For several months prior to "official" potty training, I would always put her on the potty right before bath time. This served two purposes. One, she got used to sitting on the potty so she wasn't scared. Two, she wouldn't pee in the tub. :) If she didn't go, no big deal. If she did, we praised her and told her what a big girl she was. She totally understood the concept of what was supposed to happen when she was on the potty.
I also did my research prior to starting potty training. Most people who know me know that I am a big fan of the Babywise book series, and potty training is no exception. I read (twice, actually) Pottywise and also other Babywise-friendly blogs about potty training. I also pulled information from my previous work experience. There are so many methods for potty training out there, it can be overwhelming. I didn't feel the pressure to do any one method exactly as stated, so I pretty much picked the parts that I liked and went with that. I also relied on my knowledge of MY child. Every child is different!
So basically, here's how we did it. I picked a day (Monday, April 7 to be exact) that we would wake up in the morning, go potty, and put on big girl undies. Just plain undies. No pull-up, no thick training pants. The week before, Hadley actually came to me more than once and told me she needed to go potty so I KNEW she was ready for this! So that first day, I took her to the potty every 15-30 minutes. If she didn't go, no big deal. If she did, great! Huge praise--which she responds very well to. As the week went on, I increased the time between potty breaks longer and longer. She can now go 2-3 hours between potty breaks and it is just over a month later. It's just a matter of building up the bladder muscle and gaining more control over it.
If she had an accident I just said "uh oh you had an accident" and remind her that pee goes in the potty. After only a couple of days, if she started to have an accident she would tell me and then finish in the potty. She caught on very quickly to the concept of having an accident. They weren't that common though because by taking her potty every so often, I was setting her up for success.
Here's what I didn't do. I didn't give her any more drinks or salty snacks (that would increase thirst) than I normally would. I basically wanted potty training to fit into an already existing routine. I also didn't use tangible rewards because first of all, Hadley responds so well to praise, and second of all, I didn't want to have to figure out how to wean her off of any sort of reward like toy or food. I also didn't use a doll like Pottywise recommends because Hadley pretty much already understood what was supposed to happen without having to have an example.
Most kids catch on to one "process" quicker than the other. This was true in Hadley's case. She always liked to go to her room or the corner of my bedroom when she needed to poop. She likes her privacy! So it took a little while to get her to do that in the potty. She's still not 100% there yet but she's gotten a lot better! I can usually guess when she will need to go #2 and watch her for signs and then remind her to go to the potty.
My biggest piece of advice is to wait until they are truly ready! Hadley was 2 years 7 months when we potty trained and that may seem late to some people, but for us it was just right. You can't make it happen before they are ready. She is still not nap or night trained yet but again, that's a matter of waiting for the bladder and brain to mature.
My other piece of advice is to do your research but don't feel like you have to do everything exactly the way someone else did it. You know your child and what he or she responds best to. I hope this is helpful!
