{Note: if you have problems with potty talk or seeing babies sitting on potties, you should probably go to some other post on The Art of Making a Baby, like this one about flowers and pretty things}
I'll start from the beginning...
At around 13 months of age, I noticed that Lexi seemed to have picked up on the whole potty/toilet/peeing thing, so I decided to get the Elizabeth Pantley No Cry Potty Training Book (since I am such a  fan of her sleep books) and get ready for what lay ahead by arming myself with knowledge. The book is wonderful and I highly recommend it. My favorite part of the book was a little test of readiness. If you pass it, your toddler is ready to potty train. If you don't, then you can benefit from pre-potty training. Lexi passed. With flying colors. So I thought we'd see where it takes us... (little did I know that passing the test and WANTING to go potty are two different things)GOALS
I knew that at 13 months it was going to be a long process. More like a preparation for real potty training. Before about 18 months, all potty training means is being able to catch them before they pee/poop and take them to the potty. After 18-24 months, they become physically able to wait to get to the potty for a few minutes and some children don't get there till much much longer. I did grow up in Russia though. The land of babies who are potty trained at 12-14 months ( again not true potty trained, but  they sit them down and let them do their thing). I kept it super relaxed and super realistic. If it wasn't going to happen, no biggie - we'd try again later.PREPARATION
Aside from taking the test and making sure I know all the facts and have all the supplies needed, I prepared myself mentally for it to take months and months. I stocked up on potties, three to be exact, to have accessible at all times. I bought some training pants and  potty books to get her used to the concept.SUPPLIES
Potty Books and Media
Books are essential in preparing a child for potty training. It helps them with the concept, gets them excited about underwear and being a big boy/girl and about using a potty like everyone does. Our favorite ( both mine and Lexi's) are the following books:Potties
Two levels, 4000 square feet- that is a lot of space to cover with potties during the potty training. I figured we needed AT LEAST three potties: one in her playroom, one in the family room/kitchen area and one upstairs. Looking back, it could not have been any other way - three is what we needed. A separate word on the potties... In my infinite need to try out different things, I got sent three different potties from three different brands to use and compare and write about: Boon Potty Bench, Prince Lionheart 3 in 1 Potty and Joovy Loo. The three couldn't be further from each other in their use (aside from going potty in them), features and prices. So I'll give you the low down on them for the time when (or in case) you're potty training, because there are A LOT OF options out there.{doing the Daniel Tiger potty dance: "Sitting on the potty, sitting on the potty!"}
The seat is really easy to pull apart, which is a bad thing if you hate having to put it together 10 times a day, but a good thing because the toddler can be an active participant in the potty dumping "ceremony". In fact, she had her first poop into this potty and happily took the  bowl to the bathroom and dumped the results into the toilet all by herself.  Because it also doubles as a step stool when turned over, it continues being of use after the potty days are over, so you end up using the toilet seat and turn the potty itself into a step stool, once they are big enough to reach the sink with a stool. The potty comes with a deflector, as well, that can be removed for girls. In use: As I said above, she loves pulling it apart and taking the bowl to dump the contents herself  and it appears to be very comfortable to sit on due to its round shape. We just recently realized the genius and convenience of a removable toilet seat when we had to take it with us to the gym class (on that later). Joovy Loo Potty
32 comments
How exciting that it just clicked one day! My daughter was the same way, and it was really quite amazing! I would (gently) like to point out, though, that seems like a pretty traditional potty learning timeline. I’m not quite sure why you’re saying she potty trained in one day? I don’t mean to be rude at all, I just think you’re not giving yourself enough credit 😉 Sounds like you’ve been working on it for about 9 months? It does seem like one day it just “clicked” for her and she decided she didn’t want to use diapers anymore (yay! Who wants to wear a diaper anyway? 🙂 ) so that’s awesome! But definitely more than “one day of potty training”, in my opinion. 22 months is still fairly early, go Lexi!
Congratulations! Being diaper free is AMAZING! I do have to say that I do find it a bit ‘misleading’ for you to state that your daughter potty trained in a day… When you’ve been talking about potty training for months and months you’ve been potty training for months and months. Congratulations again, but let’s keep things real.
The main reason I say in one day is because when it “clicked”, we were in the “backed off stage” and weren’t actively potty training.
Obviously potty learning happens over a log period of time for anyone, however active potty training (like those three day solutions) is what I personally consider actual potty training (vs learning) and it happened in one day. 😉 and it was over in one day.
The potty learning process spans months for almost anyone, kids are always learning about potties around that age, but then it takes a shorter period of time to actually train them (doing a more intensive training than just laid back learning), that is when people say ” we are potty training” or he was fully potty trained in 3 days” even though they have been learning for months.
We are still continuing “potty learning” (outside and stuff) but by most definitions she is fully potty trained from that one day.
Hope that explains it.
You can use any terminology you want, but when you pull out the potty and start talking about it, you’re potty training. If you want to refer to the day it ‘clicked’ as her first day of training then I guess every kid trains in ‘one day’ because they ALL have that day that it clicks. If a child is truly ready to potty train in won’t take 10 months of training, it will only take days.
Honestly, I could give two poops (pun intended) about the amount of time it took your child to learn to go to the bathroom properly…. What I can’t stand is that you are constantly trying to make it seem as though your child is some super gifted being when really, she’s perfectly average. She’s perfect, but she seems, in everything that you’ve shared, to be average. I think you do your readers who look to you as an ‘expert’ a HUGE disservice by trying to make your daughter appear ‘special’.
Again, congratulations and good luck with your child.
OMG thank you SO much for “putting me in my place”. I’m surely going to lose sleep worrying about what you think about me and my daughter and how you know JUST exactly how special, gifted, better than everyone else we think we are and how I surely want to make it known through my posts.
Your insight in my life and thoughts is astounding!
NOT.
Stop projecting your insecurities and inadequacies. It’s too obvious.
Her child IS special. Every mommy thinks her own child is special. And they are. I’m sure your blog, if you have one, is all about your own special child. 🙂
Good for her (and you!). I potty-trained before 2 and my mom wouldn’t let me forget it once I started trying to train my own kid. My son, on the other hand, wasn’t 100% potty trained (with no night-time accidents) until 3. I’ve heard it’s easier for girls but I don’t know how true that is. My son goes to day care/pre-school and I’ve noticed more of the girls potty train earlier than the boys. Yay for not having to buy/wash diapers anymore!
I have definitely heard/read noticed that girls potty train way easier.
I mean our journey is not finished since it will take some time to stay dry at night and might not happen for many months. And I’m sure we will have our share of outside accidents but the big thing is done. :))))
How do you deal with long car rides? Does she tell you in the car when she needs to go? Do you have any recs for a protective mat for the car seat in case she falls asleep in the car or has an accident?
To be honest we haven’t had the chance to even think about it. It’s so new to us. No long car rides yet (longer than 40 minutes) and for those she’s been holding it. She had 1 accident once when daddy took her to the playground and failed to take the potty with him or put her on the potty prior to leaving, like he was supposed to. But that’s it so far. For anything under an hour, I always make sure she goes potty right before we leave.
We do have a few long car trips coming up, so I will have to think about how to handle it. In the beginning we’ll probably be reminding her to tell us and make stops until she fully understands that EVEN in the car we can stop and go potty. She’s pretty much gotten the outdoors part down. She knows that on the playground I have a potty in the backpack and indoors there is always a potty (that i show to her before hand).
Oh and I don’t think I made it clear. The one accident that I mentioned was in the car. She , of course, had other accidents while outside before she understood fully that she can go potty outside as well as at home, just never on the car rides.
A travel potty in your backpack? I didn’t know there was such a thing…tell me more, how does it work, where is it from? Cool!!
Yes! It’s called a Potette and it’s pretty small.
Congratulations. I’m glad you had such a great experience. Another app that my son loved was Potty Time by Signing Time. It has great little songs, games, charts, videos & teaches the signs for going potty. Its great for teaching your child to communicate the need to go potty. I had the boy who totally got the concept and idea, but would not communicate that he needed to go.
And I’m sure you know this already, but nighttime dryness is really a hormonal related issue, and I wouldn’t push ‘nighttime training’ before 5 years old. That’s something that really just happens on its own as the body starts producing enough of the hormone that slows down kidney function while we sleep.
Yes I’m very aware 🙂 there’s no “training” involved in nighttime dryness. They do it when they are ready. 🙂
Congrats on the potty training! It is so nice when this happens. I had 4 kids all trained between 20-23 months and I think this is the ideal learning time for this! My pediatricians were shocked when my kids were in underwear before age 2 always telling me not to try until age 3. Society as a whole is just missing the boat with this one imo. Anyway I wanted to mention that we use the Baby Bjorn travel potty (the one with the removable cup but no high sides) in the car and it works well even for my 5 yr old in roadside emergencies. Its a bit bulky to carry around in a bag for these early days for you but has been a lifesaver for car use and very easy clean up! . I think potty training as a whole is so individual and everyone just needs to do what is best for their kid and not listen to what others say. My 3 boys were WAY easier than my daughter to train and she was my youngest (all within a week with very little pressure on them…they were just ready!) . My daughter was just too stubborn for her own good. Where the boys had no control in the beginning she almost had too much and got the run to the potty very early but once there could not release the pee. That was the learning for her! And It only took 3 puddles right in front of the potty to realize she was trying to stand and pee like her brothers! Also, I agree that the nighttime is hormonal but honestly once she really gets the daytime with no accidents even while out the nighttime will just happen for sure. With all 4 of mine this happened within a month of no daytime accidents. And true to form my boys had maybe 3 to 4 accidents at night total and my daughter who has been trained for over a yr still has the occasional accident with no rhyme or reason why! And at almost age 3 I am still carrying extra clothes for her. I didn’t have to do this with my boys. I guess it’s payback for finally getting a girl! HA! And lastly we LOVE Daniel Tiger. I have been in the parenting game for 10 plus years and this is by far the best toddler show I have seen. I truly hope all the comments stay positive as you are just doing what is best for your family and a wonderful job at that!
Wow Meg! This comment is great!
I love how you managed to relay your personal story, give products recommendations, give encouragement and leave on a positive note!
That’s what comments from other moms should always be like- sharing our experiences and encouraging other moms, not “just you waits” and “you’re doing it wrong” as I see so many moms get in real life and on the Internet.
That’s awesome, she is so clever!
My daughter loves all the Daniel Tiger songs. You can make up one for pretty much any occasion, it’s really helpful. I guess kids remember things better when it’s put into simple words to a catchy tune. 🙂
Thank you so much for this post!! So as a first time mom with a now 1 year old girl, which potty out of the three would you recommend to be our best bet? Our house isn’t too big so one will probably be okay. Also your daughters ponytails are so cute!! I can’t wait till I can put my little ones hair up!
Aaahhh this is the hardest question. It completely depends on your style, your house, her preference.
I mean if I had to pick only one I’d probably go with boon especially if you’re planning on buying a separate travel potty but this is such a hard choice because all are really great and you can’t go wrong with either.
Prince lionheart is great cuz it is a three in one.
And joovy is a basic beautiful potty for those cases where the potty stage doesn’t last long (but in your case you’re starting now so it most likely will last until at least 18 months), so go with boon!
You’re awesome, thanks!!
So awesome, Lexi! I hope she continues doing so well! My girlfriend’s daughter potty trained herself just after 2. Her DD just told mommy she didn’t want diapers anymore! She did have a slight regression for a few weeks (which is completely normal) but she just really worked with her to refocus and get back to going on the potty exclusively. Now she’s 2 1/2 and doing great.
We’ve been casually working with DD. But she’s gotten to the point of absolutely no interest. When asked if she wants to just SIT on the potty, fully clothed, she says no and runs away. So we’re not going to push it. She does love the DT potty song, though! She’ll sing it when we ask if she wants to sit. And when daddy or I go. I guess that’s a step in the right direction!
Like you read in my post, that’s exactly the stage Lexi went through before deciding to start going potty. And backing off is what we did too. She was just too resistant. And then she suddenly went!
I love the idea of the personal potty book! My son is going to be 3 in april and has NO interest in the potty what so ever. I was considering starting to slowly start the potty conversation and I think that might be perfect. He loves looking at pictures of himself. Men right? lol
The potty training in one day title on your picture is a little misleading, since this blog post spanned what-10 months? And if she’s still having accidents regularly I’m not sure you should say she’s “trained”. You guys are I the potty traning process!
My kids were ridiculously easy. My son was 2.5, had been pooping in toilet since 18 months, I had a week free before I started a new job, and we were needing to pick up more diapers at the store. I decided kind of on the spot to go for it. 2 days diaper less at home and on the 3rd day we ventured out. Was another 6 months or so before he’d stay dry most nights. Although he had nighttime accidents 1-2x a week until kindergarten.
My daughter was 2yr3months and I had a stretch of working 3 nights in a row (and sleeping during the day). My husband is awesome and when they were at the store he let her pick out undies and he bought a bag of M&M’s and she got 1 piece for sitting on the toilet, 2 for peeing and a handful for pooping. Prior to this shed have nothing to do with toilets. She was done with diapers during the day after that weekend.
We own two potty books total that lasted just fine thru both kids. We have a two story house also and have one sneer that goes on a regular toilet as I was not a fan of cleaning yet another thing n my house daily.
Life and parenting is easier if you don’t over think and overplan. Promise.
Love this post! I have a daughter just a couple months younger than yours, and she’s just beginning to show interest in sitting on the potty (she hasn’t gone yet, but she loves shoving as much toilet paper as possible in. It’s a start I guess!). Your approach seems do-able and encouraging.
And I love your attitude of kids-do-things-when-they’re-ready. I enjoy being able to read and learn about Lexi’s milestones and your approaches without feeling the need to stress and compare.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you so much Kelsey!
I’m so glad it’s helpful!
Started elimination communication with my girl at 15 months. Out of diapers by 20 months and accident free at home and in public by 22 months. It’s very exciting. Accidents do happen occasionally but so rarely it’s hard to remember from one to the next. It’s a part of the process. I will be ECing her baby brother from day one when he is born in May!
That’s amazing!!!! Potty learning is so exciting!
I potty trained my daughter at 20 mos. here is a tip if you still need suggestions..if you’re having issues out, take your own potty and go in the car. She might be scared of public restrooms. We used the bonaco potty (check amazon) which is tiny and awesome. It uses diapers or pads (we used left over disposables) and when you’re done, you wrap up the diaper and dump it. So easy, we’ve used ours in the train station, Central Park, you name it, we’ve done it. Our daughter HATED public restrooms and started to come around at 3. We fly to Europe a lot and she would not drink anything before the flights, because she didn’t want to use the plane potty.
Also we never trained her for naps. At 20 mos, we felt that she needed to train herself to hold her pee…so we just let her be. Within 2 months she was completely trained overnights because it was weird to pee yourself. Sounds like you’re not stressing it, that’s how we were and it was super easy. Good luck!
Ha! That’s funny because you just finished my potty story for me. That’s exactly what happened in the last 2 months. To a T 🙂
She’s dry for naps and bedtime. We used a portable potty in the car because she stopped liking public restrooms ( did like them for a while there) :)lol
Hi Elena, I am a fan from China, I am checking your updates everyday now. 🙂