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Potty Trained at 14 months old

I was enjoying my toddler.  She had just turned 1 yr old and was doing great.  Walking around, enjoying summer weather and the pool and looked so super cute in her swim suit, was eating real food  (mostly) and sleeping in her own toddler bed (half the time).  The only thing that was always a struggle was getting her to lie still for her diaper changes.  We would fight and wrestle and it often took both myself and my husband to keep her calm and entertained long enough for me to clean her bum and get a fresh diaper on her.  

I remembered when she was first born my mother in law mentioning the potty training with a doll that could wet itself and how she thought it was the best thing ever.  I listened but always thought it was very far away from the age she was.  

Then one day during a time when my husband was in the beginnings of his business and we were trying to live off of his income alone, I realized we only had 21 diapers left and no money.  Not even any coming in in the forseeable future.  

I was always trying to think of ways to save us money so the thought crossed my mind.  What if I potty trained my daughter and then when the diapers ran out we wouldn't have to buy anymore? So I talked to my husband and he gave his support.  

Excited, I turned to Pinterest and read every thing I could about potty training.  

I read the "potty train in a weekend",  "potty train in a day", "potty train the montessori way",  even this strange grouping of people who use "elimination communication" to potty train their 3 week olds.  After I read every last posting, watched video after video. I decided on my plan.  Here is how I successfully potty trained my 14 month old in about 2 weeks:

1) Commit.  Once I decided I was going to do it.  I told my husband and we decided together that after the diapers we had ran out that we would not be buying anymore. No matter what.  

2) Prepare the toddler.  The montessori way of potty training suggested that once a child is able to stand that diaper changes be done in the bathroom while standing and the child be placed on the potty during these changes.  This is to build the association with the potty and what it is for.  Typically this prep should start months before attempting to potty train, but I didn't have a month.  I had about a week.  I did this for about 3 days.  

3) Prep the Bathroom.  On the night before the Go day, the day 1 of Potty training, I moved all "diaper stuff" into the bathroom.  I scrubbed it down, and brought a fabric box with extra bottoms into the bathroom for ease of access.  I also put some coloring books and sticker books in there so we would be entertained while spending our day in there.  To finish off the prep I put a few chocolate chips into a tiny cup as in sentinel and made a big pitcher of juice. 

4) Go Day.  The day began early for me.  I counted a few quarters and found I had about $15 I could use for potty training supplies.  So, before my little one woke up I went to Walmart and bought a box of Cheese-itz, a package of the smallest underwear they had at the store (size 2T, it is still way too big for my skinny baby) and the cheapest little potty seat they had  ( it was the Walmart brand).   When she woke up I snuggled with her for a bit in bed and then we went into the bathroom where I had set out all the fun stuff and the snacks and drinks and stuff.  I took off her diaper and sat her on the potty on her new seat.  Then let her be bare bum for the rest of the morning while she ate the crackers, drank juice, and played with the stickers and explored the bathroom which, up until this week, she was kept out of.

On this day she peed everywhere! We spent the morning on the floor in the bathroom sitting on the potty every 10-15 minutes but by naptime I couldn't take it anymore.  I put her in a diaper for her nap and then afterward we spent the rest of the day around the house.  Luckily our whole apartment is hard floors.  I had a hard time letting her be bare bum all day so I tried to let her be in the baggy underwear but they were too much like diapers and she peed in every single one of them.  Back in diapers for bedtime and we would do it all again tomorrow.

5) Go with the flow.  Toward the end of day 1 she started resisting being put on the potty and I realized that every 15 minutes was too much.  So I increased the time to every 25.  I put her on the potty right after she woke up and then put some homemade legging type pants on her with no underwear for the rest of the day.  I could see she was starting to get it.  Day 2 was a good day with very few accidents. 

6) Learn the Cues.  Day 3 was a discouraging step backwards from day 2, but we kept going.  I had never looked at my child's crotch so much before.  I spent hours studying her cues and body language so I could help her make it to the potty on time.  We skipped the nap time diaper because she fell asleep during our movie before I could put one on her and I've learned with this child that if you wake her up from her nap, no matter how short it was, she won't go back to sleep.  She woke up dry from her nap. So we started only doing diapers at nighttime.  

7) The First Outing.  We attempted to go to church.  I packed extras of everything.  Even a few blankets to set out just in case.  I was in for the worst experience ever.  My baby had been eating not so healthy for the last few days and had a big diarrhea mess before we left.  Luckily we still had time to clean up and I figured That since she got her poop out here at home that we'd be good for the 3 hours at church.  I planned to visit the potty often and sit near the doors.  Not only was it stressful constantly studying my daughter's face and body language but she was not in the mood to sit for church so we spent a lot of our time wandering through the halls.  We were playing near the drinking fountain when, all the sudden, the look of panic came across her face and she clung to me tightly as I picked her up and started sprinting to the bathroom.  It was too late.  Just a few steps into my sprint her pants and my hand started to fill with mushy, warm, runny, smelly poop. In such an emergency, I didn't have time to run to get the supply bag which was sitting in the classroom with my husband so I spent the rest of the time in a stall trying to clean her up with TP and have her sit on the potty while I try to clean up her legs and the floor of the bathroom all the while she is fussy because she is sick and is only wanting to be held.  She screamed every time I tried to stand her up and plopped her poopy bum on the floor untill all I could do was hold her and let her finish crying.  I got us both clean enough to walk across the church, go get the bag, slap a clean pair of pants on her and leave quickly before anybody saw the mess we made in the bathroom.  The poor janitor.  It was on this day that I seriously considered buying diapers and just saying forget it.  I knew she was too young anyway.  

8) Keep the Faith.  My husband stayed the voice of reason in my hysterics.  She is sick with diarrhea, some adults can't even make it to the toilet in time with diarrhea let alone a small baby just learning to read her bodies clues and remember that she has to go somewhere to let go of her waste.  We went home and stayed near the toilet and got through the rest of the day ok.

9) Sing and Dance.  We made up a song to sing to our not yet talking toddler to remind her that we "run to the potty". When we ran out of diapers that was the end and now at 17 months old my baby is potty trained and not even wearing diapers at night anymore.  

10) Stay chill.  Babies can sense your emotions.  If you are frustrated then they will freeze up and it will be a horrible experience for both of you.  Don't make a big deal out of accidents.  My baby is 17 months old and still has the occasional accident.  When they happen I simply say "uh oh" or "oh no" and then rush her to the potty where she can finish going and I can clean her up and then get new pants on.  

With a child so young a bug part of toilet learning is preemptive.  I dont set a timer anymore but we visit the potty often.  I follow her cues and follow her every single time she runs into the bathroom.  She still does not talk so myself and my husband learn her signals for when she has to go.  They have been as obvious as running into the bathroom and tapping the toilet seat and as subtle as stamping her foot on the floor a few times.  My husband and I are learning right along with our daughter how to incorporate potty time into our daily lives to help her be successful.  We started out peeing and, yes pooping too, everywhere with no cognition of expectation.  And now my baby will push her step stool up to the toilet, climb up and go pee all by herself.  Our big challenge now is to get her to pull her pants down first.  One thing at a time I guess. 


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