Potty Training Brooke

 Image courtesy of the Columbia Mom, Howard County, MD mom

Welp, it’s “official” — Brooke is potty trained !!

I say that with air quotes, but I think trained is all relative… but I do just need to take a minute to say that I’m SOO proud of this little girl!!

So let me rewind a bit so then I can also give you tips & what has worked for us.

Admittedly, much of parenting I’ve felt like I’ve constantly needed (or wanted) a rule book - like in sleep training, it helped SO much to know “what to do” by implementing certain steps, routines, etc. But truly when it comes to parenting - this is no real rule book - for eating, sleeping, potty training, etc etc. Sure, there are TONS of books and resources out there to help, but at the end of the day, you can still just plain and simply do what works for you!

Funny enough, I’m one of those people that LOVES rules, structures, routines - and thrives off them. But I also need plenty of room to “just do it my way as well.”

So that being said, when it came to potty training, initially I felt like I needed to “read all the books”. One of the books that was highly recommended to me was “Oh Crap!” by Jamie Glowacki - which I got on Audible. Ironically, when I was still pregnant with Grant (about 38+ weeks), I remember standing in the kitchen prepping freezer meals for post baby, and listening to this book on audio to try and educate myself for what was to come.

I got about half way through it, and honestly just didn’t have the time or energy to restart it. I had the intentions of reading more through it before we officially “pulled the trigger” - but again, just didn’t have the time, and after enough reading on my own, talking to moms (A LOTTT), for probably one of the first real times EVER - I just decided to pull the trigger and DO IT MY WAY (easier said than done). The “OH CRAP” book boasts the 3 day naked method - where you basically follow them around with a little mini potty, gently prompting etc. Which is kind of what I had intended to do.

Sooo, funny enough, I had already been thinking about starting potty training the week before (new year, new goals, right ?!). So I went to Target on Thursday, & picked up: baby cereal, Bambas (PB snacks to try for Grant), and brand new Disney princess + Frozen underwear for Brooke! When we got home I showed her the underwear, and she was SOO excited! Minutes later Grant tried the Bamba’s… and well, that landed us in the hospital within an hour.

And as crazy as I am…. decided to still move forward with potty training the next day (I admit, not the greatest timing or decision on my end, as I was still a mental mess from the day before with Grant), but I think part of me was missing Brooke & wanted a reason to feel extra connected to her since I was already feeling GLUED to Grant with all his allergy stuff.

SO HERE’S WHAT WE DID:

1) UNDERWEAR ON: I put the brand new underwear on her. she had 3-4 accidents that morning (#1 & #2), but she didn’t have any accidents after her nap time I think because she ended up learning very quickly that she did not like being wet (there were lots of tears involved)

2) CELEBRATE! Luckily I had a ton of these in my house - but I gave her a cookie every time she peed, and she got a piece of chocolate for every poo. We would sing, dance, cheer, clap, and tell EVERYONE & anyone that was around !

3) MINI POTTY: we used a Minnie-mini potty, and for the first 3-ish days, it sat mainly in the living room, or brought downstairs with us. I have a ladder potty that I have in her bathroom, and also got this one for our basement.

4) PROMPTING: in the first 3 days, I would ask Brooke if she needed to go every 20-30 minutes, and she would agree to try and sit down almost every time. By day 4, she was getting really upset every time we asked (even if we were nervous - an accident happened around day 4/5-ish as a result). BUT this taught us to trust her, and give her that space once she learned & was listening to her body. We also realized that the accidents ended up being learning moments for her - and she learned really quickly not make that mistake again!

5) ACCIDENTS: never make a big deal out of them! We simply say “it’s ok!” and cheer her up, because she immediately would start crying and hate the feeling of being wet. Magically, she’s only had like 2-3 accidents since we officially started! But I know they will still happen, so it’s all about having NO SHAME around it if/when it happens.

6) SLEEP: we still do pull-ups for nap-time & overnight. Brooke is also still in her crib, so I wanted to wait until she’s transitioned to her big-girl bed before working on the training during those hours.

7) MISC: I got this potty seat to have at both my In-laws and my parents houses, just in case: mini potty seat

Now that we’re through the thick of the first 2 weeks, we’ve moved the minnie potty back into the bathroom, and she pretty much independently goes now! She leaves the door open to yell out when she needs to go, and now pretty much will run in there by herself and do it all herself ! Every now & then she needs help with her clothes, and we help with the wiping part :D but otherwise, this little girl is kicking it!

We have not yet potty trained for being in the car, naptimes, or overnight. Though she has done about 2-3 car rides successfully both with a pullup and without (no accidents or pees). Once we’ve transitioned her to her big-girl bed and she’s settled, is when we’ll start to work on naps & overnight PT’ing. Wish us luck!!