Potty Training - Kid 2

For those of you who don't want to hear about potty training, this post (and possibly the next couple) won't be for you. Now you can't say you weren't warned :)

First off, I just want to set a few things straight. I have heard people bash the idea of potty training early ("early" being pre-24 months) and the moms who do it. They say that the moms do it to show off. They say that the moms just want to make themselves and/or their kids look smarter...more advanced...more accomplished. Well, if this is you, listen closely: 

I am potty training my 20 month old because I did it with my son and it worked. Amazingly.

I am potty training now because right now she doesn't have an attitude that I know will be huge(r) while she's two and three. 

I'm potty training now because she hasn't learned to say "no!" and be completely uncooperative yet.

I'm potty training now because she still wants to help, to do everything to please me, and to work for my praise. 

I'm potty training now because I enjoy the potty training process and, frankly, I just couldn't wait to get started!

So, it was kind of a spur of the moment decision to start today. I haven't had a chunk of 3 uninterrupted days at home for months. I have been waiting for a window of opportunity to open up. This morning, Kayden really didn't want a diaper on so I mentally checked the next few days and realized that I have time! I told her that we were going to pack up her diapers and say bye-bye to them and only pee on the potty now. 

Levi took the box of diapers downstairs for us and Kayden kept saying "bye! Stairs..." all morning. I spent the morning reminding her to tell me when she needed to go and I feel like we've made some progress! The first time she had an accident, I took her to the potty and sat her on it and she was so tense/upset at being put on the potty. She didn't like it AT ALL. But by the end of the morning we had made 6 trips to the bathroom (yes, I'm pumping juice boxes through her like mad to make for lots of "teachable moments"!) and she was actually happy to sit there and "finish," then clean up the accident with me. 

She's down for a nap now. I use some cloth diaper liners/soakers inside her panties for sleeping to save her entire bed from needing to be washed a couple times a day/night. I call it her "night-night panties" so she doesn't feel like she's wearing a diaper. With Levi, this is all I needed to do for night-time training and within a month he was waking up dry. Crossing my fingers for the same luck this time because I have no idea how to go about night time training if it doesn't come naturally!  

So that's been the morning! It's actually kind of fun...it's an excuse to do absolutely no housework and pay undivided attention to the kids all.day.long!  It is usually tiring to do that because I have a list of things that also need to be done around the house. (I find it exhausting to feel like I'm constantly being pulled in two different directions) But when a day is set aside for a specific purpose, I don't know. I guess it just gives me extra energy to play! Here's hoping that a couple days from now we can say that we're officially diaper-free!!

P.s - if you want to read more about the 3 day potty training method that I'm using, just google it and you should be able to find some info on it. I know there's an ebook to purchase but you may find the gyst of it and maybe a few pointers anyway. Or you can keep following along here and ask me any questions you may have. I don't have all the answers but I have used it once before (though it was 2+ years ago already!).