Is It Potty Time Yet?

Posted by: Jens2Cents on: 08/19/2014

• In: Potty Time
• 2 Comments

My Biscuit turned three this past April and he loves his cloth diapers. Seriously. The kid doesn’t want to give them up! I know most people start potty training (is potty learning the current PC term?) long before this point and honestly, I thought we’d have already hit this milestone by now, but I’ve been trying to wait until he was truly ready. I am getting a wee (see what I did there?) bit impatient though. (Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.)

Potty & trainers bought in April & rarely used

He sat on the toilet a few times before his second birthday (his idea), so I bought him a cushioned potty seat, folding travel seat and cheap training pants thinking we’d be done quickly. Silly me. We had just found out we were expecting baby #4, so I didn’t want to throw too much at him at once and stress him out. I also had concerns about regression (some of which were well founded) and honestly didn’t want to stress myself out trying to get him acquainted with the potty if there was a good chance he’d wind up back in diapers. Months went by, baby sister was born and he definitely regressed and showed very little interest in the toilet.

We decided to wait until his birthday to jump back on the training wagon. This is when we bought a potty and better quality trainers from Kiwi Baby Shop (the cheap ones were not made for his thick thighs). Of course we then had to move unexpectedly, visit family, then finally unpack so potty time once again wasn’t a priority, especially not with a boy who REALLY loves his diapers (did I mention that already?).

Potty rewards A.K.A. jelly beans

As I posted recently though, I really need a break from the nonstop cycle of breastfeeding and cloth diapers! Over the last month, I’ve let him go around the house naked whenever I remember to do so. I’ve finally resorted to bribery. Many friends have mentioned that rewarding with M&MS worked for their child when stickers hadn’t. We don’t eat a lot of candy, but I have now reached the point where I’m ready to try anything. We avoid artificial colors & flavors, so I bought the Surf Sweets Organic Jelly Beans that the kids all love and put them in a jar high on the linen shelf. Biscuit knows that this jar of jelly beans is just for him and no one else can have any. We decided on a reward of one bean each time he pees in the potty & three beans for poop. This method has the added bonus of math/counting skills too!

We’re still not being pushy and some days I forget to or can’t let him run around naked (which seems to help a great deal with getting to the potty on time). Once the weather cools down a bit & we no longer have 100° days (thanks Texas!), I’m planning to spend most of our days in the backyard where he can run around naked & feel less embarrassed if he doesn’t get to the potty on time.

Got any potty training/learning advice for me?

ETA: I’ve had several people inquire about the lid on our potty treats, it’s a reCAP lid.

Tags: cloth trainers, potty learning, potty training