The Potty Chair!

If you do not have children, you may find this to be a gross post. Skip it.

So, as referenced in my letter to Evie, we bought a potty chair this weekend.

It has all the bells and whistles, literally. It's called the Royal Stepstool Potty Chair. It's a cute potty chair that converts to a step stool for hand-washing, has a detachable seat that can fit on a regular toilet seat, and best of all... IT PLAYS SONGS WHEN YOU PEE!

I did a little research on the internet, and found an article I like detailing the ABCs of toilet training.

First step: purchase the potty. Done.

Next: Put your child on the potty seat once a day, fully clothed. Do this until your child is comfortable sitting on the potty. We put the potty chair in Evie's bathroom right before bath time tonight. She walked in to see Chris while he was filling the tub, and saw the chair. Immediately, she demanded "Sit!" I heard Chris explain that this was her new potty; Mommy and Daddy go potty and poop on the big potty, and this little one was just for her. Again, she exclaimed "Sit!" Chris let her sit on the potty. Evie loved it! She had a big smile on her face and held the handles, kicked her feet, even giggled.

Third: Once she's comfortable sitting on the potty fully-clothed, let her sit on the chair without her diaper. Do this until she's comfortable. If she resists, put the chair away for a few weeks before trying again. I took her diaper off. She sat back down on the potty. She still liked it. Okay, this was going well. Speaking of going, I had to...

Next: Demonstrate for your child. I sat on the big potty, and said "Do you hear that? I'm going potty. You have your own potty now!" I showed her that I was wiping, we both said "buh-buh" to the tissue, and flushed. (She loves that part.)

When she got up to say bye-bye to the tissue, I noticed Evie had peed a small amount in her potty! Hip, hip, hooray! The tiny teaspoon of urine was too small to activate the song, so I called Chris, and we clapped and praised her. I had her look in the potty to see what she did. I kissed her. She was all smiles, and obviously very proud to have done whatever it was that was causing us to make a big fuss. What a great moment!

She sat back down, and it was a struggle to get her off the potty and into the bath. She loves it! After her bath, she closed the lid, and the song went off. She danced and smiled. Life is good!

Now I have a dilemma. I wasn't really serious about this potty-training thing. I thought I would just get her used to the chair. After talking to my mom, I think I'll put her on the potty when she wakes up, before and after her nap, and right before her bath. Then I'll see what happens. After all, Evie's gotten the both of us this far already!