 3 months so it was definitely time. Keep reading to see what we did and my must haves!!
The right time
Reasons why it’s taken till now?!… Honestly… I’ve been a little lazy/clueless/apprehensive about it all. Also, we tried a while back and he just wasn’t ready… not bothered about being wet etc. I was waiting for this half term, I didn’t make any plans and just stayed in the house/garden to give it another go. Keeping it consistent and fully committing to the cause!
What we did
Day 1– Bye bye nappies, hello pants! Lots of accidents… luckily we had rolled the rug up and put it out of the danger zone! Apparently pants give the same secure feeling as nappies so to them there’s no real difference aside from feeling wetter after.
Day 2– We ditched the pants! Bare bottom training commenced! What a winner! No accidents! Big celebrations and stickers for every wee. He did struggle to have a poo. I got him a book on poo and what different animals poo look like… he loves it and likes to read it whilst on the potty… the things we do as parents! 😆 On and off the potty for around 45 minutes until finally he did it. Massive celebration, we said bye to the poo down the toilet and had a kinder egg as a treat! Nappies on at night…. one step at a time hey!
Day 3– Bare bottom again. No accidents and a poo in the potty again. His friend came over for a play date and because he was wearing pants Mason wanted his on too. I kept asking if he needed a wee every 20 or so minutes but he said no. He did however shock me and tell me whenever he needed to go and ran to the potty. I helped him with his pants. I’m hoping that he’ll soon just pull them up and down himself.
Day 4– Pants all day. No accidents. Telling me when he needs to go etc! AND pulling his pants up and down himself! I was in the kitchen and he came and said ‘wee wee look mummy’… I thought he’d had an accident but no… he’d been all by himself and even pulled his own pants up after! I think we’ve cracked it… in the house anyway!
Day 5– Venturing out! I purchased some waterproof washable seat liners, see my must haves below for details. I placed one in the car seat just in case. I asked him to go for a wee before we left. He tried but didn’t go. So I reminded him that if he needs a wee to tell me. He didn’t, and he didn’t have any accidents. I got a portable potty (see my must haves below) which he used whilst we were at a cafe. It comes with a discreet bag. So you just take it to the loos and use it there. It can also go on top of a toilet seat but he hasn’t mastered that yet…
ALSO on the way home Mason fell asleep in the car and napped for about 45mins! I usually put a nappy on him when he sleeps but he woke up dry! It was probably just luck but I was soooo proud!… He got another kinder egg for this 🤣
Day 6– toilet seat attachment and stepping stool… we tried and failed. If you think about the size of a regular toilet in comparison to little tots, it’s enormous. It’s no wonder that some of them of are a little wary of it. We’re so happy with his progress so far so we’re not pushing the toilet seat attachment. If you’ve got any tips on how to transition from potty to toilet please let me know in the leave a reply section below.
Must haves
- Potty- at least one upstairs and one downstairs. Try to keep this in the room your in. I love the ikea ones with the removal bit… so much easier to flush away and clean etc.
- Toddler toilet seat attachment. Again one upstairs and downstairs. The ikea ones are perfect.
- A step/stool so they can reach the sink to wash their hands and also use it to get up onto the toilet. Again, Ikea is our go to for things like this!
- Pants- some people take their toddler shopping to choose. I didn’t… simply because shopping with Mason is a bloody nightmare. I just bought ones which I knew he’d like… batman, dinosaurs etc. Whatever they’re into to help engage them in the process.
- Wipes, nappy bags for dirty wipes if they’re not flushable ones and disinfectant to clean the potty.
- Waterproof seat liners for the car seat/stroller. Get two… just in case! Here’s the ones we have!
- Stickers or rewards. We did a sticker for a wee then kinder eggs or a new book etc for a poo to start with. Then eventually just a sticker for poos and nothing for wees.
- Portable potty- so what happens when you’re somewhere without toilet facilities or in some cases when the toilets are disgusting. I don’t want mason touching everything etc! Sooo I came across this portable potty, the Potette Plus!
- It’s so compact and easy to use. It can stand alone with the absorbent bags inside or it folds out to fit on top of a regular toilet seat when you’re out and about! How perfect?! It also comes with a discreet bag too and it’s surprising small/lightweight! It came with three free absorbent bags so don’t forget to purchase the bags too… I got our Potette Plus potty and the absorbent bags from Mumzworld.com!
- Click here to see it and use the code carey10 for 10% off all of your Mumzworld goodies! It’s honestly made life so much easier during this important development stage!
- And for my final must have… Patience and wine (optional) 🤣 it’s a big, confusing and frustrating time for our little ones! Patience and consistency worked really well for us! I’m so proud of Mason and how quickly he grasped it! I guess waiting until he was ready really helped.
Final thoughts
Whatever you do or how you do it, take your time. Lot’s of patience, once it clicks with them they just get it! Your days of carrying around nappies will soon be over… and replaced with carrying around spare pants! ha!
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