Potty Training

i said it wrote it, i said wrote the dreaded words of most parents, potty training.  it was honestly surprisingly smooth for us.  i never even considered it potty training at all.  we have always went with elimination communication.  it was a process we started with wren around 6 months and in the beginning it worked wonders.  we just followed her cues and took her to the toilet (we just used our regular ole' toilet) when she was showing signs of poop or pee.  it went well until about 9 months and then she would straighten her legs and try to push herself off of the potty.  we never forced her to go and didn't want to develop any type of negative relationship with the potty so we would just remove her and go back to what we were doing before.  we didn't make a fuss, if she did go in the potty we usually sang and praised her or did a potty dance.  she would grin ear to ear.  around one year old we purchased a potty chair and placed it in our living room.  again, we continued with elimination communication.  sometimes she would show interest in the potty and sometimes she wouldn't.  we never pressured her but we always praised her when she used it.  it was by no means a consistent process but it was always there visible to her if she wanted to use it.  often times we would just let her run naked from the bottom down, then when she started to pee we would run her to the potty so she could make the connection.  around 18 months we did this often.  some days were better than others.  around 20 months she could say "pee in potty" and that is when it all started coming together.  we started having her run around naked from the waist down almost all of the time.  by 21 months she was completely potty trained and we could start putting panties and/or pants on her around the house.  we would still put diapers on her to sleep and on outings.  now at 22 months, she only needs a diaper at night time.  she does not like to pee outside though, so if we are going on a drive a pull up is nice just to be safe in case we cannot get to a bathroom in time.  she still wakes up really wet in the mornings, so it may be quite awhile before she sleeps in panties but there is no pressure there, it will come in due time!  we are so very proud of our BIG GIRL!

if anyone has any questions on elimination communication or potty training in general, email me.