And we're......

potty trained! ;o) Well, at least I think we are..... lol. We'll see what the future holds! Potty training has been a laid back process for Presley. I still give props to my little sister who told me to....
1- make potty time a part of her daily routine early on
2-keep the pull-ups off because they are useless.
I started making potty time part of her daily routine when she was 18 months and it worked wonders. Presley doesn't like to be interrupted when she is playing, what toddler does? So, by introducing "potty time" into her daily routine at 18 months (which only involved her sitting on the potty while I read her a book or two) allowed for less of a battle between us when I interrupted play time and told her that it was "potty time." It was also during this time that I worked on developing her vocabulary a little bit so that she had the words to use once we started potty training. She also became comfortable with the potty during this time so she wasn't scared of it when it came time for potty training.

I bought books on potty training and I searched the internet for ideas. I picked the ideas I liked best and then tweaked them to fit Presley's personality/learning style. Here are things we tried and used...

Chart: I started off using a chart, but she wanted to wear the stickers rather than sticking them to a piece of paper. So, that idea was trashed early on. Presley responds well to praise and sweet treats. ;o) The sweet treats work best because she rarely gets them so she'll do anything for a cupcake or a lolly pop!

Are you dry?: I started off asking Presley if she needed to go potty and she always said, "no"...I don't think she understood what I was asking her. She has yet to tell me that she needs to go to the potty so that leads me to believe that she is about 80% potty trained. We have a 90-120 minute routine where I just tell her "it's potty time!" and she'll usually go during that time. Instead of asking her if she needs to go potty, I ask her if she is still dry. At first, she would respond with a "no" each time I asked her. After a few accidents and allowing her to feel the outside of her undies she grasped what "wet" and "dry" meant. If she has dry undies when we sit down on the potty then she gets a sticker or a stamp on her hand. If she is successful at going potty then I give her a cupcake.......this idea came from Potty Wise. It worked with Presley. ;o) I think out of everything I've tried, asking "are you dry?" is probably the most beneficial tip I have received!

Potty Journal: I just started this a few days ago and it has helped with setting a routine.

Busy Pail: This came from Sara too ;o) A bucket of "stuff" is kept in the bathroom for Presley to keep busy with while we sit and wait. At first, I allowed Presley to play on my iPhone while she waited to go potty, but then she wanted to sit on the potty every few minutes. However, it did allow for me to know that she is able to say, "I need to go potty."

Sesame Soft Potty Seat: I decided against using a potty chair...I like the potty seat best for Presley.

Gerber Potty Training Pants: These are thick potty training pants (cotton) that I really like for Presley. They fit her well and they are thin enough for her to feel when she is wet, but thick enough to prevent leaking on the carpet....Joey's not an advocate of the no panties potty training method.

Anyone else have any potty training secrets or helpful hints they've tried or have heard about? I guess it's ok for her to be trained on a routine??? I know she can stay dry, but I am finding a hard time getting her to tell me when she needs to go...maybe that comes later in development??? She starts a 2 day preschool program in the fall and I would like for her to be able to tell her teachers when she needs to go....they would like for her to be in the process of being potty trained.