Early Potty Training has helped:

KY - 9 mths

I started Ky on the potty at 4 months old after reading Early-Start Potty Training by Dr Linda Sonna. This book completely changed our lives. He responded almost immediately to being placed on the potty. It just made so much sense to me and after going through the hassles of toilet training a 2 year old, a baby is so much easier. All I am doing is teaching him to go to the toilet on the potty instead of in his nappy, therefore eliminating all the problems associated with trying to break this bad habit later as a toddler. He understands wet and dry at an early age and knows which muscles to use to expel waste. Around 5 months he started having bowel control, holding on before going. This is highlighted for example, by him being naked for a period of time before I actually put him on the potty, and once on, he then goes.

At 9 months he started having dry nights, his best effort being five dry nights in a row. He actually wakes every time if he needs to do poos and is starting to do this more consistently with wees. Prior to this he would wake up dry during his day sleeps every now and then as well. He knows what a potty is used for and it is just great! His methods of communication are still quite subtle, whereby you have to know your child's signs initially and place them on the potty yourself, versus them telling you directly. Subsequently, I get a winge to let me know, so I still have to be paying attention. If I am busy, I just set the timer on the oven to prompt me to take him. This works well because I know my child's routine. It is also as simple as putting him on the potty at key times throughout the day - before a sleep, after he wakes up, after a feed, before a bath, etc. I am attending to him then anyway, you just add an extra step in the routine. Instead of just slapping on a nappy, I put him on the potty. You become more in tuned with your child and he is happier because he is clean and dry. I am looking forward to the next stage of the process where he can communicate with me verbally or with signing. At this point I don't have to teach him anything different, the habit of using the potty is already established, the work is already done. He wants to eliminate in the potty, because he knows that is just what you do..... this is what mummy and daddy have taught me from the beginning, so I don't know any different.

Tracy, Brisbane, QLD, Australia