Comments on: Infant Potty Training Update

By: Betsy (Eco-novice)

Betsy (Eco-novice) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:47:13 +0000

I’m interested in the signs used for peeing and pooping.

By: Ana

Ana — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 23:49:02 +0000

I have mixed feelings about potty training this early. We did everything pretty mainstream with our oldest, waiting until he was 2 1/2 to try potty training. It went very badly, so we gave up after a few days. Then, when he was a month shy of his third birthday, we tried again. The pooping took about a month to master, but he figured out number one very quickly. He was getting up on his own to use the potty at night maybe two months after we started.

The second time around, we cloth diapered. We put our little guy on the potty every so often just for the heck of it, and after a few successes, we decided to make a go of it right as he turned two. The end result has been a much earlier end to diapers, but it’s also been a much longer process. I don’t think I want to start an infant because I can’t imagine it would really speed things up in the long run. Our youngest is doing fantastic, and always, always poops in the potty, but we’ve struggled for months getting him to pee in it consistently. He does very well, then regresses for a week or more, and it’s day after day of six different pairs of underwear and pants.

So, I guess my question is, do you think this will really result in faster potty training? It will probably result in less diapers and an earlier age, but my own experience tells me the actual time spent training will be much longer. Not to say this is necessarily bad if you have the time, energy, and willingness to stay home at times because the kid has to poop, but I sometimes think it was just easier to run a load of cloth diapers than deal with all these accidents.

By: Joy

Joy — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 22:31:58 +0000

Erin B.,
I have to honestly admit that there is a great deal of fabulous information out there about infant potty training that I never used! We started by watching our baby for signs that she was going to poop (getting quiet, straining, etc.) and then made a big deal out of putting her on the potty seat. While there we read books, played, made the sign for “poop”, and encouraged her. When she did it, we made a huge deal out of clapping, looking into the potty, and flushing it down. She doesn’t always want to tell us now because sometimes she’s just too busy to want to head to the potty, but since she too is pretty regular, it isn’t hard to figure out when she’s going to go. She started at seven months and I’d say we’ve cut the poopy diapers down by 50-70% around here. It’s exciting! But really, I assumed that infant potty training meant a fringe group of people who skipped diapers altogether and had their infants perched on pottys at a few months old. As I’ve learned, there’s a huge range and it really is possible to start sooner without giving up diapers altogether. I hope that helps!

By: Jen U

Jen U — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 19:37:59 +0000

Patience is a virtue in potty training. I’ve potty trained 2 and will be starting with my daughter soon. Check out this Potty Training DVD, it worked wonders for my kids. Really got my boys motivated, they even sang the songs which kept them focused on going on the potty. http://mazz.com/shop/potty-power-for-boys-girls/

By: Erin B.

Erin B. — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:53:35 +0000

Could you include some instructions or tips that worked for infant potty training for you all? How did you associate the sign with the action, why aren’t you trying it for #1 as well… etc. Thanks!

By: Betsy (Eco-novice)

Betsy (Eco-novice) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:17:54 +0000

This reminds me that I should post a little update on our potty goings too. The short version: my 3-year-old and 1-year-old poop in the potty about the same percentage (about 80%) of the time. I wish I’d started earlier with my first child for sure, but he was not regular at all. It only occurred to me to try having my 2nd baby poop on the potty because 1) she pooped most days first thing in the morning 2) I read about infant potty training on green baby guide. We’re on vacation — brought a potty chair with us — both the toddler and baby are using it.

As far as time on my hands. . . it takes just as much effort to watch the baby for signals of pooping as it takes to watch the toddler for signs of pooping. So I figure I might as well do it now. And I love less poopy diapers in the wash. We’ve had such a hard time getting the 3-year-old to poop in the potty, that my husband is totally on board with starting much much earlier with our second.

By: michelle

michelle — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:05:03 +0000

Very interesting. My first 2 children were 3 when they potty trained on their own (although my now 3-year old still bed wets, which the poor child inherited from me). I have a 4 month old now who is the first to be in cloth about 75% of the time. The others were probably only 25% of the time because daycare required disposables and we use disposables overnight. This baby sometimes stays dry in the disposable diaper all night (yes, I know they’re super absorbent but I’m talking literally dry) and then will pee twice an hour once we get up and put the cloth diaper on. I’ve been wondering why/how that happens… by the way… what sign do you use for ‘poop’? We did baby signs with our first 2 children but just had a generic ‘potty’ sign we used for either #1 or #2.

By: Rita

Rita — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:28:41 +0000

Sarah: I don’t have children yet, but I’ve READ that you can train your baby to potty in any appropriate place – it doesn’t have to be a potty seat. For example, some people hold their baby over their regular toilet at home, or over the sink or bathtub. Look around online for pictures of the proper way to hold your baby while doing this. Then, when you’ve got baby in the right spot, you whisper “psst, psst, psst” into her ear, and this serves as a signal to baby that she can go potty in this new place.

This video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXltIYg5krQ&feature=related
shows the proper holding technique (from what I’ve read). Good luck! I will definitely be trying this when I have kids of my own!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:55:59 +0000

I had never heard of infant potty training until recently, and I’m so glad to hear it’s progressing well for your family! We live in a downtown urban center and don’t drive very often, so being out and about would require using public restrooms while walking around–I wonder how that would work out? Would I be forced to carry the potty seat with me everywhere?

By: Sarah

Sarah — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:47:38 +0000

I LOL’d at “time on your hands” but other than that, it seems like an interesting idea…