After Nixon was diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s Disease we were told to expect that toilet training would probably be late, be very hard work and would likely take a lot longer than other children his age.
We were prepared for the worst basically.
What we have noticed however, is that post-op he does have sensation when he is toileting and he is letting us know when he has any action going on down there! Just more testament to the amazing skill of the surgical team at Starship I suppose, but our babes recovery has been nothing short of a miracle to us!
So, naturally, with all systems go in the plumbing department we have begun thinking about toilet training and all the trials and tribulations that go along with it.  We’re not going to rush things; potty training before a child is ready is totally detrimental to the whole process in my opinion, but Dave and I have discussed getting the ball rolling at the end of summer to capitalise on his cognition and the warm weather!
Trying to remember the process we used when potty training Ethan has been doing my head in, it’s a bit like dumpster diving into the depths of the mummy-brain archives. Much like the pain of child birth; I think the tricky times like bed wetting and endless laundry get buried amid happy milestones and cute Instagram photos lol.
I have remembered a few tricks that worked well with E so I’m going to document them here for my reference as much as anyone else’s!

1. When we decided it was time to begin daytime potty training I ensured that we could have at least 3 days of uninterrupted home time so the potty was always easily accessible and accidents resulted in minimal fuss.
2. We had previously planted the seed the month prior with lots of positive talk about using the bathroom and losing the nappies.
3. Be prepared for no pants, hence we will be beginning potty training in summer.  Pulling pants, underwear, shorts, whatever, up and down is only going to complicate an already complicated skill your child is going to learn.  If they are bare bottomed the are much more likely to succeed in making it to the potty on time.
4. Celebrate the victories and gloss over the accidents completely.
5. Take the next step of night training very slowly.  When toddlers begin waking with a dry or slightly wet nappy and they have mastered day time training, you’re probably good to go!    We made sure we eased into this phase with supplies at the ready; mattress protectors or Brolly Sheets – make sure you have at least two so middle of the night accidents can be quickly cleaned up, and training pants such as Huggies DryNites to help ease the transition out of nappies and into underwear with minimal bedwetting.  These were invaluable for Ethan; they represented a graduation from nappies – a Big Boy pair of pants that acknowledged his successes.  To help establish the new dry-night routine, Dave and I always lifted Ethan to the toilet before we went to bed.  We did this for months which helped build his confidence and ensure we all got a good nights sleep.

So,  we’re going to think on that for the next 8 weeks or so and see how Nixon’s progressing come Summer’s end.  It’s good to feel like I have a little bit of a plan in place as we head into this next era of no diapers!

This post was sponsored by Huggies DryNites.

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