5 Tips to Potty Train Your Toddler

Our sweet little Lucy will be seventeen months old in a few short days, and the changes that have happened in the past few months are huge. She brushes her own teeth (and spits - hilarious!), climbs up into the high chair on her own, is a master communicator, and she has OPINIONS. She's super adventurous and very interested in doing everything that her big sister does, including using the potty.

[Case in point: scrambling eggs (burner off) and trying to literally follow in her sister's footsteps]

Back when we potty trained Violet, our babysitter pretty much did it for us, and I wrote about our experience here. Seventeen months feels SUPER early to me and I'm sooo not feeling ready for all of this, but the girl wants to use the potty and there's really no stopping her. We did start potty-training at about a year and a half with Violet (at the suggestion of her sitter - if it was up to me who knows how long we would have waited!), so even though it seems really early for Lucy to be using the potty, I guess we're really not too far off.

Because I had someone else at the helm with Violet, I just followed her lead and didn't have to really look up any information or stress about a specific "technique". I trusted our babysitter (at the time she had four children of her own - enough said!) and didn't really have an opinion about how I wanted potty training to go. This time around I was feeling a little bit uneasy (okay terrified) about handling the whole thing on my own.


So with a bit of experience under our belts, we're following Lucy's lead and jumping headfirst into our second potty training adventure. Here are five of our top tips:

1. Wait until your little one shows interest in potty training
Not that I'm saying that you should have a ten-year-old in diapers because he hasn't shown interest yet, but if at all possible, wait until your little one seems ready. Having your kid on board is half the battle. If they're not interested, feeling afraid, or generally feeling negative about using the potty, it's going to be an uphill battle. Every kid is different and while some may be ready at eighteen months, another may not be interested until he's two or three, and that's okay.

2. Don't be afraid to start young
If number one is happening, and your little one is showing interest in potty training, but you're thinking to yourself, "Noooo, they're too young!" I say go for it. Even if you're not doing serious down and dirty boot camp style potty training, getting familiar with the potty from the get-go can prevent your little one from fearing it at a later stage.

3. Get the right equipment
Do your research and find the right potty training gear for your family. We've tried a bunch of different things and for us our favorite items a smaller potty seat that is connected to your regular toilet seat like this one, and this step stool.

4. Keep it positive & fun
There will be accidents, but we've never treated them negatively. Just cleaned up the mess and moved on. (Which is way easier when you have mostly wood floors and not carpet by the way!) Of course, using Pull-Ups makes messes much less frequent, but make peace with the fact that a few puddles are most likely in your future. 

Now the successes? Those we celebrate! So far Lucy has sat on the potty about a dozen times and has peed once. Every time we tell her what a "big girl" she is and smile, clap, and just generally try to make it a really fun event.

5. Be patient and flexible
For most kids, potty training isn't going to happen in a few days, especially if they are on the younger side like Lucy. You have to be in it for the long haul and be flexible. If Lucy stops asking to go and isn't showing interest in the potty, while I'll still try to continue with what we're doing, I'm not going to force her to sit on the toilet.

I'm also not above rewards if your child is old enough to understand it. Sometime after Violet hit age two, she started to be a little anti-potty, so we did come up with a reward system for trying on the potty. It totally worked and eventually we eased away from it as she got used to the potty being a normal every day thing. While I think Lucy is a little young for that, if we run into similar issues as she gets older, I'll probably try the same thing.

8 of My Favorite Sources for Toddler Bedding

Cute toddler bedding isn't an easy thing to find - although most crib sheets work for toddler beds, it can be difficult to find a comforter or duvet for your little guy or gal to snuggle up in. Here are eight of my favorite sources:

1. Stars Toddler Bedding
2. Polka Dot Toddler Bedding
3. Striped Toddler Bedding
4. Rabbit Patch Toddler Bedding
5. Miller Toddler Duvet Set
6. Clouds Toddler Bedding
7. Marine Queen Toddler Bedding
8. Chevron Toddler Bedding Set

8 Favorite Toddler Beds

I'll admit that I originally thought that toddler beds were a complete waste of money - why have an extra piece of furniture that your child will quickly outgrow when you can go straight to a twin bed? But then we made the switch with Violet and I changed my tune. She just didn't feel comfortable at all in a big, tall twin. As soon as we purchased her little toddler bed from IKEA you could instantly see her relax and get excited about the prospect of a big girl bed for the first time. While it may not be for everyone, if your kid is anything like mine you will be in need of one of these pint-sized life savers, so here are eight of my favorites:

1. Kalon Studios Caravan Divan Toddler Bed: $595
2. RH Baby & Child Tate Toddler Bed: $399
3. IKEA SUNDVIK Toddler Bed: $149
4. Oeuf Classic Toddler Bed: $648
5. Land of Nod Jenny Lind Toddler Bed: $399
6. IKEA OVRE Toddler Bed: $139
7. Kalon Studios Echo Toddler Bed: $1045
8. Ados & Co Handmade Massive Lime Junior Bed: $845

We went with the IKEA SUNDVIK for Violet because we loved the look AND the price, but if I had a little more wiggle room in the budget I probably would have sprung for the Tate or Jenny Lind toddler bed. The others are way out of our price range, but they're oh-so-pretty! The other thing I like about the toddler bed is that when Violet does finally outgrow it, it will fit quite nicely in our tiny nursery. So how did it go for you? Did you kid go straight to the twin or did you need a transition piece? I'm hoping that the big girl bed transition goes a little smoother for Lucy when the time comes! xo, Lauren

Ideas for Violet's Room

I have some credit to use over at Serena & Lily and was considering getting a new rug for Violet's room. The rug she currently has is completely annoying to keep clean - it has raised parts and lower parts and I just feel like our vacuum never gets down into all of the fibers. She's also obsessed with the colors red, blue, and purple - they're her "fave-wits," so I would love to pull some more of those colors into the room for her.

Since the last time I shared the space, we've switched her over to a toddler bed from a twin. We were trying to avoid that transition piece of furniture, but after many sleepless nights we caved and bought the toddler bed out of desperation. It was the best move we ever made! She's so much more comfortable in it - the sides give her a feeling of security and help keep her in the bed. (With the twin we ended up trying the mattress on the floor so she wasn't so high up, but she'd constantly roll out and end up laying beside her bed/half on half off/etc. What can I say, she's a thrashy sleeper just like her mama :)) She's got new bedding as well, which she LOVES ("wed, boo, and pupple" flowers - oh my!) - in fact she gets angry when I wash her sheets because she only wants to lay on her flower ones lol.

I also wouldn't mind freshening up her room with a few new accessories - some artwork to add a little more color into the space, and maybe a shiny lamp? The current print from Fine Little Day would look pretty nice in mama and papa's room. Maybe something like this:

Of course, we're on a budget with me being off of work right now, so no plans to do a big update at the moment, but hey, a mom can dream, right? So what do you think of the rug? Yea or nay?

Sources: moose rack, love you artwork, daisy print, dhurrie rug, gold dot pillowcases, poketo mobile, nosegay sheet set, wooden fox, gold lamp, heart print, floral painting, popsicle print

Violet Says Vol. 9

1. We were eating pancakes one morning, and Violet stopped mid-bite to tell me, "Mommy, there's not a snake under the table, you know. Because that would be hah-wih-bull! Because he would eat my pancakes and your pancakes and my syrwup and your syrwup!" Then she promptly went back to devouring her stack.

2. Back on the Fourth of July while we were watching the fireworks Violet says, "They're SO bootiful! But why there not a castle?" (Thanks, Disney.)

3. We were in the middle of putting on jammies, undies off, dress still on, when Violet said, "Daddy, you want to see THIS?" And spun around, held up her dress, and mooned him.

4. Since Violet can eat dairy now, she LOVES pizza but not the crust. After eating most of one piece, she handed the crust to her papa and said, "I don't like crust. Maybe I'll like it when I'm a daddy."

5. We were in the yard playing, and Kev was doing some yard work. He had a big pile of branches that he had clipped from our weeping cherry. Violet spied the pile and exclaimed, "A bean stockin'! But Daddy's not a giant?!"

6. On kissing: I don't want any princes to kiss me, because I don't like peach lips! (Violet and Lucy both have "wed" lips and I have pink lips)

7. I was trying to get the dishwasher loaded the other day, and Violet was pestering me to play with her. I finally said, "Sweetie, I need to get these dishes loaded so that we have something clean to eat off of, and we don't have a maid who will do it for us, do we?" She thought for a minute and replied, "No, because Daddy's at work!"