Potty Like a Rock Star: Part II
It’s been over six months or so since we started potty training Lady Yeya back in June. With lots of patience and encouragement, it took Lady Yeya about four weeks to get the hang of using the potty.
For about a month, every time Lady Yeya did a pee in her potty, we cheered, we clapped, and we celebrated for E-V-E-R-Y single pee. She would even wait for her Dad to finish up a Zoom call to proudly show off her yellow straw pee in the potty. Lady Yeya would also get a sticker each time she successfully peed in the potty. Stickers started accumulating quickly to fill a A4 sheet of paper from corner to corner. Of course, as a gleeful little toddler, she would proudly show it to her grandparents and aunties on FaceTime.
Fun Times in Potty Training
Don’t get me wrong, Lady Yeya did have many accidents that we had to work through with lots of patience. Some of the frustrating moments include:
In all the excitement of doing something fun such as monkeying around the playground, or watching her favourite Netflix kid’s show, she would forget that she actually needed to pee. Opps! Lesson learnt: remind your toddler to go for a pee often, and definitely before TV time or a trip the playground.
Other times, accidents happen during an epic toddler tantrum. Parents, you know exactly what I mean. When Lady Yeya gets into one of those inconsolable cries where she inhales for three seconds and lets out a massive cry. Well, with a full bladder you know what happens when you exhale. Yes, pee right down her legs. Lovely. Nothing like a combo of pee and tantrum, and then trying to change an upset toddler out of her wet leggings.
Sometimes Lady Yeya would refuse to go pee all day, only to have her first pee at 3pm. Seriously, how does a little toddler hold their pee for so long?! After a few failed attempts and an ensuing power struggle, I just let it go. If she doesn’t need to pee, fine. It’s just one of those days that I need to pick my battles and this was not one of them.
No. 2? No Way!
With time and gentle reminders, Lady Yeya nailed the whole pee in the potty within a month or so. All the patience and hard work paid off! Everything is great, except….she won’t do her No. 2s in the potty. This is not unusual. In fact, lots of toddlers find doing No. 2s to be odd and very strange. The idea of sitting on the potty and waiting for the poo to come wasn’t in Lady Yeya’s interest whatsoever.
To avoid using the potty to do her poos, she would hold it all day until she went to bed at night. Then about an hour into her nighttime sleep, all relaxed and comfortable, she would poo in her sleep. Oh dear and Oh crap. I didn’t think it was ever possible to poop while you sleep and on your tummy. Well friends, it does happen especially when she hasn’t had a bowel movement in over 48 hours. Yes, a midnight nappy change just like the newborn days. I debated whether just to leave it until the morning. Kenz said absolutely not. Unhygienic and disgusting. Luckily, Lady Yeya is a deep sleeper and wasn’t bothered by the quick midnight nappy change.
Other times when Lady Yeya can’t hold her poop any longer, she would hide in the corner of the house and strain her face bright red. I would try to encourage her to use the potty , but it’s too late. She already soiled her underpants. Let me tell you friends, cleaning up soiled underpants is just grim! G-R-I-M! It’s probably worth just cutting the seams with scissors and throwing the soiled underpants away!
Here Comes the Bribe
Against the advice of the potty-training guru and author of “Oh Crap!” Jamie Glowacki, I incentivised Lady Yeya to do her No.2s in the potty with small gifts, biscuits, and if she was very good, ice cream! She got the idea, but she would still refuse to do her business. We rationalised that she may want some privacy so we moved the potty to the upstairs bathroom where we can leave the door ajar so she can have some “privacy.” The whole ordeal with doing the No. 2 in the potty just took some time and patience. If you are struggling with No. 2, please don’t fret. It will come with time and lots of patience.
Sweet Dreams
Well done to all of you parents for getting through the potty training! Next step, night time potty training but in all honesty, I think we’re a few years away until we’re completely nappy free. Apparently, night time dryness requires hormonal development known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH) which slows the production of urine at night. Yet at the same time, stronger bladder control is required, which then sends a strong signal to the brain when the bladder is full to wake up to go to the bathroom.
Lady Yeya has only had a few occasions where her nappy was completely dry overnight. It sounds like it will come on its own time. Seeing that Lady Yeya sprouted her first tooth at 10 months and took her first steps at 16 months, she’ll likely take her sweet time with this. We’re in no rush with the whole night time potty training. Until then, she can enjoy your sweet dreams in her nappy. And mum and dad can too.
Happy potty training!
