Potty Training :: The Potty Training Hack That Kept Us on Track

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There I was on the side of the road at a bus stop when it all happened. I was trying to block Thomas like a shield thinking that would help. Cars were slowly passing us. Every now and then I would catch someone in their side mirror trying to figure out what I was doing. When I started on this new journey of potty training, I didn’t realize that being committed meant being parked on the side of the road and toting a potty chair in my trunk. But once you start, you can’t stop. After a few minutes, Thomas looked at me and smiled. “All done, mom!” So I helped him off his little toilet, pulled up his pants, returned him to his car seat (buckled in of course), and proceed on our way with a toilet full of pee. 

Potty Training. Albuquerque Moms Blog.Potty Training! YIKES!

I can’t believe that I have reached this milestone in my tiny tot’s life. It’s been ages since I have potty trained, let alone potty trained a BOY. This was going to be a new one for me.

So magically I thought, “Hey, this is when dad comes in.” I mean he does have the same anatomy, and hey, it’ll probably be easier to understand coming from a man. But no, that didn’t happen. With my husband’s schedule, it would be impossible for him to start potty training going. Thomas would still be in diapers. So I had to begin potty training on my own.

I began reading and skimming various articles/blogs about how to potty train a boy. I even read the enticing two-day potty training post hoping that it was going to be easy. Realistically it wasn’t. I didn’t have time to make potty charts, buy reward toys, or even dare to let him run around with no underwear.

The first step I took was to pick out some underwear. So off to the local Wal-Mart we went. By the way, toddler underwear is a heck of expensive these days. Are they made of Egyptian cotton? Along with the underwear I decided to buy pull-ups for night time and long drives. 

Day 1:

I began our potty training journey. I put him in underwear and explained to him that he needed to let me know when he needed to “pee-pee.” First round: fail. Peed in his underwear. I then reassured him it was okay. I cleaned him up and put on new underwear and reminded him that if he needed to “pee pee,” he needed to go in his big boy potty. The second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth rounds all failed. I became discouraged. I just wanted to put the diaper back on and move forward with our day. But what lingered in my mind was our family vacation. I didn’t want to haul a huge diaper bag everywhere. So I stuck to my guns.

Day 2:

We were well on our way. After experimenting on day one, Thomas felt more comfortable in the pull-up. He told me each and every time he needed to go. However, the poop concept still needed work. Nonetheless, he was well on his way to being potty trained.

After a week had gone by, I had successfully got him in underwear. He has been using the toilet ever since and we haven’t looked back.

Potty Training. Albuquerque Moms Blog.

The Hack:

Bring the potty chair everywhere. That is why we carry our toilet training potty with us everywhere. You just never know when the little tot will need to go. Have you ever been out doing errands and then they hit you with the famous words, “I need to pee!” This is what has helped us when we are out doing things. Its small for his little tush, and it’s definitely not as intimidating. Let me tell you. We have used his potty in some strange places. Mind you, I have to remind myself that I have a tiny toilet full of pee in the back of my Explorer.

My Reflection:

In the end, there is no particular way to potty train. You can read all the articles, books, and blog posts, but until you commit, you won’t know what works best for you. 

Additional tips:

If you are looking for some additional tips on potty training, check out this post from another Albuquerque Moms Blogger.