Petite Potty Trainer

I know some people think I'm crazy for starting Hailey with potty training right now. The thing is, I waited as long as I could. Hailey has been giving us the "signs" for months now. Travis and I put her on the potty here a little and there a little, but never really seriously tried to train her. She always lets us know when she needs to go #2 and hates sitting in a dirty diaper. Sooooo... after many months of ignoring her interest in potty training, we decided to face it head on.

 We were at Target picking out some big girl undies. I saw the thick, training underwear. They were pink with flowers, but Hailey wasn't interested in them in the least. I grabbed them thinking I could convince her to get excited about them. As we were browsing through the little girls' clothes section, we came across a stand that had Frozen stuff galore- including underwear! I showed Hailey and she went crazy for them. The decision was made. I was going to have to do some extra cleaning when she had an accident, but at least she was excited.

So we started. The first day we took her to the potty every thirty minutes. She had an accident two times, but went in the potty three times. I'd call that a successful first day! The next day she had one accident and two potty successes. We were on a roll! But then... dun dun dun.... the next morning, Hailey had three accidents just in the morning. She was NOT getting it. I was ready to throw in the towel. It was frustrating. We talked to Travis' mom about it and she advised us to go with the "naked method".

The naked method is just like it sounds. Keep 'em naked. They don't have anything covering them that they think they can pee in. So they get used to the idea of going in the potty. Monday morning came, and we kept her naked. It was hilarious and cute to watch her play.

 We went Monday and Tuesday with ZERO accidents (minus some poo... but that was my fault cause I took her off the potty and she wasn't done...). So it counts as ZERO! I'm a believer in the naked method.

Wednesday we decided to put clothes back on her. Success. No accidents. Holy guacamole. My big girl.

So now, today, we continue our journey. We're working on getting her to let me know when she needs to go. Every day we added 15 minutes to the break between sitting on the potty. We're up to an hour and 15 minutes between potty trips. Our journey isn't over, but I can't believe how well she's doing. When Hailey goes potty in the potty, she gets one, single smarty. That motivates her. One measly little candy. It cracks me up. But I'm grateful that she let me know she was ready and has been doing so good.

I know a lot of kids don't potty train this early, so I felt a little silly starting with Hailey. But she was so ready. I'm so proud of my big girl! And farewell diapers (at least during the day for now), you WILL NOT be missed.