TT my 21 month old - advice needed

[Santosha]

AS WITH ALL TT INFO... POTENTIAL TMI WARNING!!

DD, 21 months, has been nappy free (undies on) at home for the past couple of weeks. At first, going to the potty was very exciting and she would ask to go regularly. This has gone backwards a bit, in that now she tends to hold un until she is absolutely busting and then screech "weeee!" and needs to be put on the potty ASAP. If I just take the initiative and pop her on the potty every hour... no problem. She will wee and we've only had 2 accidents.

Today we had our first outing in undies (to a fellow understanding mother's house, with this Mummy holding her breath!) and it was a success - she wet her undies a tiny bit but then held the rest in and we made it to the potty. Didn't need to poo while we were out.

Poo is a bit of a different story. Being so little, her poo is not 'formed' yet. I don't think she can feel it coming until she needs to go, and she needs to go NOW. We've had 2 poo accidents because I didn't anticipate and basically you've got microseconds between when she says "poo" and when it's happening!

I'm back at work (so DD in childcare tomorrow) and I'm wondering whether we're ready to take the next step and try undies at CC... but I have a few worries and I'm hoping you can help me make my decision.

1. Wee-wise, they'll probably have to take her every hour - she's only little and so has a tiny bladder. Is this too much to ask of them?

2. And poo... well it's fairly predictable when she's going to go (immediately after lunch or her big drink of milk), but occasionally, it's outside these times. Whilst she can push out a bit of wee even when not 'full', she can't empty her bowels if she doesn't need to go immediately (so there's no pre-emptive strike!). So... there's likely to be accidents unless they're vigilant.

3. She can't get her own undies off or easily get onto the potty by herself, she needs help, so can't just be left to her own devices.

So all these factors say wait. And I'm fine with that, she's only so little, and whilst I'd love her to be out of nappies before #2 arrives, I'm not in a hurry at all. I'm just worried that if I keep TT at home and then have nappies on the rest of the time, I'm sending mixed-messages and she'll get over it and regress. OR, if I abandon it altogether for now, then she'll stop paying attention to what her body is telling her and we'll lose the great gains we have made.

So... sorry for the ramble, but WDYT? Is it worth trying for TT at childcare? Any other tips or experience for training a little one?

Thanks!

[thepixie]

Definitely worth giving TT a go at childcare, explain to them that you're starting at home. Our CC have been awesome (better than me) and for about the first 8 weeks she only had a couple of accidents there. They are used to it, they do it with heaps of kids, they are not phased by accidents. Definitely worth a shot. If they really feel she is not ready or it's not working out I'm sure they will tell you but I have found the CC is an awesome ally in the whole TT thing. GL

[Santosha]

Thanks Hun, I'll chat to them about it today. She's in nappies this morning, but we'll see what they think - undies are packed!!