my notes

okay so some of you have asked about the tips and tools i've gotten and here they are from a handful of women that i know and love and trust and have done this with multiple kiddos.
(alicia, laura c and f, ellen, tosha)


-carve out at least 3 days to just be home completely focused on this all consuming task

-once you start BE COMMITTED none of this "you can have your diaper when you want to poop" or "you can have your diaper when we go to the store" stuff. stick to your guns! do NOT give them the diaper!

-either let them run around naked or in underwear (no pullups either)

-every 15 minutes make them sit on the toilet (set the timer)

-every 5 minutes do a "dry underwear" check. if they are still dry, give them a prize and do the dry underwear dance. (avery loved, loved, loved it when i would dance for her)

-give them salty snacks and lots of liquids

-pull up for nap time and night time ONLY

-if they scream when they have to go poop, just hold them and kiss them and tell them you know they are scared but it's okay they don't need their diaper they can go in the toilet and just keep putting them back on the toilet/potty chair whenever you can tell they are getting the urge.....DO NOT GIVE THEM THEIR DIAPER. (this one is STRESSFUL but hey, she pooped in the toilet today....hip hip hooray!)

-if they poop in their underwear, immediately take them to their potty chair and put the poop in it and make them look at it so they know where it goes and that they will survive their poop going into the potty chair/toilet.


-and when you do decide to leave the house (i have NOT done this yet and am a little bit terrified of it) put them in their big kid underwear and just bring an extra outfit and make sure you are close to a potty and make them sit on it ALL the time. Do the dry underwear check often and stash some treats in your purse to hand out if they still have dry underwear and when they actually go potty!


**couple other helpful hints. a baby doll who can go potty. Avery LOVED it when i would talk to her baby about how "Avery can go potty on her potty chair". talk about friends they have that go potty and poopy in the toilet (in her case we really talked Micah Fowler up)

oh and i just had to add this. this may be super cheesy to some of you, but yesterday during nap time when i was REALLY struggling with whether or not she was ready and feeling bad about making her do this (especially the whole pooping thing) i sat down to read my Bible and this was the first verse in my "reading" for the day (i'm reading through right now).

2 Chronicles 1:1 "Solomon son of David established himself firmly over his kingdom, for the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great."

And i felt like God wanted me to FIRMLY establish myself as Avery's authority, even if it meant she was a little scared and unsure.

wow. potty training is WAY more complicated than i ever thought it was :)