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Sometimes it's hard to believe my oldest was in diapers only six months ago.  It feels like forever that he's been potty trained, and I'm so thankful I'm no longer changing preschool age diapers.  It became especially evident that we were ready to make the change when I had baby last November.  Somehow the difference becomes so much more apparent when you go from a helpless newborn diaper change to someone who can ask you in a full sentence to change his diaper.

That said, we were considerably lucky.  My oldest had just turned 3 when we decided to push it.  (Note: when he was 2 1/2 last summer, I had half-heartedly tried to potty train him but he wasn't ready and I wasn't putting in the effort needed to undergo the transition.)  So when we tried again this winter, it went better than I expected.

He was trained to pee in the potty after less than 24 hours; poop took about 3-4 days.  Why was it so easy?  Most likely, because he was ready.  We also had some great products to help us along the way.

Undies.  Being able to wear his "big boy" undies was the biggest seller to him.  And that first day, getting them wet was upsetting to him.  Once he learned what it felt like to have to go, he would stop himself and make it to the potty so he wouldn't wet his undies.  In my opinion, the best boy underwear comes from the Disney Store Online.  We've tried Hanes and Fruit of the Loom character underwear and we've tried the in-store Disney underwear.  By far, the thickest and nicest has come from Disney Direct.  I ordered several packs of this Heroes 7-day pack and they're still going strong.  Plus, he gets so excited each day to pick out which one he's wearing.  (He actually dresses himself these days so I don't even know what undies he's in until half the day is over sometimes!)  But check out the Disney Store underwear, I'm sure it's probably the same great quality for a girl.  And they always have great sales online.

This folding potty seat.  I got it at Babies R Us to stick in my diaper bag the first few months after he was trained.  I did it in part because of the germ issue in public bathrooms (he uses his hands to hold onto the potty and no way did I want his hands on the public toilet) and also because he needed it.  Not physically because not long after he potty trained, he learned to "stand up to pee" like a big boy.  But he needed the comfort of knowing I had a seat in my bag for him if he ever needed it.  Moms of boys be warned: this one doesn't come with a protective cup so make sure all body parts are aiming down!

A toddler/training potty.  I never put the batteries in this because I was afraid he would see it as more of a toy than a toilet.  We used this in our hall bathroom for awhile when he had to poop.  He'd stand up to pee but with pooping he got nervous to do it on the regular toilet for awhile, so this was nice in the training aspect - he was able to walk in there alone and go somewhere without having to ask for help (until he was done).

Soft potty cover.  We have one of these for every bathroom.  We no longer use it but did a lot in the beginning.  If you're used to going in a diaper, suddenly switching it up to sitting on cold, porcelain can be a shock!  These softer covers aren't so foreign feeling to their little butts.  And again, as a Mom of a boy, the protective "cup" in front is a lifesaver for whatever would get sprayed if it weren't there.

In the end, success came via a combination of things:  his readiness, our decision to start training and not look back and a couple of helpful products.  And patience, of course.  I think when I finally accepted that first day that, hey, the floor may get peed on today, things went a lot more smoothly as he naturally learned how and where he should be going.