My daughter is 21 months and I am letting her show me signs of when she will be ready to potty train and I never push the issue. I only teach her the word potty and show her what I do and let her flush the toilet sometimes. So, a few days ago she went #2 in her diaper while watching a cartoon and I peeked in and saw she took her diaper off and the poop in her diaper was lying on the floor. That was the first time she took her diaper off and she took it off immediately after she went. So, last night I went to Baby Gap and bought some underwear for her and I put them on her and she leaked in them slightly, but she was trying to hold it because she didn't want to pee or wet her underwear. I noticed that about 10 minutes later she was still trying to hold it and leaked a little more. Before her bath, I put her on her princess potty on the toilet and she sat there and she thought she was big. She sat there for a minute or two and didn't go, but she felt big and comfortable.

Do you think I should encourage it more or hold off yet? I think she could go either way, it doesn't matter to me, I just haven't potty trained a child before, so I am wondering if this is time. I thought girls tend to go during the age of 2.......any thoughts?

Your daughter sounds just like mine! She is 22 months & for awhile now has shown some interest in the potty. She has her little potty chair that we sit her in, but she's never actually gone potty. Now she sits there without a diaper on, so that's moving one step closer! She loves to watch me go & I also let her flush.

I've just been continuing to let her sit on her potty whenever she talks about it. Whether or not your daughter goes it is good practice. I've never potty trained a child before either & am in the same boat as you. The underwear is a good idea, I was also thinking about trying some Dora pull-ups for mine since she loves Dora.

Alexa also likes Dora too. Do you start with the feel n' learn pull ups, or just the regualr kind? I also thought about using the Gerber training pants....

Alexa, does she wake up dry? If she does put her on the toilet first thing in the morning. You could also put her on the toilet at any other time when she would regularly wet her diaper (after meals, etc.).

I was told that when they show signs of being interested in the potty it is time to start. With my DD we bought her pull up diapers. The ones that you feel when you go. Once you put them in that don't switch back to the other diapers as it confuses them. When she wakes up, after she eats, before she goes to bed, before you go out, etc... put her on the potty. Tell her to let you know or just to go to the potty herself if she feels like she has to go. My DD learned pretty quickly about using the potty. She rarely has an accident since and she is almost 5. She started potty training just after she turned 2. She was competely potty trained after a few months. My niece on the other hand took a longer because her parents kept switching between diapers and pull ups. Once the pull ups are on don't switch back to diapers. Also we left her pull ups on for night for a couple of months longer when she was in normal underwear. But after 2 months of dry bums we switched her completely. Good luck Sherri :)

I will make sure that I don't ever switch back to diapers once I start, that is excellent advice. I am not sure if we are ready to take the full plunge. I may wait a few months or until she actually turns 2 which is in April. She pees a lot at night and I actually change her diaper once in the middle of the yet so she doesn't wake up wet from peeing through.

Oh and one more thing. Make a huge deal when she goes to the bathroom in the potty. Right now you can try to put her on the potty first thing in the morning if you want to go slow and if she does go make it a huge deal. They want to please us so if you make it a big deal she will want to keep doing it. But my biggest advice is to not switch back to diapers so you must be sure that you are ready to take that step before you start the pull ups. Good luck Sherri :)