We are on Day 6 and I have questions!

1. DS is doing a great job and we rush to the bathroom when he tells me that "pee-pee is coming!" Nine times out of 10 he is dry, but at least once a day, he has damp underwear. They are not soaked and his pants are not even wet. Is this just a sign that he is recognizing that he has to pee a bit too late and letting a little bit out?

2. DS has yet to poop on the potty. He has either not gone for the day, pooped in his nap diaper or pooped in his underwear. He does not say anything about the poop in his underwear until I notice it. Any tips to help him? I think he can tell there is something going on as he will rush to the potty, try to feel his backside and then hop-up without peeing. DH and I are focusing on verbalizing what he is feeling, reassuring him and trying to root him on. Today he woke up from his nap early and proceeded to poop in his underwear 5 minutes later without any warning (ie. rushing to the potty).

3. DD is our SUPERSTAR...she has not had a single accident since the first day! :woohoo: However, she has become a very enthusiastic pooper. She used to go twice a day, but currently is pooping at least 5 or 6 times! She is not constipated but seems to be forcing them out in little batches (sorry for TMI!)...maybe to get the poop reward of M&Ms and a sticker? Do we try and curb this now or will it work itself out?

4. How do you go about weaning them from the reward? I am starting to worry about the number of M&Ms that they are ingesting...especially DD who gets three for each poop :wacko:

5. Final question. Today was the first day we set foot out of the house (muffins/scones at Panera)...they did great and did not have any accidents. However, I never appreciated how DISGUSTING a public toilet is when a toddler's hands feel the need to touch every surface. They were not afraid of the potty, but it felt so awkward trying to get them situated. I just bought one of those collapsible rings (despite the poor reviews on Amazon) as my kiddos are used to having a ring at home. I think it is too cold here right now for me to consider having them pee in the little potty in the back of the van. In the end, will they even need to use public toilets that often??? I had definite second-thoughts about PT-ing when instead I could have just enjoyed my coffee and scone without worrying about them having to go potty :mellow:

 

It sounds like things are going really well! It is a little hard to adjust to going out, the constant questioning them if they have to go, the extra time it takes to make them go before you leave the house...but it is nice to not buy diapers anymore. Even with my daughter, who I still can't say she is officially potty trained after several months at this - because she still has an accident or 2 every day. But I still prefer it over not buying diapers. My two don't ask to go much when we are out running errands. 1) My son can hold it for hours - even though I prefer he didn't, he still does it and doesn't have accidents 2) My 2 just don't drink that much and 3) I always make them at least try to go before leaving the house.

As far as public restrooms, I've been afraid of having to bring them in to start this process years before we even had to deal with it. I never even brought them into public restrooms to change diapers - and I never use them myself. I have a bladdar of steel!

But I found these, and I love them. I've been wanting to post them on here. They come individually wrapped in small packages you can easily fit in your purse, and they completey cover the entire toilet. The part in the front hangs down and keeps their underwear and legs from resting on the toilet. They aren't as obnoxious as they seem, and I can't say enough about them.

http://www.amazon.com/PottyCover-Disposable-covers-individually-packaged/dp/B003JJX2IG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1294031663&sr=1-3

 

1.) My son Anthony was the same way. Even now. He doesn't soak through to his pants, just sometimes a little wet spot on his underwear. I attribute it to him waiting til the verylastsecond to go to the bathroom. He is usually running around because he has to go!

2.) For us, we had poop under control within two weeks. It was a process, but not horrible. They were scared. So dh and I had to show them there was no reason to be scared. They came in when we went, or I sat there and held their hand. I found a heart shaped rock and told Nicholas it was the "special pooping rock." LOL! He was to hold onto it and squeeze really hard and go! It would help him. And every time they went, we shouted, jumped, cheered, etc. We made a big deal about it. We called Daddy at work, or called Grandma, TiTi/Zia, Grandpa-you name it-we got on the phone and told everyone! They were so proud of themselves. Nicholas I knew when he had to go because he ran around holding his butt. LOL! I don't think he ever went in his pants because I knew when he had to go. We would run to the toilet and he would cry and wrestle with me, but I held him there and talked to him calmly and told him it was ok to go, and eventually he couldn't hold it anymore. I would try to distract them with songs, etc. But in two weeks, we had that all under control.

3.) We had m&m's as well, along with stickers. Surprisingly for us, the m&m's weren't a huge factor. They liked getting them, but they didn't remember to ask, if we forgot. LOL! Could you just go to stickers? Or say one m&m each time instead of three, now that she is getting the hang of it?

4.) Like I said in #3, the candy wasn't a huge factor, and I thought it was. Maybe give it to them every other time. Or if they don't ask for it, don't give it.

5.) In the beginning, we went to the bathroom right before we got in the car. Then when we arrived at the destination, I put them on the potty in my car. This is what we have and we LOVE LOVE LOVE it: Potette Plus Potty. It comes with it's own carrying bag. Then, I would take that in with me in case they had to go to the bathroom again(they were pretty good about not needing to). The toilet doubles as a ring and it covers the toilets in the public bathrooms. No complaints. It stays in my car. They are also great for sani-cans, etc. If I am by myself and going out to lunch with the three kids, I have them use the potty in the car real quick before taking them in. The going to the bathroom when in public wears out pretty quickly. The only time they really go is when we go out to eat, not so much when we go to the mall and various stores.

It sounds like they-and you-are doing great! Keep it up!

 

1. sounds like your son is doing very well. My son who has been potty trained for about 2yrs now still sometimes gets his underwear a little wet. Not soaked but a little damp for either waiting to long or he thinks he's done peeing and then when he puts it away gets a little on him then. But over time I am sure he will learn.

2. I would still just keep trying to cheer him on and talking to him but don't push him to go on the potty if he doesn't want to. We pushed my daughter a little and she got constipated and 5 yrs later she still has some issues with it. Just try to talk to him about it and one day he will just decide to go.

3 & 4. I did rewards with my girls (my son didn't need them he trained quickly), I did a chocolate covered ice cream for poop and I think a sticker for pee. I only gave them out when they remembered to ask. Usually after they went we cheered and did a potty parade so then we usually forgot about it anyway. So as time went on they just forgot and I just stopped doing it. I wouldn't remind her when she goes and just cheer her on and see what happens.

5. we had the folding potty seat that goes over the big potty. I make sure they go to the bathroom before we leave for anywhere were we are going to be longer than a half hour. But I always carried the potty seat with me with wipes, sanitizer, and change of clothes just in case. The potty seat my mom made up a bag for me so the seat didn't touch anything else and I would wipe it down after each use. My one daughter loves to go to public restrooms so we are always going in and using them. Parents took her to New York to see a show and she went in the bathroom there twice and in a few others while there and said one of her favorite parts was visiting the bathroom at the show. My other daughter only went once and my parents made her go since it was an all day thing.

It sounds like your two are on their way of being fully trained soon. Congrats to you and your kids.

 

It sounds like your two are doing great!
1. With the wet underwear, I would compliment him on how well he is doing and just remind him to tell you when he has to go. I felt like I reminded my son that 200x day starting out.
2. With the pooping, I increased the amount of fiber in my DS's diet. I gave him blueberries and mixed prunes in with grape jelly to help him to poo on the potty. When he did, I made a huge deal about it. When he had a poo accident we would just flush it in the potty and I would remind him to keep his underwear clean and that poo goes in the potty.
3. My two are terrified of public toilets, so I do drag the potty out for long excursions. They are pretty good about holding it when they are out.
4. When both of them were pretty steady with using the potty, I weaned them off the rewards.