3 Day Potty Training: Dash

Wow! Took me long enough to get this post up! For those asking and patiently waiting for this post, sorry and thanks for sticking around for it. 

When Dollie turned 22 months old back in April of 2015, I used the 3 Day Potty Training guide and it worked perfectly. You can read about that experience here. So it was a no brainer that I would again use it for Dash. I had heard from many that boys are much more difficult than girls so I wasn't sure how it would go, but I was very confident. 

Due to the structure and requirements of the guide I wasn't able to start Dash right at 22 months, but did start him at 23 months, just a few weeks prior to him turning two. I needed to wait for Dollie to be done with school for the summer and also get through a trip we had. Once all that was complete it was game on! 

Before I dive into the 3 day method and how it worked for us, I need to give you a little pre-potty training prep work we did on our own. A few months leading up to the big day we pulled out the potty chair that Dollie had used and just let Dash sit on it whenever he wanted. This was usually before a bath or after. I don't recall him ever going potty in it; it was just for fun and to get him familiar with it. We also each took turns showing him how we would go potty in the toilet and made it seem fun and exciting. Never ever any force upon him. Just watching and mentioning it was all. A couple months out we noticed that whenever he pooped he would immediately begin taking his pants and diaper off. He wanted to be changed quick. We knew this was a great sign and this gave us a lot of confidence. 

The day approached and here is the prep work I did:

1. Planned ahead by cleaning, having laundry done, and having simple meals ready to prepare during the 3 days.

2. Purchased 20-25 pairs of underwear. 

3. Made sure I had wipes on hand

4. Made sure I had plenty of liquids for him: water, ice cubes, popsicles, capri suns, etc

5. Made sure to have a few fibrous foods and small rewards for him. 

6. Cleared my schedule of any and all activities that would require any attention other than potty training. 

The method is intense. It demands your full attention for a minimum of 72 hours. You are asked to not cook, clean, leave the house, or do anything that will distract you from basically standing next to your child all day and watching him/her. It's so important to make sure you catch them in the act. Even if most of the potty ends up on the floor and only a few drops in the toilet, they still get a reward. But you HAVE to catch them while they are going. Also the plan allows for ZERO negativity. Only positive reinforcement. You can't say, "No, no!" or "Naughty boy.." etc. With Dollie I followed the plan exactly as outlined and did with Dash as well. I'm glad I did. 

You will be potty training naps, nigh time, and daytime all at the same time. There are no pull-ups, no padded underwear, no naked, and no tarps laid down. The potty chair stays in the bathroom and a tee shirt and normal underwear are all the child will wear for 3 days. 

I chose to do a Mon, Tues, and Wed. I had to take work off. It is recommended that the same adult does the full 3 days, day and night. I prepped Dollie before hand to be my big helper. I explained to her in pretty great detail what we were doing and she was ready. She knew we would not be going outside or leaving the house unless she went with her Dad when he got home from work.

Day 1:

Wake up, have breakfast, change the last diaper you will ever change on your child. Hand them the last of the few remaining diapers and have them throw them in the garbage. Kneel at their level and explain that they are a big boy/girl now and explain to them how important it is to keep their big boy underwear dry and show them the potty chair in the bathroom. Tell them to tell you when they need to go potty. 

Now the waiting and watching begins. 

With Dash I waited an hour and 15 minutes and then he began to go potty in his underwear and I quickly whisked him to the potty chair where he finished and was rewarded with a little treat. Dollie and I made a MAJOR deal and clapped showed him how proud and happy we were. Changed his underwear, and again reminded him to keep them dry and tell Mommy when he needs to go potty. You will do this all day long. You will tell them "Tell mommy when you need to go potty!" at least 100 times. You do not ask them, "Do you need to go potty?" They need to learn to tell you when they need to go. Often you will feel their underwear and tell them what a great job they are doing at keeping them dry. 

We began at 8 am and by noon he was going potty all the way in the toilet and none in his underwear. By 1 pm it was nap time and he went a little in his underwear so we changed them. This was the last pair of underwear that we had to change that first day. He woke up dry from his nap and continued the rest of the day with no accidents. In fact, in the evening we were watching a basketball game on tv and I guess I had become a little lax with how well he was doing and the next thing we knew he came in and told us he went potty and sure enough he went into the bathroom and went potty 100% by himself. 

He went potty 15 times the first day, had 4 accidents and went through 3 pairs of underwear. (Dollie went through a loooooot more than that!) One thing that I noticed immediately with Dash was that he doesn't drink nearly as much a Dollie. Dollie still would prefer to drink her meal rather than eat, so it made sense to me that Dash just didn't need to go as often as her. 

If your kids are waking up dry in their diapers prior to potty training then they should be fine. But if they are waking up wet then you need to make sure they aren't getting liquids 2-3 hours before bed and going potty 2 times before bed. With Dash we did these 2 things and he woke up dry. (With Dollie she was still waking up wet so had to do as the guide suggested and wake her up in the night to go potty, you can read more about that on my post about potty training her.)

Day 2: 

Same plan as day one: follow him around and watch him. 

It was Dollie's birthday this day and luckily her aunt B came over to spend some time with her. Dash was doing so, so well. I was a little shocked. No accidents and just doing a really great job at telling me when he needed to go. He had also started telling me he needed to go poop so I knew it was coming. Around 10 am I ended up doing a very quick haircut for a friend who came over because of a hair emergency. I was so confident with Dash. Brandee was here and was keeping an eye on him. Almost immediately after I began cutting hair Dash had an accident. First one since 1 pm the day before. I was so bummed and knew it was my fault. Cutting hair was a big no no in the rules. But he finished going potty in the toilet and we moved on. He didn't have another accident until a small one that afternoon (once again, I wasn't paying attention).

Around 8 pm that evening he went poop in the toilet for the first time. This was very, very exciting! Dollie waited quite a few days to go and it was a serious struggle with her. He had another very small accident before bed. 

Overall he went to potty 14 times, 1 poop, with 3 small accidents. 

Woke up dry after nap time again. Also, rewards hadn't really interested him all day. He just stopped asking for them and forgot about them. I remember Dollie doing this as well.  

Dash takes long 3 hour naps every day so I was actually able to run a couple errands that day for some things I forgot to get for Dollies birthday. Totally a no-no, but he was still asleep when I got back. Zero issues.

I went to bed the 2nd night kind of kicking myself for being too relaxed that day. He had been doing so well that I began to not pay as close attention. I planned to be 100% laser beam focused the 3 day and to make it a great one. 

Day 3: 

He woke up at 4:45 am crying, but was dry. He went potty in the toilet. Then woke again at 7:30 am dry. He stayed dry all morning and into nap time. He again woke up dry after nap. He continued the afternoon with no accidents and just doing really well on him own. We even ventured out onto the front porch, but that's as far as we went together for the 3 days. Around 8 pm that night he went poop again in the toilet. 

Overall he went potty 12 times, 1 poop, and 0 accidents. One pair of underwear all day. 

It was a very long 3 days of being stuck inside. All 3 of us were a little irritable and happy to be done. The next day I had a church meeting and was a little nervous but Dash did just fine. When we got to the church I showed him the toilet and he went, and didn't have any problems. For the next few days I always brought his potty chair along but he's never needed it. He just doesn't go potty as often as Dollie did. He started to go potty on our big toilet and so he did completely fine in public restrooms. Pooping has been totally fine for him, too. Never an accident with it. He does prefer to do that business on the potty chair at home, but prefers the big toilet for potty. 

The weeks following potty training he just never had accidents. He always woke up dry after naps and in the morning. Always did well in the car, and out and about. Did perfect at church, too. There was a point where Bodie and I were a tiny bit concerned because we just didn't feel like he went potty enough during the day. But he did drink enough, and he did go potty. I think it was just different for us because we were comparing him to Dollie. 

It's now been about 6 weeks and he is just doing amazing. We can be in another room on another floor in the house and he will just go potty and poop alone without even saying anything until after the fact when he needs to be wiped. He wakes up dry from naps 100% of the time and wakes up dry in the morning 80% of the time. He has had a few more accidents here and there, and it actually makes me feel a little bit better. Like, okay good, he is getting enough to drink. During the past week he's had a few more accidents than normal, and I've been washing sheets more than I enjoy, but I am okay with it. This is what I expected and feel really lucky that it's been as easy as it has. But I am going to crack down a little more on how much he has to drink before bed because I know these recent accidents can be avoided. 

Overall, the 3 day potty training method is genius. It works. If you do what it says! If I were you I would just buy the ebook. Lots more details and info than what I have shared here. Love it so much!!!

I hope some of this info helps any of you mamas out there! If you have any questions for me feel free to shoot me an email or just comment below!