Potty Training

My son is almost 2 1/2 years old.  Im ready to start potty training him before the new baby comes.  Im almost sure he is ready.  He tells me when he poops and when he pee's. I have a potty chair for him and its been in the bathroom since he was about 18 months old.  His doctor told me to put it in there so he can get used to it.  Any tips you mothers have would be great.  Also he takes a sippy cup at night and if he dosent have one he wakes up crying for his juice, I know that is going to be a problem. But the new baby is due in 6 weeks and i would at least like to start trying to potty train him so we dont have two little ones in diapers.  Thanks

[courtlynn]

My son is three.  He is potty trainned.  All I did was let him go with no diaper.  He had I few messes but started to us the toilet.   The only thing is he might go completely backwards when the baby comes.  I would wait until he gets used to the new baby for a bit then try the no daipers, just easy clothes to get off and back on.  This takes about 1 month for around the house and when going out it takes about 2 months.  Now its no daipers a bedtime, sorry I cant help there because mine still pees the bed at night.  

[courtlynn]

Sorry about the spelling...

[ts13]

ahhh.........potty training.
i started my now 2 1/2 yr. old almost a year ago (at 19 months).  she was perfectly potty trained (except pullups at nighttime) by the time i had my 2nd daughter on feb. 1st.  6 wks. after i delivered, my daughter#1 totally regressed!  going potty in her pants-anytime and anyplace!! i guess do the best you can before you have #2, but don't stress, because HUGE chances are, he'll continue to have a couple accidents!
as for actually starting, i stayed home for 3 days straight, pumped her with fluids and kept her in big girl panties.  every 20 minutes or so, we'd go to the bathroom.  if she went, she'd immediately get a reward (potty dance, stickers, m&ms, etc.)
and that was it.....................
good luck!

[tiredbuthappy]

2 1/2 is young for a little boy to train. unless you are positive he's ready, i'd wait. is he willing to sit on the potty yet? if not, then he's def. not ready. you're right- him telling you he needs a change is a great sign that he's getting ready, but unless he's willing to sit and try you'll be fighting an uphill battle and may end up creating a potty aversion. also, don't expect him to be fully trained once he shows an interest. often, it takes months after being pee-trained for them to go poop on the potty. and the other ladies are right about him possibly regressing when the baby comes. he will have trouble understanding his changing world, and children often have no way to express this confusion other than through regression or acting out.
however, if you really feel he's ready and he has been sitting on the potty here's a few suggestions- go shopping together and let him pick out some big boy underwear. some children respond well to sticker charts and reward systems. if you can predict when he'll have a bm, put him on the potty (some kids are super regular or will show signs like straining, hiding, etc...). after a couple of successful poops, he may start to go on his own. put a basket of books next to the potty and read there together. where i worked, when parents just started training, we would take the children very very often (up to every half hour). after a few days, we'd graduate to every hour. if he starts staying dry, then spread it out to 2 hours.
oh yeah- i forgot to mention that while it is a good sign that he tells you when he needs a change, the best sign that he is ready is if he stays dry sometimes between changes. just because he is uncomfortable when wet does not mean that he is capable of holding it in. when you change him, make sure you acknowledge and praise him for a dry diaper.

[mommy2aj]

ds is 2.5 i have felt the pressure from family since he turned 1. then when ds turned 2 everyone was aghast that he was still in diapers. we had tried everything in the last 2-3 months. my 2nd ds is 3wks today. when we came home we started on the comparison of big boys and babies. on thurs we decided to take advise of some here and just put on the undies. best method for us. ds went the whole day and night w/o any messes. 2nd day we went to toys r us so ds could pick out his big boy undies. i think he became excited w/ all the toys and had accident. ds then woke up from nap b/c he wet the bed. for the last 3 days we have had no accidents. i am so excited. we also did the reward method, we bought party favors.
good luck!!!

[Crritter]

My first one did well at home, but was too busy at daycare and would start to slip.  Then one day he decided he was done and we have been lucky, no accidents.  He was dry overnight pretty much from 2 on though and we have not had any problems.  We didn't do the night time drink though for htat reason.  The only thing you have to be careful about is the timing.  You don't want to make any major changes right before the baby, he might see the change as something he has to do because he is being replaced as the baby.  We did not change anything that close to baby, but luckily we were past the potty thing by then.  I do have a friend that potty trained her older child while she was on maternity leave though and she had great success.  Just try not to pressure your little one, just encourage them to check out the potty.  We did well with praise, didn't have to do rewards, but I have heard that a kid that easy is rare.  Good luck, it's so worth it!

[Renogirl]

BIg boy undies are a big deal for anyone - sticker charts are great - my girlfriend actually put the potty chair in the family room since her daughter wouldn't go to the bathroom to potty because she was afraid of missing something - keep books in the bathroom (board books are great - easy to wipe off with a clorox wipe) and read to your little guy while he is sitting there - going naked has worked for lots of children - and give LOTS of positive reinforcement - two and a half is old enough to start potty training - nothing any more annoying then people who bring their four year old in to enroll in our center and he isn't potty trained because "he IS a boy after all"  sorry but that's just bull - that's a parent who hasn't worked with their child - be prepared though - its VERY common that even though he may respond great to potty training in the next few weeks - he quite possibly will regress with the new little one's appearance - give him some extra attention - try to make some time for him - and just keep up the hard work - soon he'll be potty trained!