My ds is 2.8 years old and we haven't really been trying to train him at all until he randomly did a poo on his potty Friday night. I put him in pants and he did really well Saturday with lots of wees in the potty/toilet and lots of fuss. He did one wee yesterday on potty and had an accident but today he hasn't weed at all or hasn't pooed for 2 days. Is it normal for him to be doing this? I've put a pull up on him for his nap as he seemed to be getting distressed and he's not 100% well either. Help!
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Potty training
First 2 days went well but now he's holding everything in!
20 replies
PipIsOutNow · 18/03/2013 16:27
OP posts:
wehopeyoulikespaghetti ·
03/04/2013 20:20
having lots more success here, so good luck to the rest of you, and hang in there. Today there have been no accidents, and regular wees, and even one poo. DD has been very pleased with herself and is racking up the stars on the star chart and telling everyone she sees of her mighty achievements. 
Before that we had 3-4 days of lots of holding on, including a bit of distress - her saying her bottom was hurting, dancing about, asking to sit on the potty every few minutes but then getting up again without doing anything. Frustrating for us too, especially when after several hours of desperate dancing about you have to put the bedtime nappy on and she wees in it straight away. I saw another thread on here somewhere that suggested just not to put the nappy on during the day at all. In our case she can make it through the day sometimes without a nap so she's mostly been dropping the nap, but one day she did have a nap in a pull-up but was still dry when she woke. So you could try napping without nappies, just leaving the nappies for overnight. I would be surprised if a child could go from morning to night without weeing at least once. Although having said that, DD managed 8.30am till 4.45pm on Easter Sunday, even though she drank lots.
The frustrating thing about potty training for me is that there is no template and really very little advice you can give. I've done it twice before and it doesn't get any easier. You think you're making progress and suddenly you're not, and then other times you can't possibly see how it can get any better and suddenly they get it. I think as long as we stay patient and kind, praise when it goes well and ignore any accidents, they get it eventually. Some take longer than others, but they all get there in the end. My boys took months to get it right, but things seem a bit quicker this time, perhaps because DD is older than they were.
Hope things are getting better for the rest of you.
wehopeyoulikespaghetti ·
04/04/2013 17:55
oh that is so rubbish for you Jennimoo. 
I have to say, don't know whether this is right or wrong, but on just a couple of occasions my husband had to practically restrain DD on the potty, and there was occasional weeping and wailing. Sounds bad, not sure I can entirely recommend it, but then she was pleased when she managed to wee. We have used all manner of bribery as well. As much telly as she likes (but only if she agrees to sit), favourite story on repeat, even taking away a toy and saying she can have it back once she's sat on the potty. You can't bully them into doing a wee, but I think maybe you can bully them a little bit into sitting....? Maybe? If they've done it once or twice and it's not that they're not ready and completely petrified? Bad mother, bad mother...
Have you tried going out anyway, in pull-ups if need be, so it makes it less rubbish for you? We also issued stickers and treats for every trip out where the pull-ups were dry when we got home. But tbh even if they're not dry when you get back, as long as you're not out for a whole day every day, it's probably not the end of the world. Can just do it slowly and gradually. My older two took months to be accident free, but they got there. Not like some stories I hear, of 2 days training and then no accidents after that... some people have all the luck!
No wine. Sad times. Chocolate an option?
wehopeyoulikespaghetti ·
04/04/2013 19:32
thank goodness for chocolate. 
It's impossible to know which camp your child is going to fit into. I wonder if you give up now whether you'll feel the last few days were wasted struggle, or whether you'll have to go through it all again in a few months. Also depends whether you have any kind of deadline for sorting it. But if you thought it might be less stressful and quicker if you left it a few months, I suppose you'd be foolish to keep pursuing it now.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who left it really late/until their child said he/she wanted to and STILL had trouble and strife. Or is it generally that the later you leave it (or the readier they are) the easier it is.
Is she sad when she gets wet? Or is she blissfully unbothered? I sometimes think it's not about how physically capable they are, but how much motivation they have to be dry. My older two did not seem bothered about accidents for the most part, but my youngest was not happy when she found her clothes in a puddle.
Also when is your baby due? People say (although I have no experience of this personally either way) that there tend to be setbacks/accidents after a new baby is born, don't they? If it's soon you might want not to bother and to try again instead after all the upheaval.
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