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I immediately contacted the author of this amazing book and asked her if she'd be interested in a review and giveaway here at GrowingSlower. She kindly obliged and set me a copy of the book. I started reading that day, and well, it's no exaggeration to say that it has literally changed my life!
Of course, the book an be entertaining as all get out, but what you really want to know is if it works. Here's our experience implementing the potty training process and tips recommended in the book.
Of course, the book an be entertaining as all get out, but what you really want to know is if it works. Here's our experience implementing the potty training process and tips recommended in the book.
Pre-potty training To Do List
After reading about the first day of potty training, I knew that it would be intense. The idea is to completely ditch the diapers and let your little run around in the buff all day while you watch them intensely to see when they start to potty. I'd have to be prepared if I was really going to watch my little one that closely. Here's what I did to prepare. Actually, it wouldn't have gotten done at all except that DH really did most of it for me while I was getting the toddler to bed after a long exhausting day.
- Pre-make meals and snacks in single-serving containers.
- Barricade kitchen to keep toddler on an easily washable surface.
- Separate out washable toys
- Clear social calendar, not hard to do in a one-car family.
- Make plenty of All Purpose Cleaner for accidents.
Day 1: Potty Training Boot Camp
Day one of potty training felt a little like a police stakeout. You sit and watch intently for hours and nothing happens. Your vision blurs. Your eyelids get heavy. You snack anxiously and wonder if anything is ever going to happen.
A full two hours after ditching the diapers, BabyE still had not made his move. Then all of a sudden, some squatting, some toots, and I missed all the action.
The rest of the day went a bit better. After two hours of nothing, he decided to make up for lost time by peeing every twenty minutes for the rest of the day. The upside was that it gave us a lot of opportunities to practice our potty skills.
A full two hours after ditching the diapers, BabyE still had not made his move. Then all of a sudden, some squatting, some toots, and I missed all the action.
The rest of the day went a bit better. After two hours of nothing, he decided to make up for lost time by peeing every twenty minutes for the rest of the day. The upside was that it gave us a lot of opportunities to practice our potty skills.
Day 2
I was terrified to put pants on him on day two. How was I going to catch him when he started peeing if I couldn't see it? I had a whole stack of clean pants ready, just sure I would be changing him constantly.
Then nothing happened.
No accidents. No clothing changes. No extra loads of laundry.
I really did need to hand the responsibility over to him just like Jamie said. He was more than capable.
He asked to poop on the potty and actually did it!! What?!
He asked to poop on the potty and actually did it!! What?!
Day 4
Jamie lays out an option to either potty training during the day first and eventually add in naps and night time to to do it all at once. We opted to get it all over with at one time. In a momentous mommy ceremony, I washed the diapers and packed them away for the new baby. We were not going back.
E continued to make progress everyday. He got the pee thing down as long as I prompted him. He also learned he was supposed to poop in the potty, and told me when he needed to go, but it is a bit of a struggle for him to actually do it once we got there. Who can blame him? It's was so different from what he was used to.
We had one accident at the end of the night, but cutting back on liquids earlier in the day took care of it.
This potty training was really just a time commitment over the first day. It's was already SO much easier by Day 4! AND hello I hadn't changed a diaper in 4 days! So weird!
We went down to one wake up at night and he was still dry in the morning of Day 8. That was also the first morning he had an easy poop on the potty. Before that it took four or five tries of half an hour each to get it out. It was so hard to watch!E continued to make progress everyday. He got the pee thing down as long as I prompted him. He also learned he was supposed to poop in the potty, and told me when he needed to go, but it is a bit of a struggle for him to actually do it once we got there. Who can blame him? It's was so different from what he was used to.
We had one accident at the end of the night, but cutting back on liquids earlier in the day took care of it.
This potty training was really just a time commitment over the first day. It's was already SO much easier by Day 4! AND hello I hadn't changed a diaper in 4 days! So weird!
Day 6
At some point I realized that I had stopped seeing my child as a ticking time bomb waiting to explode or at least spring a slow leak. Things were getting back to normal. He played, I wrote, and we did chores together. We went outside to play and for walks.Day 8
Day 9
We made the drive over to Nana's house for the big Baby Shower, and E hung out with Daddy all day. It was great for us all to have someone other than Mommy be solely responsible for potty training. I think there were a couple of accidents, but they both picked it up really fast. We are still working on making sure he asks to go when we leave him with other caregivers for church, but we'll get there.
Day 14
Self initiation started around the two week point. That means that almost every time, E was asking to go potty when he needed to go. I was no longer responsible for when anyone needed to do their business except for myself. Woohoo!
Potty Training and Beyond
As I write this, I have not changed I have not changed a diaper in 25 days!!
I love that this was an all or nothing deal, kinda like ripping off a band-aid, except for it didn't hurt. It was exhausting at first, but it got a lot easier quick. And I got to pack away the diapers people!!
There was none of this we're going to try to potty train or getting stuck on wearing training pants at night forever. We did it and did it fast. Now I just wish I could give Jamie a big hug.
I really like that this system does not rely on stickers or candy as an incentive for going in the potty. (BabyE eats them both, and neither is good for him.) It gives personal responsibility to your toddler for something that they are fully capable of doing. I wish all of toddler parenting were this easy.
Now that I've been through the potty training process, I realize that E was probably actually ready for this around 18 months.
If you are sensitive to a little language or potty jokes just cover your eyes for those parts. Jamie is in fact a hilarious writer, which is a nice feature for this sometimes stressful subject matter.
Quite possibly the best thing about this PDF eBook is that it's actually formatted for an e-reader rather than a letter-sized sheet of paper. Almost no other PDF eBook I've read to date has had this amazing feature. Of course, you can read it right on your computer screen too.
I love that this was an all or nothing deal, kinda like ripping off a band-aid, except for it didn't hurt. It was exhausting at first, but it got a lot easier quick. And I got to pack away the diapers people!!
There was none of this we're going to try to potty train or getting stuck on wearing training pants at night forever. We did it and did it fast. Now I just wish I could give Jamie a big hug.
I really like that this system does not rely on stickers or candy as an incentive for going in the potty. (BabyE eats them both, and neither is good for him.) It gives personal responsibility to your toddler for something that they are fully capable of doing. I wish all of toddler parenting were this easy.
Now that I've been through the potty training process, I realize that E was probably actually ready for this around 18 months.
Oh Crap, Potty Training!
The book is very entertaining and a quick read. In fact you only need to read the first five chapters to get started. If you don't run into many problems, you probably won't have to visit most of the later chapters at all. If you do, then every question you could possible have is answered there.If you are sensitive to a little language or potty jokes just cover your eyes for those parts. Jamie is in fact a hilarious writer, which is a nice feature for this sometimes stressful subject matter.
Quite possibly the best thing about this PDF eBook is that it's actually formatted for an e-reader rather than a letter-sized sheet of paper. Almost no other PDF eBook I've read to date has had this amazing feature. Of course, you can read it right on your computer screen too.
If you'd like to try the Oh Crap, Potty Training method for yourself, I'll have a giveaway coming up on Friday. If you subscribe I'll send you an email reminder so you don't miss it!
If you don't want to wait around for the giveaway, you can buy Oh Crap, Potty Training! on Jamie's website. It's only $15, but it's worth about a million!
Seriously, get the book. Read it. Do exactly what Jamie says. It will work. (PS. In case you were wondering, I don't profit in any way for book sales.)
If you don't want to wait around for the giveaway, you can buy Oh Crap, Potty Training! on Jamie's website. It's only $15, but it's worth about a million!
Seriously, get the book. Read it. Do exactly what Jamie says. It will work. (PS. In case you were wondering, I don't profit in any way for book sales.)
Are you thinking about potty training? Have you tried it? How did it go?
Title Image by thejbird on Flikr.
