Sunday, November 14, 2010

Potty Training

Although I have brought two kids from diapers to big kid underwear, I am no potty training expert. Thankfully my first child was so easy to potty train it literally took her a day to start going on the potty and she only had maybe two or three accidents after that. She had just turned two and her main problem was that she was scared to poop on the potty, afraid it was going to hurt. So the second part of potty training, the #2, took a little longer. However, even that was easy because she also wouldn't do it in her underwear. She would wait until we put a diaper on her a night and so it was a fairly easy problem and it only lasted until I bribed her with a new Disney movie. Easy peasy.

My second child, I am so very proud to announce, is potty trained. This has been a several month process in which we would try for several days, I would lose my patience, take a break for several days, and repeat the process all over again - we are finally there! At least at the point where I can bring her out in public in underwear without much fear that there will be a problem. I did have to clean up pee off the floor by myself the other day at Victoria's Secret, as the employee looked at me in disbelief and disgust and said, "I'll get you something," when I told her my daughter peed on the floor. That accident was more my fault than Berlin's though, as I had realized that it had been a long time since her last potty trip, but totally spaced taking her to the bathroom. We have had many more accidents with Berlin.

My new dilemma? Berlin is just under two year younger that Tryn and much, much, much closer to being potty trained through the night than Tryn. Several mothers have told me that night potty training can take a really long time, some kids just aren't ready for it until there are 4 or 5 years old. Tryn has never really seemed close to being able to make it through the night in underwear so we have never really tried. A few months ago I got Tryn pull-ups and explained that she could get up anytime during the night if she felt like she needed to go. I even got her up when we went to bed every night to see if that could get her to morning with a dry pull-up, but that was not very successful. The problem is that I now have a child, a two year old, who can start sleeping through the night in underwear at basically any time, and her older sister who can't and I am not sure what to do about that.

Just wondering if anyone has any suggestions? Should I just put Tryn in underwear at night and let her wet her bed several nights in a row - which is going to be very annoying and not fun for any of us? Should I wait longer? Not really sure what to do...Like I said, I am no potty training expert. :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I did both Brennan and Margaret at the same time. For some reason it never occured to me to try earlier with just Brennan. Anyway, they each had their own chart on the refridgerator and for every night they were dry they got a sticker or star on the chart. When they were dry five times they got a treat(picking out a movie to watch, DQ, fruit snacks, going to the farm, etc.) It didn't matter if it took a month to get to five. When they started to stay dry more often, they got a treat when it was five times in a row. During this entire time, they were wearing diapers to bed not underwear. It wasn't until they were regularly dry that I let them sleep in underwear. Eventually I wouldn't make a big deal about it and the treats just got phased out. I use cloth which might have helped since they could feel themselves wet at night and didn't like it. I also wouldn't let them have anything to drink the last 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. before bed. I'm doing this with Delaine right now. She's been dry for almot two weeks in a row! Good luck!
Leah

Anonymous said...

I feel your frustration, Heidi. We went through SO many nights with Coletrane peeing the bed at night, he was wailing, we were grumpy, trying to find sheets and blankets to change the bed. Ugh. What finally worked for us was getting up in the middle of the night and MAKING him go pee. He would cry and whine, but he'd go right back to sleep after he'd do it. It's hard and tiresome, but it did end up working. - Fauntel

lhassler said...

I've been told by moms with lots of children to not sweat it. Put them in pull-ups until they have five consecutive dry nights and then put them in underwear. If they wet, then go back to the five consecutive nights thing. Aurelia is day-time potty trained, but I'm not even sweating night time. She has dry nights on occasion, but not consistently. I figure it will happen when it happens. Also, it really helps if you limit liquid intake after a certain hour. But I'm sure you've been told all this.

Becky said...

Heidi, I STILL have this problem. And Viv likes to flaunt it in front of Linnea. :) Our next step is the Dr, cause even during the day Linnea pee's like 80 times. I'm convinced she has the smallest bladder in the world. :)