Adventures in Potty Training

Ivy started showing signs of potty training readiness around 19 months old (December 2021). She would tell us when she needed a diaper change or led us over to the bathroom after she had gone. In late January, we got a little over eager with encouragement and bought her some undies and a little seat potty (we tossed the one Kip had - those things get so gross even with regular cleaning). 

She liked sitting on the potty and getting a book read to her or reading a book to her friends she put on the potty, but she wasn't quite at the stage of communicating that she needed to go instead of after she already went.

On February 28 she christened her potty with her first poo. I'll spare you that photo Mandy sent me while I was at work, but Ivy earned two lollipops!

We took the casual approach since she was still so little and only just becoming more verbal. But, she was actually really good about leading us to the bathroom if she happened to notice in time.

She was getting the #2 part down before the #1 part which is generally the opposite. 

Mostly, she just liked the potty books in the bathroom. I found a CocoMelon potty book at Kohl's and that's a fan favorite. By April, we bumped her up to the next size in diapers and tried pull-ups for a couple of days. She doesn't like the feel of the pull-ups (I think they are more bulky in the front that she is used to). So we switched her to a 360 diaper which pulls on like a pull-up but is only as thick as a diaper. Sometimes we would catch her right before the act and get her to the potty in time. Other times, she led us to the potty and sat there for a long time and did nothing. She would get a gummy for trying. By March she had done at least a dozen poos in the potty but probably only two or three pees.

By the end of April, Ivy was about 70/30 for poos in the potty. If she happened to go in her diaper she would get very upset and want to be changed immediately. Any peeps in the potty were purely coincidental. 

In early May Ivy was suddenly a little fearful of the potty seat and often did not want to sit even when we knew she had to go. This was around the same time she started having a lot of separation anxiety. This behavior is very typical of two-year-olds and that coupled with her already timid (pandemic baby) disposition it was not surprising. We didn't put pressure on her so as not to add to the fear. Despite not wanting to sit, she absolutely hated having a dirty diaper and started withholding to avoid the feeling or demanded to be changed immediately.

Early June, we introduced phone show bribery. This worked really well for Kip. He loved watching Lego songs on Youtube while sitting. That wasn't working consistently and she was still holding and refusing to sit.

While my parents were visiting, Ivy held it in for over a week giving herself a multi-day tummy ache. It took 20 minutes of reading potty books, 3 minutes of going pantsless and being really angry about it, and then we moved the potty seat to the living room and put on her favorite show. A few minutes later she went in the potty!!! Popsicle to celebrate. 

Ivy continued to withhold and would actively try to not go in her diaper. We had her sit on the potty most days to try and go but it only worked occasionally. This pattern continued for all of July.

Right now we are at the point of giving fiber gummies daily, encouraging her to drink more water, and occasionally giving her enemas. There are a lot of treats, stickers, praise, dance parties, and even new toys playing into our efforts to get her more regular and comfortable. Right now she gets a sticker on her prize chart for any poo whether in the potty or the diaper.

Did we start too hot out the gate back in December? Oh heck yeah. However, we can't go back so I think our approach right now is still appropriate for Ivy and I believe she will soon grasp the concept to ditch the diaper. We have already seen glimmers of her awareness improve in the last week. 

We didn't even attempt to potty train Kip until he was 2 1/2 so Ivy is still ahead of the game in many ways. Plus, she is so itty bitty it's hard to see her being 100% independent in this area right now. That being said, so far, that common phrase of "girls are easier to potty train" has not proved true for us.