Potty training before 2.5 - what to expect?

[Anonymous]

OP again, thanks everyone! Any issues with holding poop? How quickly did they do that on the potty? When he was bottomless for hours, DS just didn't go and ended up constipated later.

[Anonymous]

Our daughter went from pooping several times per day to not pooping for 2 days initially then just once a day after that for a couple months. She now poops a couple times per day. Oh crap says it is normal to “consolidate” poops after PT. so be patient and consistent and provide a lot of encouragement for pooping as well as distraction to help them relax. They need to learn to relax and literally let go which is slightly more difficult than with pee. We would get my daughters stuffed animals the first few days and do silly puppet shows to get her laughing and then we would have the stuffed animals “watch” how big girls go poop. Sounds insane to type, lol but it worked. She was 2.5 at the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, thanks everyone! Any issues with holding poop? How quickly did they do that on the potty? When he was bottomless for hours, DS just didn't go and ended up constipated later.

My DS (I posted about our positive experience yesterday) is 25 months now and he seems fine pooping on the potty but is still mostly a nighttime (diaper) pooper.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, thanks everyone! Any issues with holding poop? How quickly did they do that on the potty? When he was bottomless for hours, DS just didn't go and ended up constipated later.

DS pooped on day two but I had to actually catch him starting and physically put him on the potty. Big rewards and praise. The great thing about toilet training is that sitting to poop actually straightens out the descending colon and cures a lot of constipation issues.

[Anonymous]

OP here, appreciate all the advice! Have an upcoming opportunity to take a week off with DS (he'll be 27 months) and I'm thinking of going all in with Oh Crap. Only potential issue is the following week we leave for a long road trip to visit family. Should I still do it?? Please send any encouragement and real talk Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

OP, we potty trained at exactly 24 months. It worked out great and we had no issues. This age is totally doable if you're at home and stay on top of it. We offered potty regularly to kid and she took to it rather quickly. Only took a few weeks.

[Anonymous]

OP - solidarity! We are potty training right now.

DD is understanding really well that she has to go in the potty but has a shy bladder. Used some of the strategies for this recommended in Jamie Glowacki's blog and that worked really well. I definitely recommend reading the oh Crap book and checking out her blog for problem solving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP again, thanks everyone! Any issues with holding poop? How quickly did they do that on the potty? When he was bottomless for hours, DS just didn't go and ended up constipated later.

Holding in poop is more of a thing with older kids I think. The younger ones can't really hold in poop or don't overthink it the same way. I think you can be more lenient than Oh Crap with some kids but it's probably best to be a bit militant the first 3 days. We gave so much praise and my kids were just thrilled to learn their new skill. My kids were 20 months and not very verbal. It worked very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, appreciate all the advice! Have an upcoming opportunity to take a week off with DS (he'll be 27 months) and I'm thinking of going all in with Oh Crap. Only potential issue is the following week we leave for a long road trip to visit family. Should I still do it?? Please send any encouragement and real talk Thanks again!

Just bring a kiddie potty and plan to stop every 1.5 hours for the kid to pee, unless they are asleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here, appreciate all the advice! Have an upcoming opportunity to take a week off with DS (he'll be 27 months) and I'm thinking of going all in with Oh Crap. Only potential issue is the following week we leave for a long road trip to visit family. Should I still do it?? Please send any encouragement and real talk Thanks again!

You sound wishy washy. You have to be all in for this to work. You have to believe it will work and then the kid picks it up from you that this will work. You got this! Also, my boys trained quicker than my girl, so don't believe that boys are delayed or slower! I did train my boys to sit to pee in the beginning because they often poop at the same time and don't have complete control of their aim yet. If you train boys at 4 years old, maybe then they can stand to pee and not make a mess.

Get a piddle pad for the car seat just in case. I like the summer infant brand. For super long roadtrips my kids use pullups because they'd fall into a deep sleep and pee.

[Anonymous]

OP - couple things
Oh Crap says it's okay to put a diaper on for a road trip. Just make sure you only put it on for the road trip and take it off after
That being said, personally I would not potty train right before a road trip. That adds a level of anxiety and stress that would not be helpful.

[Anonymous]

Do it! A week is long enough to build positive momentum. I’d go underwear in the car with piddle pad down and small toilet in the trunk because I’m crazy like that! All in! But yeah bring the tiny toilet for sure.

The time at home will be great for getting started so if you don’t have that usually then take advantage. And as PP says, it sounds dumb but you really do have to just believe it’s gonna work bc otherwise you’ll psych yourself out or give up too soon.

[Anonymous]

I would start after you get back from your trip. At a week we were just getting the hang of it and were still going without bottoms. You may be able to swing commando at that point, but we also liked having the little potty out at all times (in the middle of the living room) so that DD could see it. I agree with above PP, it'll just add unnecessary stress to an already stressful experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would start after you get back from your trip. At a week we were just getting the hang of it and were still going without bottoms. You may be able to swing commando at that point, but we also liked having the little potty out at all times (in the middle of the living room) so that DD could see it. I agree with above PP, it'll just add unnecessary stress to an already stressful experience.

I hear that and it's definitely what I'm wary about, but should clarify I won't be able to take a full week off after the trip. The car ride is only one day there and back, so would have the potty at our destination.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just do oh crap. No need to prep him first. I've PT'd two 20-21 month olds and it really is as easy as the book says.

Same. I followed the book to a T. It's for 20-30 months, so don't wait longer if you want to use that method. The first day or two, they DON'T have a recognition that they're peeing and that's actually what you're training them to understand. Diapers are a bit too good these days and kids don't feel it when they pee. We spent the first day out on our back deck. They could be naked, pee all over the place, and there was a potty nearby.

Btw, I think a lot of success with this book is when you hit it hard and never backtrack. Don't do teensy half measures like sit them on the potty or put them back in diapers. Nope. On day 1, you just tell them this is what we're going to do and it's a new, fun skill. And then double down and just do it. They'll see your dedication and will follow your lead.

FYI, this was NOT my experience at all. Oh Crap was a total nightmare for my family when we tried at 24 months. By far the most miserable parenting experience I have ever had. After over a week of misery, we backed off, put her in pull ups, and she ended up potty trained in a couple of months with much less stress.