Self Potty Training

I am a laid back person in general. And it is so with my potty training technique. My boy was almost three when he decided he wanted to potty train. One night he had literally 20 questions. Why do people use the potty? Why do we flush? Where does our poop go? Why underwear? Why do babies wear diapers? ....you get the point. I answered each one the best I could. I even took him down to the basement and showed him the pipes that carried stuff out of the house and into the sewer system. He took it all in and was very interested. The next morning he woke up and declared that he was not wearing diapers anymore; only underwear. And it was literally that easy. He potty trained himself. I gently guided but it was his desicion. He had a couple accidents that first month but really it was only a couple. He was dry from day one at night and naptime. I remember that first night asking him about a diaper for bedtime and he said "NO only underwear" and he meant it. I figured why not try...and low and behold...dryness. That is my boy.

Now my girl. She is 29 months aka almost 2 1/2 years. I thought it would be awhile before she was really ready. But no. She woke up Tuesday requesting underwear. See post BigGirl?!! Wednesday I did not ask nor did she ask for underwear so the whole day she wore a diaper. Then Thursday she woke up and first thing asked for underwear. So I gave her a pair. With the understanding of one pair a day. We went out of the house that morning and I was nervous. She insisted on no diaper. So I grabbed a bag with a change of clothes and we went out the door. She stayed dry the whole time out. WooHoo. Then later had an accident and went back to a diaper. No fuss. Friday, same deal, one pair of underwear. This time I went out with my mom and half way to our destination realized I forgot the bag. Doh. We were out for 2 hours and we visited three different bathrooms; thankfully we arrived back home DRY. WooHoo. Yesterday she went 11 hours before she had an accident. I think she truly did not realize her warning sign for #2. Doh. We talked about it. She seemed to understand. Back to a diaper for the rest of the day. Today is a new day. She is wearing the underwear. We shall see how long she makes it today.

The thing I love is she is doing it on her own. As long as she is interested and wants to do it. We will. I do ask every so often when she is wearing her underwear if she needs to go. But she is not on a schedule for going to sit on it. Also last night wearing her diaper she took it off twice to go use the bathroom. Pretty cool. If she continues her interest for a couple more days I will take a more incentive approach. Stickers and such. So time will tell.