Anyone else Potty Training a toddler while pregnant?

britsknits11 · August 2015

I searched around but didn't find this topic yet. I know a lot of us are first time moms but for those who have one or more already, any advice on potty training? I really didn't want to even think about potty training my son during this pregnancy. He just turned two and I was totally fine with waiting but he has his own plans. He's refusing a diaper at night. Takes it off and hides it. The hard part is that we just moved into a new home and our bathroom is slowly being renovated so it's a disaster right now. We basically have a toilet and just yesterday hooked up the sink. I am a shm so I can keep on top of him but any type of advice or just experience would be greatly appreciated. I already feel defeated because I really didn't want to start dealing with the accidents and fit throwing yet lol. @-)

Monkeybutt80 · August 2015

I don't have any experience but I am going to follow this thread because I will be (hopefully) potty training my toddler during this pregnancy. Mine is now 2 years and 2 months old, and is in the classroom at his daycare where they focus on potty training (he has to be potty trained to be able to move up to the next class). I DO NOT want 2 in diapers and I really hope that he is potty trained by the time this baby comes.

I am just waiting for the daycare to tell me that he's interested and is ready. He understands it, but hasn't wanted to do it. He would once in awhile tell me that he has to potty and we will go sit on the toilet, but he prematurely gets up, and then like 5 mins later, I find that he pooped. I don't want to force him, as I have heard that it can backfire when you start before they are ready, but I just really hope that he is potty trained before february.

hvwitham · August 2015

My second just pt a few months ago. My only advice is to keep offering the potty and when they are ready it will click. If they are ready, go with it. I never used training pants or anything else, just went right to underwear once they started to go on the potty. There were accidents for a couple of days and then after that they got it figured out, just have to constantly remind them to go in the beginning. If you can be outside a lot and bring a potty out with you that helps too. Peeing outside was always more exciting for mine, lol.

Twindling · August 2015

My best tips for potty training are, do naked training. Set aside a weekend to dedicate to potty training and use a reward system.

For us, they got a jelly bean every time they went in the potty. My girls were really REALLY ready when we tried and by the end of day 1 they pretty much had it.
I wish the same could be said for my nephew who I do daycare for. He's almost 3 and still doesn't get it at all despite all my efforts but each kid is different. This system worked for us and my other 4 daycare kids who I've potty trained.

ashcody2 · August 2015

My son is 2 1/2 and we've just been letting him use the potty at his request - daycare also works with him, when he feels like it. He is our first so I have no idea if this is a mistake, to just let him train as he wants but I don't plan on working really hard on it for a couple more months - more than likely we will do a 3 day train. method I've heard a little about.

It's hard when working full time imo - but I definitely hope he is potty trained before this child is born, he will turn 3 a month before he/she's arrival.

FreshBakedBrownies · August 2015

I'm working on my DS, 2yrs 8mo. The methods of naked diaper-free time have been horrible for us. He will pee on the floor with no shame! I gave up on that when I ran out of carpet cleaning solution!
He's done all his poop in the potty for awhile, maybe since 20 months or so. But the pee has been a slower process. I think maybe he just wasn't ready when we started?'

He does best with me taking him regularly, not waiting for him to say he has to go. He also likes to have choices (do you want the little potty or the big potty?). He does really well sitting on a full sized toilet facing forward. Rewards like stickers or chocolate chips helped in times when he was less interested, but haven't been my miracle answer.

He tries much harder to stay dry if he's wearing his training undies compared to his diaper. I think that helps and I'm hoping he will be daytime trained by the end of this month.

DaisyTortilla · August 2015

I've been trying to potty train my daughter, she is 2 years and 2 months, but she is so shy. She hides from us when she's going to use the bathroom and I try sitting her down and when she does "go" I reward her, but she is miserable the entire time, she is crying because she's nervous and because she doesn't like being watched. I'm going to try the naked training. Hope it works for us...if not ...I'll have 3 in diapers!

Sprinkles07 · August 2015

Following. I tried at 2 and he wasn't ready. Plan to try again at 2.5. I'm hoping not to have 2 in diapers!

Reinhrs · August 2015

My kids were done night and day by three. Our 2.5 yr old son is training right now. He doesn't care if he has a dirty diaper either. We use combination naked and undies for him. Constant asking if he wants to sit on potty and when i know its been long enough we go in and he'll potty. He was initially afraid of the potty but one time with a cookie on the potty fixed that. Just remember to keep it happy and exciting with reward even if it's just a lot of high fives. They do eventually get it but yes hard when pregnant, working and mom of 3. I'm hoping my four day weekend starting tomorrow will do wonders.

BabySeaTurtles · August 2015

Mine is almost three and we have been training for a few months now. He does best when I remind him and don't wait for him to go himself. All poop has been in the toilet for awhile but the pee is proving to be hard. If he's focused or absorbed in anything, I think he just forgets. He doesn't care if he's walking around soaked either. He's doing a lot better and the accident-free days are becoming more common. The reward system didn't work for us because being able to flush the toilet was the most reward for him. The problem with that was he would flush when he hadn't done anything. So our water bill went up and we had to replace the flapper on the toilet. We have a potty training timer app that has proven helpful in reminding both me and DS that it's time for him to use the potty.

BabySeaTurtles · August 2015

Also want to add that I fully expect major regression when this LO arrives. I hear it's pretty common. So prepare to not quite start all over come February/March.
Edit because here is not the same as hear

Life is Exciting · August 2015

We're slowly potty training our son, who will be 2 at the end of September. He had a big regression when we moved a month ago, but is back to showing interest in the potty and going randomly (sometimes he pees and poops on the potty, sometimes he says he has to go and does nothing and sometimes he goes in his diaper). Hoping he'll be fully trained by the winter. I think the diaper bag will be awfully heavy with 2 in cloth diapers.

froggy994 · August 2015

I trained my 2.5 year this past spring. We did the '3 day method' and it worked for us. You can probably google it for more specifics and Lucie's List has a 3 day plan that we really followed. It was naked the first day, with trips to the potty every 30 minutes. A lot of pee and accidents, but he got it by the end of the day. We used m&ms for each time he sat on the potty, and when he eventually peed on it. Then, you try underwear, and eventually pants, and keep reinforcing and making a big deal when it happens. It is exhausting and I was ready to quit after day 1, but it is so worth it once he gets it. We read lots of potty books and watched some potty tv episodes. Daniel Tiger has a cute potty episode, with a catchy little song that we sing. We did a sticker chart, and lots of candy at first. Naps and overnight we still did diapers, although I think he might be ready at this point to start skipping those. Good luck!

BabyHope2013 · August 2015

We have just about finished up potty training in the last few weeks. I started training DS around 2 years and 3.5/4 months. It is exhausting for the first few weeks I would say---then it gets better. We started by putting him in underwear on the weekend and putting him on the potty every 20-30 minutes. When he would pee, he would get an M&M. Going #2 he seemed to grasp quicker than peeing for a while. We would reward a dum dum sucker when he pooped on the potty. You have to make a really big deal out it whenever they go potty on the toilet. I think at one point I played really sad when DS had an accident and he fed into that big time---he is a big mama's boy and doesn't want to ever hurt or make mama sad. We used pull-ups at night until he was consistently waking up dry and making it to the bathroom in time for about a month.

Patience is the key to potty training. I wanted to give up several times--but our daycare provider kept telling me to keep going. So glad that we did. I love life without diapers! Good luck!

MississippiCatfish · August 2015

DS1 will turn 3 in October and has yet to PT. He's been waking up dry since about turning 2, but he is a strong-willed boy and he isn't "ready." I've tried a few times, the last time ended with me forcibly removing his poopy underwear while he cried and screamed because he just wanted to keep playing... He's done a few little things lately to make me think we're getting there, though!

blueberrymomma · August 2015

I'm so glad someone started this thread. I have 2year 2month old I really want to potty train. She tells us when she needs a diaper change, when she's peeing, and lately has been taking her wet diaper off herself when she wakes up. However she refuses to go on the potty. She will sit there for 20min and as soon as you put her diaper on she pees. I've tried the 30min timer thing, rewards, naked, underwear, and lots of juice and still nothing. I really don't want two in diapers. I hope to try it again in September when I'll be home more

VitaLuna · August 2015

My DD will be 2 this month (when did that happen?!?) and I really want to start encouraging it more with her. She tells is right away when she poops, but one time I caught her when she was starting, ran to the bathroom, and then she screamed bloody murder on the toilet (usually she'll just sit and do nothing). I really don't want to pay for diapers for 2.

Cheryl Renee · August 2015

My little one, who will turn 2 tomorrow, potty trained at 18 months! She has a cousin who is 3 and was fascinated by her going potty and one day it just clicked. She started asking to go. We swapped to panties and there's be no turning back. She had accidents for maybe 3 days once we swapped to panties, and then she got the hang of it. But she WANTED to potty train. I think thats really important. We made sure also whenever she did have an accident, to not make a big deal of it and encourage her to run to the potty next time. It took her about 3 months after "potty training" to get to where she wanted to poop in the potty, so beware of that. It helped to have a little potty so that she could do it all by herself without me having to sit her up on the big potty.

Good luck!!!!

Shatzegirl · August 2015

My 3 year old son seems like he's ready to start potty training. We got him one of those potty seats that fits on the toilet and he's showing way more interest in that than the potty chair. He loves putting toilet paper in the toilet and flushing it. He hasn't gone yet but I think he will soon. He loves the Daniel Tiger episode & book about going to the potty. He also loves Elmo's Potty Time DVD. It'd be so nice to have him potty trained by February. Wishing you and your LO the best with this next chapter!

CountryAir13 · August 2015

DS is 2.5. We've been potty training for a little while. He's got the peeing part down, but REFUSES to poop on the potty. Like if we catch him going to hide to poop, we try and put him on the potty and he will scream bloody murder until we take him off. And then he will wait hours before going in his pull-up. Nothing has worked. Candy, toys, rewards of any kind. Any advise on what to do?

britsknits11 · August 2015

Thank you all for the advice and support. Today has been a breakthrough for us since he'll actually sit on the potty now without freaking out. My biggest frustration is the fact that he won't keep his diaper on at all now. Bedtime has been a nightmare the past couple of days. It's encouraging to hear all of the success stories.

Shatzegirl · August 2015

@CountryAir13 that's great that he has the peeing part down! I've heard that the pooping part is a lot harder for little ones so maybe give him some more time on that one and I bet he'll come around. (I'm no expert since my son isn't potty trained yet.) My son's pediatrician said to take a nonchalant approach to potty training so there's not a lot of pressure. She even said not to get too excited because that can set up high expectations which can cause them to regress. I hope this helps!

bamcity1023 · August 2015

Monkeybutt80 said:
I don't have any experience but I am going to follow this thread because I will be (hopefully) potty training my toddler during this pregnancy. Mine is now 2 years and 2 months old, and is in the classroom at his daycare where they focus on potty training (he has to be potty trained to be able to move up to the next class). I DO NOT want 2 in diapers and I really hope that he is potty trained by the time this baby comes.
I am just waiting for the daycare to tell me that he's interested and is ready. He understands it, but hasn't wanted to do it. He would once in awhile tell me that he has to potty and we will go sit on the toilet, but he prematurely gets up, and then like 5 mins later, I find that he pooped. I don't want to force him, as I have heard that it can backfire when you start before they are ready, but I just really hope that he is potty trained before february.

He sounds just like my son!

CountryAir13 · August 2015

Shatzegirl said:
@CountryAir13 that's great that he has the peeing part down! I've heard that the pooping part is a lot harder for little ones so maybe give him some more time on that one and I bet he'll come around. (I'm no expert since my son isn't potty trained yet.) My son's pediatrician said to take a nonchalant approach to potty training so there's not a lot of pressure. She even said not to get too excited because that can set up high expectations which can cause them to regress. I hope this helps!

I've heard the same thing, which is why I was kind of surprised that there were so many havin the opposite issue. But they are all different. I know he will eventually get there!

Timmysgal02 · August 2015

My girls were 18 months apart, so I potty trained one while pregnant. My girls were so much easier than my son. But once they really wanted to go & gave as much effort as I was giving, it clicked and it was easy!!

hvwitham · August 2015

I will also say not to stress yourselves out about having 2 in diapers. I did for about 6 months when I had my second, (cloth at that) and it really wasn't that bad. Although my diaper bag at the time was huge. A lot of people hate separate potty chairs and prefer the ones on the toilet, but I loved the separate one for when my oldest needed to go and I was breastfeeding the baby and couldn't get up to lift him. You'll figure it out though, hang in there.

g8trkim · August 2015

I potty trained DS when I was pregnant with DD. He had just turned two and was showing all the readiness signs. Plus I am home in the summer so it was a good time to do it. It was rough because I was further along but definitely worth doing it before baby. I just potty trained DD which was also hard because I was so sick. She was about six months older so it went a lot smoother. We did the three day method with both kids.

name1109 · August 2015

I'm really a big fan of toddler led potty training. DD decided at 2.5 that she is potty training. She still wears a diaper at night though. But honestly, I'd rather have two in diapers than have one in accident world and the other a mess. My fear of pushing potty training for someone who isn't interested/ready is that the older child regresses when baby #2 is born. I am just trying to keep potty training as positive as possible.

lovelydaye · August 2015

We just finished training DD (accident free for 2 weeks!) and she was almost 3 when she really got interested. We tried a few times earlier but she wasnt interested at all and it didnt go well. After that we just did things to try and get her interested: we bought her princess undies, read books about using the potty and watched Nina Needs to Go more times than I can count. When she was ready it went really well and she got it quickly so I would agree with some of the PP on the toddler led training. Good luck!!

morgantrowbridge · August 2015

I'm training my twins. One has been trained for a few months but still had random accidents. The other just refuses. I'm close to just taking the diapers away and forcing her to have accidents and want to use the potty.

FreshBakedBrownies · August 2015

CountryAir13 said:
DS is 2.5. We've been potty training for a little while. He's got the peeing part down, but REFUSES to poop on the potty. Like if we catch him going to hide to poop, we try and put him on the potty and he will scream bloody murder until we take him off. And then he will wait hours before going in his pull-up. Nothing has worked. Candy, toys, rewards of any kind. Any advise on what to do?

I'm not sure of this will help, since my DS has no fear of pooping on the potty. He's poop trained now, just still working on pee. But since we do cloth diapers, I always brought the pooped in diaper to the toilet. Saying, poop goes in the potty, not in your diaper. Then he'd wave bye bye to the poop and flush it down.
I'm not sure if you do disposables and what you do with poop, but it might help his comfort level with poop and the toilet?

Achae · August 2015

@CountryAir13 my friend had her daughter clean up her accidents and she said once she had to do that she suddenly really wanted to go poop on the potty! I don't know how coordinated your child is but maybe that's an option?

I'm still training my daughter at 2 letting her run around naked and waiting until she goes pee. Luckily haven't tackled the poop yet as that is generally a morning diaper!

oregontrailmom · August 2015

I PTed my toddler (or I should say he insisted on PTing himself) before I got pregnant and right before we moved. I was super hesitant to do it because I knew a lot of big changes were coming up in his life like moving to a new house but he was insisting on having me take his diaper off so he could go in the toilet so he could be just like his big brother. I stuck him in underwear and he did a great job. And then when we moved he stuck right with it which was a bit of a shock to me. He's very competitive with his brother who is 2 years older than him so I think that had a lot to do with it.

CountryAir13 · August 2015

Achae said:
@CountryAir13 my friend had her daughter clean up her accidents and she said once she had to do that she suddenly really wanted to go poop on the potty! I don't know how coordinated your child is but maybe that's an option?

I'm still training my daughter at 2 letting her run around naked and waiting until she goes pee. Luckily haven't tackled the poop yet as that is generally a morning diaper!

That's a really good idea! I will defiantly give that a try, thank you.

KimberlyTeresa3 · August 2015

We've been attempting to PT our DD who is 2yrs 8months, for about 2 weeks. she does good if she is told to go potty, she'll go. But today for some reasons, she has pee'd on the bathroom floor in front of her potty, on her bed, on the couch and on her floor...all within 2 hours...Will she every learn when she has to go? Oh and pooping, no way. She poops on the floor or in her pants everytime... This is more of a challenge then I thought it would be.

HokieLaw · August 2015

I am. One of my twins has been potty trained forever but the other has been very hard to train (with poop - she pees in the potty every time). I'm going to start potty training this next kid WAY earlier.

tumblefluff · August 2015

DS turns 3 in a couple days. He has very little interest in the potty other than standing on it. He was suppose to start pre-K3 at the end of this month but the school requires the kids to be potty trained. Instead of everyone ending up in tears over using it we decided he just wasn't ready. We didn't want to force him since my sister had done that with her oldest and it was a disaster. We decided to wait until next year to start pre-school and when he's ready he'll let us know. Honestly I have my fingers crossed that he'll be potty trained by the time baby #2 is here but I won't be upset if he's not. Just broke, lol.

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