My first blog!! :)

So this is my first blog ever.  Never did I think I would be that “person” or that “mom” who would go to that level, yet here I am.  Blogging!  And what’s even crazier is the reason I’m blogging.  And I’m not blogging because I have a major opinion on something (I have lots of those) or anything like that but I have this crazy idea of something I want to try with my 4, almost 5 month old daughter.  Most people that read this will probably say I’m crazy because almost everybody who I have told my idea to have said I am crazy (my husband included!) but I want to try infant potty training with her!  Most have said “doesn’t she have to be able to walk/talk/etc?”  I have been pinteresting and reading about it and watching youtube videos about it and I really think that it can work without her walking/talking yet!  I want to try to do this for several reasons:

1. The first and main reason being is cleanliness and health.  Babies get rashes all the time.  My little girl is no exception.  It does not matter if we change her diaper immediately or if we load her up with the best diaper cream out there, her little bum always seems to have a rash.  It looks painful and I am sure it’s not comfortable for her.  By doing infant potty training, she will not be using her diaper and therefore, not having a rash on her which will make for a happier baby and a happier mommy.
2. Money of course!!! Not going to lie this is a huge motivator for infant potty training.  On average, we are using about 10 diapers/day.  Amazon’s current rate for a box of Swaddlers in Size 3 is $0.27/diaper which works out to $2.70/day or $18.90/week or $75.60/month or $982.80/YEAR.  That’s suggesting we keep up with the 10 diaper per day average (some days it’s more, some days (rarely) it’s less).  So that is approximately $1,000 per year.  Many kids are not potty trained until they are almost 3!  That could be close to $3,000 that we could be putting towards her college education.  And I think that’s on the conservative end!
3. It’s actually EASIER to train a baby.  Think about it.  By the time a kid is 2 or 3, they are already “diaper” trained, in a sense.  They have already “learned” to go to the bathroom in their diaper.  I have seen several friends and family members beg, plead, bargain and barter with their toddlers to try to get them to “pee pee in the potty.”  Everything from candy to paying a small fortune in money to get them to use the toilet!  With a baby, you don’t worry about that.  You still have to do the “training” phase and it takes just as long and you still have accidents but you don’t worry with the resistance and the bargaining and negotiating that you will face with toddlers.  It actually seems pretty basic.  You really teach them a baby sign language sign for potty-teach them to associate the sign and make a sound while they sit on the potty.  Eventually they understand what they are supposed to be doing.  Babies brains are like sponges and they pick things up super fast.  My goal is to be very vigilant and consistent with this in hopes that she will pick it up and learn quickly.  If we are even able to be semi potty trained by the summer and cut diaper usage in half, I would consider that a huge victory.

I plan to start this journey this week!  I have read that you get the best results if you start before your child is 6 months old and we are well within the window (she will be 5 months old in 2 weeks!) so I think we are going to see great results.  I will be blogging and keeping you all updated as we go along so I appreciate all the support :)

~abe&row