Potty Training 101

I think that Ellie and I could both use a potty training class. We need a lesson on sticking with it. A couple of months ago I started working with her on it, but then the stuttering started. We were advised to back off until the stutter stabilized. Well, that has happened so I "officially" started potty training her yesterday (and it went well), but today both of us are feeling a bit yucky from colds and neither of us was in the mood to tackle it.

I had planned on continuing today despite my illness (isn't that what being a mom is all about??), but when she started feeling yucky and began crying and asking me to, "Just put on a diaper. No panties. No Pull-Up" I relented and switched back to diapers. She has not wanted to sit on the potty at all today. If we were both feeling well I wouldn't have let her have such a backslide, but I guess we'll try again in a few days.

Yesterday she always used the potty when I asked her to and even came to me once and said she needed to go. She was in panties for the evening (her idea, after spending the afternoon with Jamie who is also potty training right now) and stayed completely dry.

So far I can say that potty training a two year old is similar to potty training a puppy: take them to the potty (or yard) every 30 minutes and lavish praise when they go. Don't make a big deal out of accidents and watch for signs of needing to use the bathroom more closely next time. How is it different? Sebastian never yelled, "NO NO NO" at me when I told him we were going to go potty, never threw himself on the ground crying and kicking, and never wanted a sticker when he was done :) I will also say that Sebastian was house-broken in less than a week, and he was only 9 weeks old at the time, so I think it is safe to say that the puppy was easier!