Well, I thought my daughter was ready to potty train this past December. She exhibited the signs: dryness when she woke up from her nap, telling me when she went in her diaper and then wanting it changed, and she was showing interest. One Saturday morning we decided that we would just dive right in. The first week went well; better than I had expected. She even pooped on the potty which is something my son struggled with when we were training him. Then the busyness of the holidays happened and little by little she became more careless. After a few weeks we started to just let her walk around the house pantless. Man, I got tired of looking at her naked little bottom half! So, I thought that perhaps we just needed to be persistent and have her wear underwear around the house so she got used to the idea that even though she was wearing something she still had to actually use the toilet to relieve herself. We had a few mishaps but for a week things were looking up. Then a change happened and everything went downhill; it's unexplainable really. I think the problem started because of our busy schedule. Three days a week my son has preschool and, naturally, his little sister is along for the ride. When we're out and about I have been using disposable trainers so basically, there's nothing uncomfortable about having an accident in a Pull-Up. It was a few accidents here and there when we were away from home and then she was consistently having accidents at home. I took away the underwear and went back to her being pantless when we were at home. No such luck, suddenly she was peeing all over the floor like she did when she was 18 months old (she's 32 months now). So, I've gone back to using diapers on her and you know what? She's completely fine with that. She hated being told what to do and the battle of wills has just been too much for this pregnant mama to bear! For some reason, it was a hard pill to swallow. I felt like it was my fault; did I push her too soon? The more I think about it, the more I begin to believe that she really was showing me that she was ready. Now, for whatever reason, she just doesn't care. It's not my fault and eventually she'll be interested again. She's been back in cloth diapers for four days now and she isn't bothered by it at all. One day she'll be out of diapers today just isn't that day.
Let your baby come into the bathroom when you go. That way, they know what’s going on in there. You don’t have to get graphic, just talk to them about what toilets are for. If you are a woman at home all day with boy children, encourage Daddy to show ‘em how it’s done.
I’m pregnant with my first child. I don’t know how long it will take before the diapers will no longer be needed. Best of luck with your little one.
My son is just turning one and I’m already starting to wonder how potty learning is going to go for us. Thanks for sharing your story. I’ll stocking up on all the advice I can get so I’m prepared for our journey.
When I found out I was pregnant again with my fourth after seven years, I was truly thrilled with the notion of another baby in the house. Discovering cloth diapers has been a new and wonderful experience as well. I don’t mind getting up to feed him at night either, since it’s just once a night. BUT I dread potty training again. The older kids were nearly three before they had the hang of it. My hope is with cloth, they may feel it more and want to keep dry? We’ll see.
Thank you for this post! I am having a similar struggle with my son and it’s hard not to feel like I’m doing something wrong!
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