Potty training! And the Pull-Ups Potty Timer

     Potty training Thing 2 has been a huge struggle! Thing 1 was so easy, she showed signs that she was ready and she was potty trained 3 days later. Well, things have been 1000 times more difficult with Thing 2. She's been showing all the signs of being ready for a long time.
   
     Since then, I've tried every single potty training technique I know. We put the toddler potty chair in the living room, we offered stickers as a reward, when that didn't work, we offered candy. When candy didn't work, we offered pennies for her piggy bank (she's obsessed with change). I would set her on the potty every thirty minutes. I let her run around naked. I let her pick out her own panties and then let her wear them, being sure to say with each clean pair "Now, you don't want to get your pretty panties dirty. So, where do you go if you have to pee?" Each time, she would respond, "In the potty!"
   
     After weeks of cleaning up messes and having to wash a load of undies each night, I accepted the fact that she just wasn't going to go in the toilet. She was ready, I had no doubt. If she wasn't busy, then she would run to the bathroom and go potty. But, if she was playing, forget it. She's rather pee in a diaper than set her toy down and go potty.

     I did decide that I was done with diapers. Babies wear diapers. I was tired of my 2 year old, walking around in diapers. So, we switched to Pull-Ups. Now, those of you with children know that if you use as many Pull-Ups as you do diapers, it can get very expensive, very fast. My hope was that I could convince her that Pull-Ups were like Big Girl panties. So that she would feel that freedom, but it would make clean up a LOT easier.

     We went through our first pack of 26 Pull-Ups relatively quickly. Still, I was determined that Pull-Ups were going to work! I stopped at Wal-Mart to get another pack of Pull-Ups (they sell big boxes and my grocery store does not). While I was there, I noticed the Pull-Ups Potty Time Combination Pack. The combo pack includes the Potty Dance DVD (which I already have 6, I did a HouseParty.com Pull-Up party) and a Potty Timer.

     For those of you that haven't seen it (we got the Princess one):

     This is Pull-Ups product description of the Potty Timer:

Pull-Ups* Potty Timer lets kids know when it's time to go!

The NEW Pull-Ups* Potty Timer provides fun, customizable reminder to keep your Potty Training Team working together toward Big Kid* success.

     Now, I was skeptical that it would work, but I got it anyway. Thing 2 asked about the pictures on the box while we were still in the store so I explained that there was a special watch in the box that would help her remember when it was time to go potty.

     As soon as we got home, she wanted to put the watch on. Good sign, right? One problem, Mommy has to set it all up. No big deal, the instructions seem pretty simple. "Press and hold both buttons until you hear the beep". Great. So, I press and hold both buttons. And I wait, and wait...no beep. I turn the watch so that I can see the face a little better to see if anything is happening. I press the buttons and hold the buttons again. This time, I can see that 2 of the 4 light kind of flicker after I've help the buttons for a few seconds.

     I wasn't happy. Now, I have to go tell my very excited 2 year old that they Potty Timer isn't working. Kimberly Clark has a lovely 1-800 number listed on their website, but because of my luck, they're already closed. So, I put the watch away for the night and vow to call them first thing in the morning.

     When I called them, I was impressed with the kindness and helpfulness of the employee. She seemed shocked that it wasn't working. She took my address and said that they would send me a new Potty Timer right away. They also sent a pre-paid envelope that I returned the broken watch in. The new watch arrived in days (way quicker than they told me it would) and worked great.

     Setting the watch: you have several different options. There are 3 different types of reminders, lights and sound, vibration or a customizable message. Your frequency options are 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 120 minutes.

     Day 1 of the Potty Timer: I selected the customizable reminder which now says "Button, it's time to go potty!" The first time it went off, she came running to me and said "Mama! My tick tock (thank you Mickey Mouse) says that it's time to go potty!" She then ran into the bathroom and went potty! I was so happy because she was in the middle of a tea party when the watch went off...and she still got up! That day we had....NO accidents. It was great.

     It's now been a week since we started using the Potty Timer. We used it for 6 days. Today, Thing 2 has been going potty whenever she needs to. Still, no accidents. We even went outside for over an hour and she didn't have an accident! I am so happy. Relieved even. I know that I'll still put a Pull-Up on her when we go somewhere for a while, just in case. But this is a major step forward!

If you want to order a Potty Timer without purchasing the Pull-Ups Potty Time Combination Pack, click here to visit the Pull-Ups Store online.