Ok. We are doing this (the Oh Crap method) July 4-8. My son is 31 months. Please share successes you have had with this method, in general, with night training. I will take any and everything! Starting to freak out.
Ok. We are doing this (the Oh Crap method) July 4-8. My son is 31 months. Please share successes you have had with this method, in general, with night training. I will take any and everything! Starting to freak out.
nectarine / 2047 posts
Sooooo you already know H is doing it now and we weren’t planning on doing nap or night, but he’s been waking up dry most of the time on his own! He slept 12 hours last night and woke up dry calling for me “mama I hafta go potttttttty!” He did a 4 hour car ride completely dry yesterday too! C can do it!!
ETA: be cool about it! If we get anxious or push him too much, he freaks and refuses! Be chill!
grapefruit / 4361 posts
We started in March at 26 months and I would say we are at 90% success now at 29 months.
We skipped commando bc LO plays with himself all day long and we thought it was more uncomfy for him to have wet undies then to pee outward into a spot and leave it.
We used training pants undies at home to minimize puddles and at the park. We use pull-ups when out at places with carpet. We will probably stop that soon.
We have had a lot more success telling him when to go potty (every 2 hours, and during transitions) vs. him telling us. So, for the first 2-3 months, I said basically he was really good at peeing on command. Now finally he is telling us on his own, but I don't think we would have gotten to this stage earlier/quicker if we had stuck to OCPT more or started later.
OCPT helped us with poop tips... reading special books on the potty, giving him privacy, and using a stool to get his legs into a "squatting" position has been key.
OCPT says that kids instinctually try to hide or get privacy to poop, and it's true for the 3 toddlers I know.
We haven't attempted night training bc I have a newborn / young baby and sleep is life.
ETA: I probably would have ditched pull-ups earlier if I didn't have a newborn along with me most of the time.
persimmon / 1111 posts
My 27 month old announced he wanted to wear undies like his best friend at school. We took a 5 day approach of Oh Crap and kept him on the back deck. It went great! Maybe 3 accidents? The only hiccup was that I had a two week old and it was hard being there 100% attentive to the toddler.
It's been two months and we have had tremendous success. We are completely out of diapers, including at school, traveling, and outings. Just be sure to get the potiette and lots of reminders.
apricot / 488 posts
We did this meathod at 29mo and it went super smoothly. Lots of accidents the first day, then maybe 3 more spread out over a week. I was a liter nervous but he did great!
apricot / 363 posts
We had great success! I reccomend joining one of her private Facebook groups - I think it was $50 for a week of one on one help with Jamie and a small group of other families. We did it over the 4th or July last year!
nectarine / 2436 posts
I don't know how to say this and not sound like a pompous turd but my son was quite possibly the easiest child in humanity to potty train - and we used Oh Crap. He was 25 months when he showed "the signs" of being ready. The author mentions a sweet spot developmentally of them 1) being not too independent aka don't resist you too much but also 2) being communicative and physically ready to understand the process of bathrooms and reading his body. I hit that sweet spot and it was amazing. He had 2 poop accidents total and he told me he had to poop but we were way far from a toilet and it was my fault. We never used pullups and he stopped wetting overnight at 28 months. He was cloth diapers mostly FWIW.
I used candy as rewards for him not peeing at daycare. Not sure if the book suggested that but It worked.
Author was right about daycare being annoying about things but if you have very experienced, PATIENT carers, it should be ok!
nectarine / 2436 posts
Reading these posts, I'm reminded we didn't stick to the rigid bootcamp exactly. We were on vacation so he was naked a lot, I learned his 'pause' that he had to pee and he picked up that he was supposed to visit the potty quick. We also never used a little potty, he wasn't a fan.
Also, he never had pee accidents at home but for at least 2 months at daycare he would pee once a day! They seemed to do everything right but it was still tricky. Everyone was pretty patient and we never yelled at him, then I offered him candy if he didn't pee and Bam! All good now.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@pachamama: This sounds super ideal! I’ve alresdy talked to daycare but you’re right - super hit or miss there 🙄 I won’t worry about it until we do our five days and I see what he even understands? But I do believe in the theory that they are ready between2-3 and you don’t have to wait longer even though it’s popular to do so!
pomelo / 5084 posts
@justjules: Yessss I’m happy with accidents as long as he understands the concept. He hasn’t shown interest so far but I’ve been talkingitup. Next week, we toss our diapers, etc and he says yes! No more diapers!! 🤷♀️
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Pollywog: Yes thank you for sharing’ we are doing a conbo or inside and our yard for five days - heaven help us not going stir crazy
pomelo / 5084 posts
@DesertDreams88: Good to know about poop training, thank you! Idk about night. I was going to do both as the book recommends but today my ped was like why would you intentionally jack with you sleep so now I’m not sure!
nectarine / 2086 posts
DD was easy peasy using that method at 28 months. She got it within a day or two and we had very few accidents. We used pull ups overnight bc I had no interest in waking up to potty train in the MOTN, but she completely night trained herself within a couple months.
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
My daughter likes to make most things difficult, but I was shocked at how well she took to potty training. We did Oh Crap when she was a little more than 2.5. She wasn’t necessarily showing signs that she was interested, but we were all ready and went for it. We did commando for the first day, she peed on the floor maybe 3 times and I caught her and put her on the potty, and it clicked. Poop took one extra day (and a turd on my kitchen floor while I nursed the baby...) The hard part was the frequency that I had to take her to the potty- every store, new house, anything, she wanted to go potty. I knew she couldn’t have to go that often but you can’t say no! We used pull-ups for long car rides but she just refused to go in one.
Naps came a bit later then night time, I let her lead. But even as a baby she often woke up with a dry diaper, then would pee a ton shortly after getting up, so I think she’s just naturally not a heavy wetter overnight.
We are thinking about potty training our now 2.5 year old. She’s my easier kid so I assume that means this will be harder.
nectarine / 2047 posts
@wrkbrk: ha! C will be awesome!! Good luck! Let me know if you need moral support!! ️️️
pomelo / 5084 posts
@buttermilk: That’s exactly what my ped said would happen and now what I’m leaning towards....
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Foodnerd81: LOL thanks for sharing your story! Your second daughter is exactly DS’s age if I remember correctly. To complicate matters we do have a long car trip in August 🤦♀️
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@wrkbrk: What is your expectation with night training?
The behavior you are looking for is that they wake up if they have to go, and that they begin to produce less urine overnight (which happens with an enzyme secretion).
pomelo / 5084 posts
@looch: The book basically says to do both at once and wake them 1-2 times overnight for a couple of weeks until they get the hang of waking on their own if they feel they have to go. It totally makes sense to do it all at once but my ped said if I just wait I may not ever have to actively “train” at night...
apricot / 275 posts
We did OCPT starting President's weekend for our 21.5 mo daughter (now 26 mo). For us, it wasn't quite the cake walk the book makes it out to be, but I'd still say we were successful. We've had a lot of ups and downs, but I think we're finally alllllllmost to where I'd say she's trained (about 1 accident/week, always at home). One thing that was crucial for us was daycare support. The room that my daughter was in when we started does not have a bathroom so they had to take her down the hall to the bathroom every time. They didn't prompt her quite as often as I would've liked because they just didn't have the staff to take her every 1-1.5 hours. And if she told them she needed to go, they couldn't always go immediately, so she'd have an accident. She moved to the next room at 24 months, where there's a bathroom right in the room and most kids are potty training/trained. It was immediately better. She had a weird poop regression where she pooped her pants almost every day for a week, but after we got that figured out, we were good. I think she had one pee accident there the first week, and nothing since then almost 2 months ago.
We started out doing night at the same time, but were night dropouts after 2 days. She wouldn't pee when we got her up, then would have an accident shortly after. She didn't sleep through accidents, she woke up and had a huge meltdown tantrum each time. So my good sleeper who would previously sleep 11+ hrs/night without making a peep was now so overtired and cranky. It wasn't good for anyone. She now wears a pullup overnight. It's only been dry 6 times in the 4.5 months we've been training, so I think it was the right decision for us, and she just wasn't ready. I'll reassess around 3 yrs. She had stayed dry for naps almost every day for the 9 days we were home together, so I wanted to continue that, but daycare required a pullup for nap until they could show that they were staying dry. She uses it about half the time, I think just because she knows she can, I think right when she's waking. We don't use them for naps on weekends, and she rarely has nap accidents.
So, long story short - daycare support is crucial, and don't get frustrated if it doesn't go as easily for you as it does for some people. Be consistent and push through. We have a 6-month old as well, and I think I will use this method on her too, but probably not til more like 24-28 months.
I know you said you don't have fb, but for anyone else reading this, I loved the group "oh crap! potty training unofficial book club". Very good, supportive people. Great for troubleshooting issues that the book maybe didn't cover.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@wrkbrk: I wouldn't wake, but that's just me speaking as a mom of a child that wasn't the best sleeper. Once he was asleep, I preserved that.
When we went through the process with my son, I kept him in pull ups overnight. As a working mom, I didn't have it in me to do extra laundry, so I just let the process occur naturally.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@looch: Same, my wife thinks I am crazy for entertaining the idea at all haha.
persimmon / 1095 posts
We did it over Memorial Day weekend at 30/31 months and it went really well. Felt like we had a puppy the first day with the pee we were cleaning up but after that it got a lot better and by day 3 she was telling us when she had to pee. Poop is still an ongoing issue. She would poop in her underwear and then tell us she had to poop. I think it's a hard concept for her to get but she really started to make progress the last week or so and I'd say we're 50% of the way there with poop. Haven't done night training yet. She chugs fluids when she gets home from school and it's so hot I don't want to regulate her fluid intake before bed.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@kayla0416: Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I dont have super high expectations - my son has shown NO interest so far. I just think due to the way we did bottles and crib, he is a kid who needs no other choice as opposed to a long transition period. I would count your story as a success for sure. Daycare is still the wild card. Same as you, the potty is down the hall, and their policy is to take the kids WHEN THEY ASK which I really dont think my son is going to start doing after 5 days of training ... but he switches rooms in August and then they do have a potty.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@alphagam84: Totally - my doctor is not a fan of limiting water, etc., as the book suggests. And I thought the exact same thing. It's like having a new puppy! Bahahaha. We have four dogs so are no strangers to pee on the floor ...
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@wrkbrk: My understanding is that the body secretes an enzyme to help the body produce less urine overnight. If they don't produce this enzyme, they won't be able to stay dry overnight. This is why one can't night train, if the body doesn't produce the enzyme that signals less urine production, there's not much to be done. It's a process that happens on their own time.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@looch: Right, I've read this too.
You really can't night train. You can just wake them up yourself to take them to the potty, which... why would you do that??
My 5 year old still wears pull-ups to bed. Sometimes he wakes up to pee. Sometimes he doesn't. I'm not going to stress about it! Some kids don't get there until closer to 9.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
We did OCPT for both kids, right about 2.5-3. The key is really to keep an eye on the transitions (I peed, I'm peeing, I have to pee) so that you can progress through the stages. But every kid is different!
My oldest at 2.5 really took an interest to potty training, so we did it when he requested it, and it was REALLY EASY. He wanted to do it himself, so he learned quickly. Plus he pees a LOT, like every hour, so he had a ton of practice. On top of that, he's dairy-free, so has softer poops, so pooping was easy for him and there was zero struggle with it.
My youngest we trained at 3 and it SUCKED. He wasn't interested, is very stubborn and independent, and struggles with constipation. Plus he's a camel and can hold it for HOURS. Training him was a serious struggle and we had to resort to bribery to even have the tiniest bit of success with pee. 6 months later, and he's still not poop-trained, though he's STARTING to show an interest himself in doing it.
Whatever you do, try to be as relaxed and chill as possible. If you get anxious or stressed, it'll make your kid anxious and stressed. DON'T make it a power struggle or they will resist and just pee all over the floor to spite you.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Adira: So true. Also my son sounds like your second naturally. Doesnt drink that much, doesnt pee or poop that much, has no interest that I can see lol. I am anxious in general but I am really going to try not to let it show for this!!
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
@wrkbrk: Knowledge is power! I believe that the more we know about the physiology, the better, so we can set our kids up for success.
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@wrkbrk: The only thing that worked with my youngest was bribery. He'd get chocolate skippers (nut-free m&ms) for peeing and pooping on the potty. That and really letting him figure it out on his own. He didn't like being reminded to sit on the potty or pressured to do it, so we kind of had to let him take the lead "Here's the potty, use it when you have to pee."
Even now, 6 months later, he can sometimes be resistant. I can often tell when he has to go potty because he starts getting really whiny and just wants to be held or lay down. Sometimes when we get home from daycare, I just have to tell him "You're not allowed on the rug or the couch until you go potty." But I couldn't be that strict 6 months ago when we were first training because he'd just pee on the floor (which happened a TON).
pomelo / 5524 posts
We started and stopped with DS1. He was 2.5, and while he had sporadically gone on the potty, he didn't do it consistently. We took a weekend and tried, and he all out started freaking out any time we put him on the potty, so we stopped. I put him back in diapers. DS2 was born when DS1 turned 3, so we didn't want to disrupt or risk regression then.
We started all over again when DS1 was 3 years, 3 months...over Christmas break. We prepped him, put him in underwear and didn't look back. He did AMAZINGLY. I went to put him down for a nap that day in a diaper, and he told me he was done with diapers. I was very nervous, but he ended up never having a night accident since being in underwear. I'm going to say that we're extremely lucky in that regard, as I don't expect it to be that easy with DS2.
DS2 is 33 months, and we haven't started. He has gone on the potty, but we haven't pushed anything yet. I'm a firm believer that boys and girls are VERY different, and I wasn't going to struggle like we did initially with DS1. He just plain wasn't ready. I do think DS2 is ready, but it's a power struggle with him, so I leave it go. I have a feeling by the time he's 3, and in his new classroom watching everyone else go, he'll be on board.
pomelo / 5084 posts
@Adira: My only saving grace is that we dont have any carpet and only one rug in the whole house!!
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
@wrkbrk: Do you have a little potty seat? I found that the easiest for potty training because they could sit on it themselves with their feet on the floor - definitely helps with pooping too.
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