Potty Training Products & Schedule

My disdain for the million and one articles about potty training online clearly wasn’t high enough to stop me from adding not 1, but 2 potty training posts myself! Hypocrisy is a fickle beast isn’t it?

Since our Game of Thrones wasn’t all that dissimilar to the Starks journey, I figured it might help to show you exactly how we went from diapers to undies in 7 days. This is a follow up to our Potty Training with Tot on the Pot article, and like many of my blog posts, are best read en el baño. Could be you or them on the toilet, I’m not picky.

First things first, let’s talk about the shit. And by that I mean the gear that helps them shit. Here’s what’s in my potty training survival kit:

• Waterproof Changing Pad – I don’t trust the toddler as far as I can throw her, so during potty training I made her sit on a waterproof changing pad while on the couch. It was peace of mind for both me and the dogs who have taken years to mark that piece of furniture as their own.
• Floor potty – did I want to start with her pooping in what was basically a fancy bucket in the middle of my living room? Not really. But did it help in the early days of potty training to keep a couple in the house so one was always close by and give her body the squatty potty position of dreams? Definitely. Also I found the more garish the better and more excited they are to use it.

• OXO Potty Seat – we use this seat both inside the house and on the go so that it was familiar and comfortable to her. I know a lot of guys my age that would love to travel with their own potty seat so this is probably where this affection starts. We’ll be moving towards a built in potty seat like this one and I didn’t get a ladder seat step stool contraption but I think it would have been helpful.

• Tot on the Pot Book – from the Tot on the Pot Potty Training System. The book went with us basically everywhere, initially as part of the toddler’s requested potty routine. It does a great job of explaining how and why pee and poo end up in the potty and is short enough to not drive you over the edge. Read more about our experience with this potty training system here.
• Kandoo Flushable Wipes – paired with the loud request for them to “touch your toes”, these are all fun things to say and use in public bathrooms.
• Pull ups/Training Pants – since we weren’t ready to do nighttime training right away and we shot ourselves in the foot by demonizing diapers as “only for babies” we needed nap/overnight diapers that didn’t look like her old daytime ones. We’re now 3 months post potty training and have since phased out all pull ups.
• Extra outfits – shit happens and potty training is a journey, so “Don’t Stop Believing” and never be without an extra outfit…or two.

I am not an expert, but I can say that the following potty-training schedule worked for us. Considering how low my expectations were, I was pleasantly surprised at how effective this system was. We added a new challenge to the mix every day but also took the whole week pretty slow and remained focused on Operation Ditch the Diapers. You’ll notice I didn’t put anything tight-fitting on the bottom until the 4^th day so she wouldn’t mistake it for a diaper and we were basically naked hermits for the better part of a week. Without further ado, here’s our 7 Day Potty Training Schedule.

So there you have it! The potty training products and schedule that helped us achieve success. 3 weeks later we weren’t accident-free yet but were getting pretty close. And 3 months later we’re accident and pull up free at night. Even with some mishaps here or there this breakdown is how we kicked off the whole diaper-less event in her head and in ours. Now if you do it right you’ll avoid the absolutely disgusting scenario we found ourselves in, which included a poop accident on the floor and one of the dogs eating it…I wish I was lying. EWWW! With that send off, I wish you good luck and may the potty-training odds be ever in your favor!