With summer holidays, an unexpected vacation or two, and other dramas to contend with, I’ve been a little preoccupied with family life lately. My blog silence has given me plenty of time to really focus on Heidi’s potty training adventure, and we’ve come on leaps and bounds from my previous video update.

For those of you stopping by for the first time, or a little behind on our family news, Heidi kicked off her potty training journey a few months ago, coinciding with a summer-long partnership with Huggies Pull-Ups and their newly devised Huggies Pull Ups 6 Steps to Potty Success program. They’ve worked with renowned child psychologist, Dr Heather Wittenberg, to create a fool-proof program to support you and your child as you navigate your way to freedom from nappies; from that first wee on the potty, to dry nights.

So where are we two months in?

Much to my surprise, Heidi took to her potty with real enthusiasm. It shouldn’t have come as too much of a shock as Dexter and Heidi are very different children. Whereas Dex is shy and introverted, Heidi knows no fear and deals with change like a pro. She’s desperate to catch up with her big brother developmentally and watches him on the toilet intently. So much so, before we kicked off this challenge with Heidi, she’d practically shoulder barge him off the loo to get to the flush button before he’d finished his business.

I’ve created a video update to show just how Heidi has been getting on - at home, out and about and at nap-time and bed-time. It’s been a real mixed bag, as with all my fellow Huggies Pull-Up ambassadors. Between us all we’ve seen potty training regression, flat-out refusals and some really encouraging progress. Heidi definitely belongs to the latter camp, although training has not been without its complications…

At home

About the house, Heidi has been a real joy to train. Her first wee on the potty came within minutes of saying goodbye to her nappy. In fact, if you try and put a conventional nappy on her now, she’ll whip it off in seconds and wag her finger at you. She’s a big girl now and will be damned if anyone tries to take it away from her.

She will wear Pull-Ups but prefers to be naked from the waist-down. We suspect this is more to do with how little she is, and the fact she has difficulty pulling them down in time, rather than a comfort-thing. It goes without saying that this isn’t always appropriate so she is slowly taking to big girl knickers after much encouragement from mummy and daddy. She alternates between potty and toilet and is equally happy on both.

Our biggest challenge BY FAR, has been number 2s. Heidi had a few accidents early on and pooped on the carpet, sofa and stairs… and pretty much everywhere else. When it became clear to Craig and I that we needed to be more forcibly encouraging her to keep her deposits to the loo and potty, we started to remonstrate with her a little and it backfired on us enormously. She’s now terrified of poo and thinks she’ll get in trouble no matter where it happens.

We know she’s about to go for a poo as she withdraws into herself and even hides. If you attempt to go anywhere near her or hold her hand to guide her somewhere laminated, she’ll scream. There is simply no reasoning with her at the moment so we’ve backed off for now. We’ll continue to clear up her mess and simply tell her that “next time you might want to use the potty”.

Out and about

This was never going to be easy, and nowhere is the whole transition more complicated than day-trips. I have to constantly remind myself that Heidi is only just 2 and unable to communicate with us as effectively as a 3-4 year-old. She is used to simply trotting back and forth to the potty in her own time, and not having to ask or inform me that she’s about to pee. This makes it particularly hard for us when she has limited access to a toilet.

For now, we’ve popped a Pull-Up on and simply steered her to a loo whenever possible. She’s pretty indignant though and is yet to manage a wee in a public toilet. Rather she’ll go in her Pull-Up then take it off and fling it at us. This is the same procedure no matter where we go so friends and family and well-used to seeing our little madam in the buff in public.

At night

Heidi has well documented sleep problems. I think I’m now finally ready to take some responsibility for this and tell the world that we messed royally when creating a bedtime routine for her. Craig will take her upstairs, brush her teeth and read her a story, leaving her a bottle of milk for comfort. Yet Heidi is pretty greedy and one bottle is never enough. Capable of earth-splitting screams and midnight tantrums, we often dash to the kitchen for top-ups so the neighbours aren’t affected.

Half a pint of milk in bed means… you guessed it… pretty wet nappies. In fact, Heidi requires 2x changes in the night to stop her saturating the sheets. Ditching the nappies at bedtime is therefore something we’re prepared to tackle next year. To be honest, Dexter isn’t dry at night yet either.

We are using Huggies Pull-Ups Night-Time Training Pants with Heidi and are genuinely impressed with their absorbency. With cute characters, wetness indicator and super soft and stretchy sides that will accommodate the wiggliest of toddlers - these are now our pants of choice for bed-time. The wetness indicator is great for assessing when we need to do an emergency bum change in the night.

Are you potty training at the moment? If so, why not join Heidi and I (and scores of others) and follow the 6 Steps to Potty Success program? Head on over to pottytraining.co.uk for tips, resources and for tips, resources and money-off coupons for pull-ups.