Early Potty Training…Am I Crazy To Even Consider It?

I have been cruising the internet for the past few days in search of all of the information about early potty training that I can get my hands on and well, let’s just say that there is a lot of information.  I have found parents that are beginning their elimination communication when their children begin to sit up on their own and others that don’t worry about it until 3 or even four.   The Bean is eighteen months and this week I am beginning to wonder if it is time to think about early potty training.

Let me back up by saying it is all Elmo’s fault!  We went to the library to rent a DVD and the only Elmo DVD available was the potty DVD.  I didn’t think twice.  I just wanted to be able to turn on Elmo when the Bean looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and asked; “Melmo,  Peas”? (Elmo, please?)  After playing the video in the background as she played for a few days, Bean began coming up to me squeezing her diaper when she went to the bathroom.  It took me a while to catch on but I figured, what the heck, so I bought a toddler potty and placed it beside the toilet. When I went to the bathroom, the Bean followed me in and would sit on her potty (fully clothed).

I didn’t think much more about it over the weeks of Christmas,  due to crafty mom overload but this week,  I began noticing that she was still telling me when she was wet or in the process of peeing.  I read about 3 day potty training and naked bottom potty training and peeing dolls and movies and well there are a lot of opinions out there.

Yesterday, Bean came to me squeezing her diaper and making a face.   I undressed her and placed her on her toddler potty.  She sat happily but did nothing.  I replaced her diaper and she peed in the next five minutes, in her diaper.  About a half hour later, she came to me squeezing her diaper and making a face so I undressed her and placed her on her toddler potty,  again.  She sat happily but did nothing again.  I replaced her diaper and she peed in the next five minutes, in her diaper. 

I did what any level headed mom would do, I headed for the kitchen and came back with salty snacks and her favorite juice and after she knocked back two cups of juice and water, I undressed her and let her play, sans diaper.  She came to me three times whining and holding her lady bits but when I sat her on the potty she would cry and reach for me without peeing so I would lift her off and she would resume playing.  She played for an hour and never peed so I chalked it up to misreading the cues and put her diaper on.  Within about five minutes she filled her diaper.

 So am I reading too much into her diaper cues?  I don’t want to push her before she is ready, but I also don’t want to ignore her cues.  I am not sure what my next step should be, so I am going to return to the Library, check out the potty video and let Elmo finish what he started.