Potty Training and What Worked for Me

I started potty training my son two weeks ago.  My son is 2 years and 5 months old.  Since I am 5 months pregnant  and I don't want to have two kids in diapers I figured it was a good time to get started on potty training him.  So on Saturday morning (when my husband was home to help) I took the diaper off for good and put underwear on him.  I told my son no more diapers now he was becoming a big boy.  I sat him on his little potty several times during the day (every 15 minutes).  The first few days he pooped and peed on himself and did not like it, I explained to him that his poo-poo and pee-pee go in the potty and when he pooped in the pants I put it in the potty to show him where it went.  In the first few days I carried around a bag full of changes of clothes including underwear and socks.  I also carried around the potty seat just in case we were out and he needed to go.  I used his favorite teddy bear as a teaching tool as well.  I would make believe the teddy bear was talking and say "Mommy potty, Mommy Potty".  Then I would fill up a turkey baster with water and sit the teddy bear on my son's potty and behind the bear put the baster so that it would look like the bear was going pee and sometimes crumble a piece a chocolate and put it in the potty to make it look like the bear pooped.  When my son did use the potty I clapped and marched around the house saying he was such a big boy, he loved it.  I also rewarded him with M&Ms.  In  the first few days I found Gerber vinyl training pants that are water proof to protect our furniture and his clothes, but they seemed to confuse my son.  They gave him too much security, he knew he could poop and pee and it wouldn't run down his leg.  And they where too uncomfortable (bulky) for him.  Within a week he got it though, he started either telling me "potty Mommy" indicating he had to go or doing a pee-pee dance that also told me he had to go so I take his pants and underwear off and sit him on the potty.  He is doing very well for only two weeks into it.  The key is consistency.   

During his naps and at night I put pull ups on him.  I found a pull up that feels cool to him if he wets it and turn blue if he wets it.

Another way that I have shown my son positive reinforcement is that I got a dry erase board and I named it Kaiden's Potty Chart.  I put the date, pee, poop and accidents on the chart.  Everyday I change the date to start a new day and I give him a smiley face every time he goes to the bathroom on the potty.  So after he goes to the potty I tell him "OK let's go get your smiley face." 

Don't get me wrong this has been an exhausting experience for the both of us, but especially me.  It's consistently watching him and sitting him on the potty.  He pees on the potty up to six times a day and he rarely has accidents, but its harder for him to poop on the potty.  It will take time, but I'm sure he'll be pooping and peeing on the potty soon.  

Here are the items I used to potty train my son: