Friday, November 9, 2012

Potty Train in 3 Days... It worked!!!!

We finally did it.  My oldest child is fully potty trained.  I secretly worried and wondered if the day would ever come :).  I made my first attempt when my little boy was just 2 and it seemed like he wasn't at all physiologically or verbally ready for it.  Then at 2 1/2, I tried again but it was an utter failure and a totally frustrating experience for all of us!  We tried the method of pumping him with lots of fluids, trying to keep him on the potty practically all day, and making him go to the potty like every 20 minutes.  Then we had a baby, and life was just too crazy.  We ended up back and forth in pull-ups for sleep and running errands and such.  It was NO GOOD.  So we took a break and put him back in diapers.

A friend whole-heartedly recommended "3 Day Potty Training" by Lora Jensen.  It's an ebook that you buy online and then you get the PDF electronic copy and a lifetime of one-on-one mentoring with Lora.  She doesn't just email one to two sentences.  She'll email you full paragraphs to help you with your specific questions.  This lady is brilliant and her method worked amazingly!!!  So here's basically what we did:

For Preparation:
-She recommends potty training as early as 22 months if they are showing the signs of readiness... basically that they have a way to communicate to you the need to go potty.  It worked for us at age 3.  She explains more signs in her ebook.

-Since we had previously started a different method that didn't work, we put him back in diapers completely for at least 30 days before starting this new method.

-we went to the store to let him pick out his own underwear.

-We made it a PARTY!  The night before, I taped balloons, some underwear, and  pictures of him on the bathroom door.

-We Decided on rewards we wanted to do.  For example, putting fuzz balls in a jar and opening up a dollar store gift when it's full.  Or M&Ms or fun stickers, etc.  We chose a special reward for #2 - go-gurts!   




-I stocked my fridge with a fun variety of exciting drinks.  We let him help pick these out too ... I put them all in a big container in the fridge a couple days before we began just to build up the excitement and suspense.




For Day 1:

-He woke up, and we marched to the bathroom to get super excited about our POTTY PARTY!  I over-emphasized how now he was a "BIG BOY" and how PROUD I was of him!  

-The KEY was to STAY POSITIVE and PRAISE continually for 3 days straight.  For 3 days, I needed to believe in him and not get frustrated.  

-We TOOK OFF his very LAST DIAPER and I had him THROW AWAY EVERY DIAPER/pull-up left.  This part is more for the parent than the child.  She says you MUST GET RID of every last one so you won't be tempted to revert back to them.




-Then, he got to pick out HIS FIRST UNDERWEAR to wear!

-We excitedly ran back to the potty, and I explained 2 things:
1. Keep your underwear DRY and
2. TELL MOMMY when you have to go

Absolutely NO more asking him if he needs to go.  You only say over and over again... "Tell Mommy when you need to go."  You now are fully trusting him that by the end of the 3 days, he will learn to tell you.  It may take the full 3 days and lots of accidents, but stick with it, and it will click.   

Tips for Days 1-3:

*For 3 full days, STAY RIGHT BY HIS SIDE!!  The key is to never leave his side so you can catch him "in the act," scoop him up, and run him to the potty to hopefully "FINISH" in the toilet.  Even if he only ends up going one drop into the toilet - PRAISE HIM!!  Stay positive and encouraging even in the midst of accidents.  Keep reminding him throughout the day to tell you when he needs to go, and be super excited every time he does tell you!!
*All throughout the day, praise him for staying dry.  You can ask him if he's dry, have him feel to check, and praise again.  
*NEVER force him to go.  No more making him "try" or requiring that he stay on the potty longer.  
* Since #2 is hard, make sure you pick a special reward that will mean a lot to your child.  To get this part totally down with no accidents, it took actually a little longer than 3 days for us.  
*We never reverted back to diapers/pull ups - even for naps and nights.  We did go through accidents and changing sheets and washing lots of underwear those first few days.  But he learned by following the steps Lora recommends for nap/sleep time...  We didn't give him liquids 2 hours before bedtime (which was a total change for us).  Check out the ebook for more suggestions and tips.  She has great ideas that totally helped us.  I honestly was suspicious that it wouldn't work, but he did it!!!!!  

There are so many potty training methods out there, but I'm so grateful that this finally worked for us.  THERE IS HOPE for us mothers!  







10 comments:

  1. Great job, Mindy! Potty training can be traumatic for child and parent. For us, I had to know the kids were ready (and I really had to be ready). I love that you praised him every time and made him feel responsible and independent. :) Yay!

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    1. I agree it can definitely be traumatic. We didn't have a great experience with Lora Jenson's Method. It didn't address the day to day obstacles that you come across with pity training. Alot of variables come up and that were we kept getting stuck and were unsuccessful. The start potty program is much more in depth and has a whole section dedicated to different scenarios or "bumps in the road " as it's called. I highly recommend it, here's my review http://totsandkids101.blogspot.com/2013/07/potty-train-in-3-days-is-it-possible.html#.VMPjnt5CqZY

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  2. Gonna have to check this book out thank you :)

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  3. Thanks for training Brayden, babe. Now everytime I go to the bathroom he cheers for me and says "Daddy, you went all by yourself!"

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  4. Very cute kids!! and I love your tips and your dedication.. great guide for all the ins and outs.. I found another similar one that really helps too: http://pottytrainingindays.blogspot.com

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  5. What a beautiful family! I have been researching potty training for our toddler. Your tips are great. Haven't heard about the book 3 Day Potty Training by Lara Jensen. Yet did run across another potty training guide found at http://pottytraining.PR0NTO.com.

    Plus, I think there was a book about 3 day potty training done back in 1974 (before the full luxary of pull-ups lol).

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  6. Very nice! And very good tips and tricks. What did the job for us was the method we found at http://www.pottytrainingboysgirls.org

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  7. All your image links are broken here! We are headed into our training tomorrow!

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  8. I enjoyed reading about your experience with Lora Jenson's method. I just finished potty training kid #2 with this and worked like a charm. Although I felt like it really took a full 5 days for me to feel that he "got it" with minimal accidents. ;-)

    http://mommyneurotic.wordpress.com/2013/06/25/potty-training-in-5-days-what/

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  9. We used these helpful tips at first but even after using them and many other resources we still had a hard time training my boys. I came across this site that showed my wife and I how to potty train our son within three days and it was even guaranteed. . . There were some great techniques and helpful information there that I felt compelled to share with others. We've been trying to potty train my son for the last six weeks with no luck, Googling potty training was turning up outdated techniques and some of them we believe were even harmful. Until we came across this site, that a friend of my wife's told us about and within three days it worked. We followed the instructions and "eureka" we found a successful formula. I just felt that others might have been in the same place me and my wife were last week. So I hope this helps and good luck with your training.... O' almost forgot here's the site: www.ThreeDaysPottyTraining.com

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