Posts tagged as:

potty training

Praise From a Princess: The Ultimate Potty Training Solution?

by Amber on June 28, 2011

When I was pregnant, I hoped with all my heart that I’d end up with  girly girl—and I did. That toddler of mine would wear tutus night and day if I let her—paired with my tallest, spikiest heels and a tiara in her (uncombed) hair.

Pull-Ups Training Pants From Huggies

Even the package is pink!

But despite early potty training success,Tori continues to engage in some very unprincess-like behavior—going potty in her pants. It’s discouraging to say the least.

Enter the new Pull-Ups® Training Pants from Huggies®.

They are pink. Very pink. And decorated with…Disney princesses! Which, for a toddler obsessed with all things girly, is perfect.

The first time I showed them to her,  she was in the middle of a diaper changing-induced temper tantrum.

“Look, Tori,” I said. “If you’ll let me get that dirty diaper off you, you can wear these Big Girl Pants!”

After one look at the pretty pink Pull-Ups  I held in my hand, she abruptly stopped screaming.

“Pink diaper?” she asked.

“No, honey, these are Big Girl Pants. You can pull them on and off yourself!”

She grabbed it from my hand and grinned. “Big Girl Pwin-cess?”

“Yep. If you promise to try and go pee pee in the potty, you can wear pretty pink princesses all the time!”

She was sold.

We wore those pretty pink Pull-Ups all day. She never managed to actually pee in the potty (although she did pee on the floor next to the vessel in question), but she tried hard. Really hard.

So, after dinner, I logged on to the Big Kid Calls site and arranged for Cinderella to give Tori a call. Really!

The folks behind the new Pull-Ups have partnered with Target to put together a site where you can schedule calls from Disney characters to reward your munchkins for using the potty. You have two choices—Lightning McQueen or Cinderella. I, of course, chose Cinderella for my princess (although I listened to the Cars’ recordings, and they’re pretty cool).

I’d like to say she was thrilled to get the call, but honestly? She was a bit confused. When I held the phone up to her ear, she listened for a second, then said, “Gwandma?”

I shook my head and answered,  “No, it’s Cinderella! A princess!”

She nodded vaguely and walked away.

The lesson? Tori’s a little too young for telephoning princesses. But princess Pull-Ups? That’s something she can get behind. I do believe they’re going to be a fixture in our household (until she graduates to pink princess underwear).

And you know what? You can win a $25 gift card to Target so you can try Pull-Ups for yourself—and schedule Big Kid Calls for your hard pottying potty trainers.

How? Well, start by leaving me a comment with your best potty training tips and tricks. That’s good for one entry. Then, if you want extra credit, you can:

  1. Subscribe to this little blog of mine
  2. Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter (1 entry for each)
  3. Like Pull-Ups on Facebook
  4. Follow Huggies on Twitter

And remember, leave me a comment for every thing you do! But do it fast—the giveaway for the $25 Target gift card will close July 6.

Disclaimer: This review was sponsored by MomSpark Media. I was given a $20 Target gift card in order to buy Pull-Ups Training Pants to review. But the thoughts, opinions and lisp-y dialog presented here are my own (and Tori’s).

And the winner is…

Huggies Gift Card winnerSarah B. Congrats, Sarah!

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Is The Perfect Potty Out There?

by Amber on March 1, 2011

A few months ago, I got just about the best news a diaper bag-toting mom can get. My daughter, her teacher told me, was showing an interest in potty training!

So I did what any overly enthusiastic first time mom would do. I ran right out to Target and got my  precocious 18-month-old daughter her very own potty chair.

Fisher Price Cheer For Me Potty

Cute as a potty can be.

And not just any old potty chair. Nope, the one I got looked just like a regular toilet! And had a place for toilet paper! And sang every time the potty-er actually did what they were supposed to (i.e. pee in the potty)! I thought it was adorable.

Tori did too. When I got it out of the package, her face lit up, and she couldn’t wait to  try it. In fact, for several days, she would take me by the hand every chance she got and lead me to the bathroom where her potty was so she could practice sitting on it.

Everything was going swimmingly—until the day she actually peed on the potty.

When the first drops hit, it started to sing. And when it did? She didn’t know what to think. First she looked afraid, then confused, until finally curiosity won out.  She immediately got up and peered at the potty chair beneath her. Then she bent down and stuck her hand in it—quickly locating the little sensor. And sure enough, that happy song blurted out again (this time, over the sounds of my horrified, “Tori, no! No putting your hands in your pee pee!”).

I hoped she would soon forget what she had learned, but alas, she had discovered the potty’s secret and never wanted to pee on it again. Instead, she liked to climb in, over and on it, seeing how many different ways she could set off the sensor.

Next, she decided she wanted to pee on the Big Person’s Toilet. And after it became clear that she was either going to sit on the Big Potty or fall in trying, I ordered her a training seat and her very own step stool. Make that a series of step stools.

The first was too low, and almost resulted in Tori getting her very first swirly.

The second was too high, and very nearly ended up with Tori splitting her head open on the corner of the sink.

The third almost worked…but my still klutzy toddler still had to struggle to position herself on the toilet.

Clearly, we need a better option—especially since she’s now getting to the age when real potty training progress might actually be made.

Baby Bjorn Potty Chair

Our potty training savior?

This past weekend, I did my research.  I checked reviews on Amazon. Googled “best potty chair.” Read articles like this one on Slate about the search for the best potty. And they all seem to agree—the Baby Bjorn potty chair is the way to go.

So I ordered one. In yellow, of course, since that’s both her favorite color and her favorite word (other than owl). It’s scheduled to arrive tomorrow.

Will it finally get us started on the road to potty training success? Hard to say.

But at least I won’t have to hear it’s overly cheerful voice singing about toilet paper in the middle of the night (The Fisher Price one sings for no apparent reason. Often at 2 a.m.).

Wish us luck. Oh, and if you have any potty training advice? I’m all ears.

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