Need potty advice (especially timing/new siblings)

[Chupacabra]

AJ has been dabbling in going on the potty for about 4 months now. We had a streak of pees a while ago and then nothing but adamant NO's! from her when asked if she wanted to try. I didn't push anything since we're not in a rush, and I just left the potty out for her to do whatever with. Our pediatrician advised me to avoid big changes like potty training/switching to a bed from crib 2 months before & 2 months after I have AJ's baby sister so they're not negatively associated with baby's arrival.

For the past week, AJ is all potty all the time. Tonight she wouldn't let me diaper her before PJs so we tried the potty and she went and that was exciting. But she wouldn't let me diaper her for bedtime. I basically pinned her down to put one on. She wouldn't stop crying and kept trying to strip down and sit on the potty again, so I told her in the morning we'd go potty right away and she made me leave the potty in her room after I tucked her in.

If it weren't for the timing (baby is due in approx 1 month) I'd just go balls to the wall and get her some training undies and deal with accidents overnight, but I'm weary due to the pediatrician advice. I also don't want to discourage forward movement by constantly sticking a diaper on her. I definitely want to follow her lead and I'm feeling a bit sheepish about force diapering her now. I know I can expect some regression if she trains before I have the baby, but I don't want it to be an ordeal if it is a negative association.

Any advice? Thanks!
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Etsy!
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[Liat]

I'm almost positive we were in the middle of potty training Little Bit when Pipkin came along. She had really started getting interested in it only a couple weeks before and since it had taken SO. LONG. with the Sprogling I just figured that it couldn't take any longer even with regression with her.

She stopped having poopy accidents at about 25 months (about a month after Pipkin was born)and was pretty much done wetting herself within a couple months after that. And those were very very rare.

I dunno if thats much help. The Sprogling had major major potty issues and its always been an issue to get him to use the toilet so I have no idea how long or short it should actually take to get the kiddo potty trained.
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[Chiquita]

I only have one kid so take this with a grain of salt but.. if it were me I'd forget what the pediatrician said and let her be in charge. If she wants big girl panties then get her some training undies. Make sure you have good waterproof mattress cover of course. And if she regresses a bit I wouldn't make a big deal of it, let her know diapers or panties are her choice. I'd also go for really cute panties too so she could feel proud about having them.

[Chupacabra]

Awesome, thanks for the input!

I told my husband I consulted g* and g* says proceed so we're going to see if tomorrow brings the same potty enthusiasm and if so, I'll overnight order some underoos for the kid. (I am not prepared!)
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Etsy!
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[faith]

Maybe take a middle of the road approach and get her some pull ups? If she's showing signs of being ready, willing and able to be potty trained now, go with it and let it happen! Doctors may have great medical advice to share, but I always feel like you have to take their parenting advice with a big honking grain of salt. I have two kids and they are two years apart...and let me tell you, trying to potty train the first one while chasing after a fast crawling 10 month old is really not a day at the beach! LOL

[Chupacabra]

[Crumb]

I agree with these other smart ladies - let AJ take the lead. The Crumblette potty-trained herself. Well, it wasn't really potty training, she just one day decided she was done with diapers and we went from there - not a single accident, not even overnight. I consider that one of the luckiest things that ever happens to me (and it balances out the fact that she's the world's worst sleeper).

Just stock up on tiny little panties and have at it. :)

[Chupacabra]

Yep I'm shopping for undies right now. She apparently developed bladder control recently. We sat with her on the potty for 2 hours this morning and then the doorbell rang and on our way back to the potty she had an accident on the floor. She used to pee every 10 minutes on the potty so I guess that's progress!

If she's going to go at longer intervals I'd love to go about our normal business and take timed breaks but I'm not certain she knows yet when she needs to go. She asked for a dipe after 4 hours of refusing one, so I'm just following her cues now rather than doing intensive training. Maybe when we get undies it will help her sort out the sensations a bit.

Potty time activities greatly welcomed (we cleared through her bookshelf last night and today & she's been coloring this morning too) and did anyone use the quilty training pants? One more... Anyone know where I can buy nice undies size 18-24 mos? She's a stringbean and we don't know all the licensed characters and I'm not finding anything really cool otherwise!
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[dance]

I totally agree you should go ahead. Kiddos seem to have windows of interest and readiness, and I don't know if one will magically open up 2 months after the babe is born (right when your babe may be getting fussy anyway!). Just let it be a process, rather than a instant thing, and be ok with laundry? That might vary based on your situation, but you're gonna be doing a ton of laundry soon anyway you slice it :)

I have some unusually small panties somewhere...they were from a department store, but I have no idea which one. I will look when I go to the barn, I just put them back in storage (e isn't quite panty ready :), but I bet you might do well right now with those thick training underwear. Gerber makes some, but IDK about sizes. Here is a link I was looking at yesterday, I bet A would buy into something like this as big girl undies, but it still contains accidents and lets her feel wet (and some are so cute!): http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/category/training-ec/

I usually recommend (i teach preschool) thick panties and crocs/rinsable sandals, along with thicker easy on off pants, weather permitting...and staying away from diapers during awake time if possible. Accidents are usually great teaching tools, if you are upbeat about them, "Oh, pee pee!! Soon you will pee pee in the potty and your pants will stay dry! Let's get some clean ones!" If it stresses out your kiddo, this is NOT the way to go. Different sensory thresholds...

Might be helpful to give a fun thing after producing results on the potty (we put body glitter on s's belly...stamps and stickers and whatever she's into...I am not above a chocolate chip, either :) We also have zero potty privacy a lot of the time, and I think that helps too, to the extent you are comfortable with it.
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[Chupacabra]

Thanks dance! Super useful!
I'm going to run out after nap time and track down the gerber pants since they're accessible here. Fun part is, we don't have laundry at home and we normally have it done every two weeks. Looks like I'm in for lots of hand washing!
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[Liat]

Ooh yes on the crocs or croc ripoffs. When Little Bit was training, it was nice to be able to hose off her shoes and just put them back on her. We put preschool type games on the ipad/phone for her to play with on the potty. She never really liked to hang out on it for long though.
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The Lover, The Lunatic and the Poet are of Imagination all compact.

[dance]

also helpful:naked booty! Less laundry...roll up the rugs if you can :)
and when you have long periods at home, if you can get her to drink a lot (make a silly game out of taking turns sipping/etc) then you will know when she has to pee. I think that can set her up for success and be more rewarding than just hanging out for a long time on the potty, hoping to strike it lucky.
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[Chupacabra]

Dance, thankfully we have no rugs! We've been doing lots of naked booty time. She knows where I keep the spray bottle of vinegar & water and runs to get it whenever she has an accident.

I talked it over with my husband and we've decided to go full on starting Sunday. I ordered a bunch of training undies with hope they fit her well, and I also got a seat for our actual toilet since she's only got a potty chair now and asks to sit on the big toilet a lot. We've got no plans all next week so we can stay home and do this without any interruptions.

Pray for mojo.
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[knittykat]

I only have the one kid, but the adamant "NO!" at bedtime rang true with us. She looked at me like I had zero faith in her. We had exactly one night of going potty every 15 minutes and passing out at 4 a.m. After that, she had maybe one or two accidents since.

A very wise lady (my mom!) had a great suggestion. Put a waterproof mattress cover down (I had a hospital style plastic one). Put a sheet over it. Put one of those fabric-y soak pads on it. Another sheet. Another soak pad. Another sheet. Put kid in bed. If she has an accident, remove one sheet/soak pad layer, and you don't have to remake the whole bed in the middle of the night!

I actually bought ultra-cheapo sheets just for this purpose. After that one night, my neighbor told me to try and she would either give up and go back to a night diaper or learn to hold it, and damn she was right!
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