Safety

There are a few safety precautions you should take when practicing IPT:1.) NEVER potty your baby in a porta-potty, as drowning could occur. This danger is one reason why I highly recommend the Potty on the Go (about $20), found in my Amazon store. It's nice to always have a safe potty place available for your baby!2.) Never leave your baby alone on the toilet, as they could fall off. Of course,

Distractions

Distraction can be a good or a bad thing when it comes to IPT. On the good side, distraction can help your baby to relax, which means they can "go" more quickly. If your baby is crying or fussing, you don't necessarily need to take them off right away. It could be the reason she is fussing is that she needs to go potty. There are many good ways to distract your baby in order to get them to calm

How long do you hold them there?

When you're starting out, it can be difficult to know how long to keep your baby on the potty if she's not going. It all comes down to trial and error, and your own judgment. The quicker potty trips are, the better. If your baby is not going right away, even after being cued, you should probably take the her off and try again later. However, there are those times when baby is stressed out and

IPT: The Ecologically Friendly Choice

We all care about the environment, even (gasp) conservatives like me. I think it bothers everyone how much waste comes with disposable diapering. And while the jury is still out on whether cloth or disposables are better for the environment, IPT is definitely a better alternative than either one. If you do cloth only with IPT, there's no real waste, and with so few dirty diapers, your laundry

Listen To Your Baby

Your baby can communicate from day one when they need to "go"! Sound impossible? Parents know from instinct when their baby is hungry or tired, so why not when they need to go? And if you really think about it, most parents are aware of when their babies are "going", they just don't do anything about it. But some might argue that by the time they realize their baby is going, it's too late. Not so

Saving Some Serious Moolah

One awesome thing about IPT is the serious cash savings. The average traditionally diapered baby goes through 5,000-8,000 diapers before being potty trained, which adds up to around $1,600-$2,300. Cloth diapering be expensive too, with costs between $800-$1,100 (source: http://www.surebaby.com/costs.php). Multiply these costs by how many children you plan to have, and we're talking about a load

Consistency

Consistency is very important when practicing IPT. The more consistent you are, the more successful you will be. This doesn't mean it has to be an all-or-nothing endeavor; plenty of parents do this on a part time basis for a variety of reasons. If you can't commit to doing this full-time, whether for work related reasons, or just your own comfort level, do try to be consistent with those times

Misses

Misses can and do happen, and the best thing to do is to get over it when it happens. With our son, I was pretty hard on myself when we'd have a miss. Ironically, the tension I would feel made him tense, and we'd have even more misses. But once I would relax, we'd get back into the groove. It's best to just say to yourself, "whoops a daisy, we had a miss," and then get on with life. Don't beat

What will other people think?

The main concern I had starting out was, what on earth will people think when I tell them I'm potty training my infant? Will people think I've lost it? We all say that it doesn't matter what other people think, but we all know that deep down we do want the approval of others. While some people do give you strange looks, or a skeptical eye, many people think it's fascinating. With my son, we

Which Potty?

Where to take your baby potty depends on your own comfort level and your baby's age. For young, exclusively breastfed babies, the bathroom sink can be a great option. Simply hold your baby over the sink, and after she's finished going, rinse it all down the drain. Some people might be uncomfortable doing that, but like George Costanza said, "It's all pipes!"As your baby grows, a potty is a great

Having trouble getting baby to go?

What about those times when your baby just won't go, even though you know she needs to go? The key to fixing this problem, more than likely, has to do with your attitude. Babies are extremely sensitive to our emotions, and if you're stressed, your baby is stressed, and won't be able to relax and go. So many times I have found that if I just smile at my baby, my tension is released and she will go

Dress Your Baby For Success!

The best clothing for IPT is the one that you can get off and on the easiest, because, especially in the early months, you'll be taking your little one to the potty frequently. It's much easier to pull off a pair of pants and undo a diaper, or unsnap three snaps of a onesie than it is to undo and redo one of those full bodysuits with a million snaps. Most of the time our baby wears just a diaper

Cuing

One of the best ways to have success with IPT is to cue your baby consistently. Whenever you take your baby potty, communicate what you want them to do by making the appropriate sound. Use ssst for pee, and a grunt for poop. This helps your baby know exactly what you're wanting. You can also try blowing on the top of the baby's head, which is what the Eskimos do. It helps our daughter relax,

Starting Out

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. That's how IPT is. You just have to try, and then you'll be hooked. No matter what your reasoning for wanting to do this, the biggest barrier will be your own fears of failure, or of being viewed as a loony. I know that I certainly felt silly the first time I held my 4 day old son over the sink and grunted to try to get him to poop.

When Out And About

One of the main problems I could foresee was going out and about with a potty training baby. Sure, at home it's easy, but when you're away there are several factors: nasty public bathrooms, lack of changing tables in said nasty public bathrooms, and baby being unfamiliar with/scared of the public toilets. The answer, I found, lies in the Potty On The Go. Here are the great things about it:1.