I saw this AD when I was searching on the internet on tips of how to potty train my daughter. “Potty Training in 3 Days!” Sounds wonderful, but I didn’t really want to pay to get that tip. Part of me was asking, “What if it’s all some kind of scam…?” So I just decided to take the advice of others and start potty training early, at 20 months. And if you have read my previous post, you know what happened, “Chronic Constipation.” It’s been almost a year from the diagnosis of my child not being able to poo because she is scared to poop in the toilet. They said it would take about 6 months to a year for her to start having a normal bowl movement (everyday).
So here we are today, proud parents of the child who, most of the time, poops every day. It has been a long battle and I am so glad that it’s almost over. She is almost completely potty trained, and guess what, it happened in a matter of 3 Days.
Because of her constipation, we were told to just quit potty training her and let her just go in her diaper, so I did just that. She was struggling with the pooping, so if she didn’t go in 3 days we had to bust out the suppository, which is the worst thing ever. You feel like you are torturing the kid. It hurt mentally so bad, every time we had to do it… 
Any who, that is basically all over, and since she started wearing undies, and not diapers, I have some cool items that helped us out.
Okay, so lets start with the training pants. The “Imse Vimse Training Pants” are really nice for little accidents. It’s really soft, and absorbs a lot. They’re not water proof, so not recommended for nap time or bed time. 
They are a little on the pricey side, so we only bought 2 and one water proof one. Which we use the “Happy Heinys Pocket Trainers“. You can stuff it with cloth diapers for extra protection if you desire, it’s soft, and it’s water proof. Also, if they have a #2 accident, the sides snap off so that it’s easy to take off.
My little girl still wears night time diapers at night though, because I know she will go while she’s sleeping. That will be the next step, but I’m not rushing. I’ve watched my friend run to grab her kid in the middle of the night, so she won’t wet the bed. I like the relaxation I have at the moment.
Next the “Potty”. I think it’s important that you keep the comfort of your child and their likes and dislikes in mind when you are choosing a potty. It’s a whole new world to them, having to take their pants off, diapers off and sitting on a cold seat. We first got the “Safety 1st Comfy Cushy 3-in-1 Potty“, because it seemed most practical. It’s a potty, and could be converted onto a training seat. We also liked the fact that it is very cushy and comfortable. I think it’s good to have both a potty and a toilet trainer, because you never know what they are most comfortable with.
Because we were having her sit on this seat before we would change her at 22 months, she was not uncomfortable with the transition to the toilet.
Now, the seat seems a little bit too small for her heinie, so we got her a new trainer.
We have been to a friends that have the “BabyBjörn Toilet Trainer“, which is very nice, it stays in place very well, love the design and color, and is pretty sturdy. It’s a hard seat, but that doesn’t seem to bother Zu. She seems to think it’s more grown up. 
I would have bought this one if I could do it over. We considered it, but we chose something cheaper, because we didn’t know how long she would be using it. We bought the “Soft Seat Toilet Trainer – Disney Winnie the Pooh” It’s cushy, not too ugly (not Disney Princess or Dora) and affordable. Forget the design, Zu seems to like it a lot.- Travel Potty’s are very important for me right now. There are those times when we would be in a place where there is no restroom in sight.
And at the park, I DO NOT want to go near those public restrooms, I don’t even like to use those, they give me the creeps… So this is what we have, “Kalencom POTETTE – On the Go Potty“. You can get it at Babies R Us. 
It comes with a bag that has a absorbent sheet in it, that I personally think it was meant for a Chipmunk it’s so small… We just use regular plastic grocery bags with our left over “gDiapers Flushable Refills“. It’s just plain easy and wonderful. The Kalencom Potette is small, you can fold it up and leave it in the car. We took it camping, to the park, very long car rides, bike rides, and just any where. I really love this!! I am so much more comfortable when she says “おしっこ！(oshikko:I need to pee).”, that she gets to go in a more sanitary environment. - The other thing is a trainer seat for traveling.
I like the “Mommy’s Helper Cushie Traveler” because it’s cushy and comfortable. It’s perfect for traveling and staying in a hotel or a relatives house for a long weekend. The first travel one we had, “Safety 1st Easy Care Adapter Seat“, is probably why Zu got scared of the toilet. This travel seat does not stay in place, is flimsy and really, I have nothing good to say about it… I sat Zu down on it while we were traveling in California, and it pinched her butt. She was so scared of the toilet with that thing on it, she refused to sit on the toilet again. This was a disaster. I should have read the review, rather than just buying it on the spot.
Originally I bought a travel seat because I hated the idea of my daughter having to sit on a public toilet. I got one and it very quickly was just one more thing that took up space and another thing I had to lug around in my already huge bag. I soon stopped going everywhere with it and just sprayed the seats with the “Clean Well Pocket Sanitizer“. This stuff smells like eucalyptus, it’s all natural, safe for kids, and it kills 99.9% of germs. It’s a spray and not a gel, so it’s fast and easy to sanitize the seats. Also it really keeps your skin smooth, not dried up feeling like those gel ones with alcohol. - Finally, a good reward. Zu doesn’t normally get certain stickers, so we made a sticker chart, and she got to stick a “Littlest Pet Shop” sticker on it every time she pooped in the toilet. And sometimes she gets a manicure, if she goes.
Potty training was a territory that seemed so unapproachable, but in reality, I think you just have to sit back and just let them get there at their own pace. I really felt the pressure and tried early on, but it totally back fired on me. She knew how to go, she just couldn’t tell when to go. Now, I don’t think there should be any rush to get them out of their diapers. To tell you the truth, I think it’s easier when they are in their diapers sometimes…
OK, so after her 3rd birthday, we decided to try again. I did exactly what my friend did when her daughter potty trained when she was a little over 3. They potty trained in 3 days.
We got a pack of Princess Undies and I told her, “Princesses use the toilet, they don’t pee and poop in their diaper. You’re a big girl now, would you like to join the princesses and become one too?” She jumped to the idea. She put the undies on, we played outside, she wet herself. She was extremely upset. “I won’t be a princess!” So we tried again. Again she wet herself… She was really mad. This day was a failure.
Next day, we tried again. We went to the bathroom when she woke up, a couple hours after she had something to drink, before and after lunch, a couple of hours after her juice, before and after her nap, before and after dinner, and before bed time. No accidents. Yeah!!
3rd day, we try again. First we went to the toilet when she woke up, and then I tried to let her tell me when she needed to go. She wet herself… She was very frustrated. We tried again. This time, right after lunch she told me she had to go, and only one accident since then. That was about a month ago. Yeah!!! We did it!
So it’s true, you CAN potty train in 3 days. You just need to find the right timing. Here’s a tip, put your child in undies, if they get upset when they wet themselves, you can quite possibly start potty training. If not, wait a little longer. There’s no rush. You could feel the pressure when some people around you are potty trained, but seriously, what is the rush?
