Honestly Potty Training: A Brave New World

An amazing thing about documenting my children-specifically my baby and puppy-every day is I get see how they have grown so incredibly rapidly. Normally, I feel as though they just happen to wake up looking older and wiser than they did the night before.

Theo and Beau have a really large audience now, and many continue to remark at how large they are both getting. It’s very true, and while their personalities aren’t changing all that much, Beau’s daily routines are starting to. We’re gearing up for a visit from the “pacifier fairy”, the sleeptime bottle is a memory, and most significantly, it’s time to actively start potty training Beau.

We introduced the potty to him about 4 months ago and have talking about it daily, with periodical re-introductions to this new routine. The potty sits in the bathroom he shares with his siblings, so he knows that it’s there and what it’s for.

I brought out all the books that I have on training toddlers to use the toilet, and remembered why I eventually just completely stripped Jack and Zoe when it was their time and let them figure it out themselves over the period of about two days. It was messy, but it was effective.

The difference now is we have a lot more carpet in our home in Santa Cruz. When we were potty training Jack and Zoe, our apartment in NYC was all hardwood flooring and easy enough to clean any and all accidents, and unfortunately now we have a fully carpeted living area along with a few nice rugs that I really, really don’t want stained. While living in NYC, we were also out walking everywhere, all the time. I brought with us a portable potty everywhere we went-I’ll never forget pulling the stroller over in the middle of Manhattan on 5th Ave in a desperate attempt to avoid an accident and setting up a mini bathroom for Jack.

Beau is home a lot of the day with Theo and me. It’s a much more conducive environment for a peaceful experience for him, though there have already been more than a few accidents (as expected). It’s hard to believe he’s old enough to start telling us that he needs to use the potty-in most cases he tells us afterwards-but I’m really excited to embrace this major change with him. Even if it means being completely diaper free before starting all over again with the new baby in September!

We’re longtime lovers, users, and subscribers of The Honest Company. I’ve written (Beau meets Jessica Alba here) and shared more than once my appreciation for their products and their philosophy and I have happily been buying them since Beau was born. Now, I feel incredibly fortunate to not only work with them, but to get to try their entire line of products that they have developed over that time frame. Along with the Honest Training Pants, we’re using a ton of their Bathroom Cleaner and Stain Remover as well. Huge perk: For every product refill sold, $1 goes to the Nature Conservancy.

We started Beau on The Honest Company diaper line so graduating to their training pants was a natural progression. Their super soft, easy to use, just as effective as their regular diapers and they come in adorable designs. You could say I’m a fan.

The training process is definitely still a work in progress, but I feel prepared with not only the knowledge of potty training two children before Beau, but also with the best, non-toxic and eco-friendly products.

There’s nothing like that monumental feeling watching your child hit a milestone that they worked hard for, and I revel in his triumph every single time.

Lucky for Beau, he has his buddy for constant moral support.

Deal alert!

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This post was sponsored by The Honest Company. All opinions are my own.