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slukd79
member
When, how to begin potty training? (long, sorry)
slukd79
member
I am terrified of starting potty training. We have purposefully put it off because my LO has dealt with 2 moves in the past 6 months and has a sibling due in about a month. Its been many big changes that we have tried to pace her on. (But she hasn't missed a beat!)
Having said that I think she is giving cues that she may be ready. She has a BM at the same time everyday (after lunch) and sometimes stays dry during nap time. She knows when she goes, but doesn't want to be changed. She is interested in the potty and we put her on a little ring on the toilet when she asks, but she doesn't go.
However, I am not in the mood to potty train a 25 month old at 9 months pregnant. I also don't see it being a good idea for either of us after the baby comes (at least not right away.)
More information that may be helpful: We have her twin bed arriving tomorrow. My plan for that is just to let her initiate when she wants to move out of the crib and into the bed. She could wait 2-3 months because its a month till the new baby is due and even then, we plan on keeping the new baby in our room for about 6-8 weeks.
I also plan to return back to work around July (SAHM now.) I am assuming its still possible to potty train a toddler when working, but thought maybe its easier when I am home?
Any advice is welcome. When you would start or wait in my situation, what books you read to prepare, what method you used... This feels daunting. A piece of me feels like I am not allowed to start anything new with her due to a new sibling being so close to being here. At the same time, life continues on...?
Congratulations on reading a novel this evening. 
And thank you.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: When, how to begin potty training? (long, sorry)
I would wait b/c she will regress when the baby comes. She may see the baby getting changed every hour and want that attention too. My DD would tell me she wanted to be a baby again and would ask to get on the changing table even if it was just to pretend.
If you feel like she's really ready, put her on every day after lunch. Both of my kids were/are PTed for pooping way before peeing. This will at least make it cleaner for you while waiting for her to be really ready.
If you need the crib for the baby, I'd work on that 1st. We were not able to move DD to a bed before DS arrived and did it a month after he was born. He ended up in the bassinet for 3 months so it was 2 more months before he "took over" her crib.
As someone in the midst of PT #2, I strongly suggest you wait for the full on training effort. PT is exhausting when you're NOT 9 months pregnant;) All the same, you can still offer her option now to sit on the potty when she wants and encourage her to go. I also think having DCP help to PT actually makes things a little easier because it spreads the responsibility around lol.
On the topic of changing beds, I think you're taking the right approach, because you do have a good window of time, as you noted. And who knows, she might take to the new bed right away--every kid is different.
Good luck!!
I think this depends on what type of DCP you may have - we use an in-home and from what I understand from other parents she is SUPER helpful with PT. She does things most other DCPs probably don't (particularly in a center environment where the kid/teacher ratio is higher). For example, she prefers kids have underwear to pullups and in the spring/summer she often has all the kids running around in their undies to make getting to the potty easier, and encourage PT. So if you have one like her I'd wait - the example of other kids might help a lot too.
But, I've heard from mom's here and friends that have kids in centers or with DCPs (or grandparents) that prefer pull-ups and it was harder to make the transition to PT fully. In that case it might make more sense to try before sending her to daycare.
I'm sure it will work either way though
re: potty training, you have to figure out what is best for your child and less stressful for you. We tried typical potty training with DD starting a bit before her 2nd birthday. She is extremely strong willed and fought it tooth and nail. It was totally stressing her out to the point where she was biting her nails to bloody raw stumps. PT'ing was the only change in her life. We backed off, still offered/encouraged the potty and figured she would PT when she was ready. Her Pedi was not at all worried and thought this was a good approach given her personality. Lo and behold, 2 weeks ago, she decided that she was going to be a "potty girl" and hasn't had a single accident since (aside from overnight). I'm glad we took this approach given the other changes (new sibling coming) I didn't want to force anything on her that would make her life more stressful.
Good luck!
You sound like me a year ago. DD#1 was 21 months, I had just moved in February 2011, and DD#2 was due in May. DD#1 started showing signs of readiness for potty training when I was about 37 weeks pregnant but I knew I couldn't manage it. Also, since I knew I was having a c-section, that was another factor because I wasn't physically going to be able to lift her for at least 2 months. So, I decided to wait and I'm glad I did. Potty training is very physically demanding. Sometimes you know they need to go but they don't want to so you have to pick them up and take them. It's hard for them to pull down and pull up their pants in the beginning so you have to do that. When DD#1 poops, she wants me to kneel on the floor and hug her and rub her back (and sometimes the process takes 10 minutes). So, in summary, I would say to hold off on the potty training due to the physical requirements. Like others said, if she wants to sit on the potty, let her but I wouldn't start putting her in underwear yet.
As far as the crib transition, I was very concerned about trying to transition DD#1 out of the crib after a move and so close to when baby #2 was coming. A number of people suggested that it would be fine to transition her out of the crib at 22 months but my gut told me she wasn't ready. Someone else suggested getting an $80 Ikea crib for DD#1 so I could keep her in it as long as needed. That is one of the best decisions I made. When we moved, I already had a big girl bed for her so we put the Ikea crib next to the big girl bed. It is now a year later and DD#1 still prefers sleeping in the crib. I think it's a source of comfort and I haven't pushed her. The few times she's tried to nap in the big girl bed, she barely slept whereas when she's in the crib, her naps are 3-4 hours on the weekends. So, I just share my story because I was really glad that I didn't do the transition before baby #2 came and that I bought a second crib.