A few days ago I donated the last pack of unused diapers. I can’t even tell you how happy I was when A started to sleep through the night without wetting her diaper…. and through the day without wetting her pants….. and of course the day she finally chose to potty in the bathroom!! Till April I was making her diapers at night. Although many days she would not wet it at all. During the day…. it took her a week to get into the habit of expressing her need to go to the toilet. Although she refused to do potty for a long time on the seat… she came around some days after her 2nd birthday. 

I would sit with her many days reading to her and trying to tell her to do the big job in its appropriate place. But… she just wouldn’t. Within 10 minutes of making her wear her diaper again she would do it. Once she got off the seat, sat next to it and did it!! THAT was annoying! So when I left for my annual vacation in April this time, I decided I will not carry any diapers with me ( they would anyway take up some space and I dint have any in the already overfull suitcases). So it worked! There were some accidents for a month or so (only at night) but they were very few. 

I had a terrible experience with P. The Montessori school she went to insisted I start training her as soon as she turned 18 months. But she wasn’t ready AT ALL!! She was trained to do the big job on her seat but she would not pee there. She wouldn’t say when she wanted to go and would sit anywhere and do it.  When you google , you will find countless ways to potty train your child in 3 days or in 1 week. I swear I tried everything I could. This went on for more than a year! And don’t even get me started on the nights. My husband and I would take turns in waking up every 2 hours and take her to the toilet…. and this was after she turned 3! It took her a couple of months to sleep through the night without wetting her bed. I always had to keep her clothes and bedsheets handy. I used the absorbent sheets at night (the one used for patients in hospitals). Countless packets. 

Compared to this… A was a breeze. I started as late as I could with her. Was waiting for the school to show the red flag for diapers. I was petrified at going through the trauma of wiping baby pee all over the house all over again. But she made it so easy that i was scared for nothing. 😘 my sweetie pie. 

So at the end of this my conclusion was start training your baby when she is ready. No matter how hard you try, she will get around to it only when she wants. Try every few days but don’t force it on your child. It’s sad that being a Montessori her school dint accept that. P wasn’t ready till she was almost 2.5 years old. And A got completely trained before she hit the 2 mark. So chill it… don’t get stressed. They are not going to wear diapers all their lives! I know some people who train their kids at 6months old! Yes! They start at 4-5 months only. But only someone with an awesome amount of patience can do that. Old granny’s would do that. And I know of only 1 other person who has currently done it. Hats off to her! So either it’s so early or it’s wait and watch.