I say progress, but I don't know if I really mean it. So far our Hailey Bug has gone in her potty a total of two times. Pee once and poop once. That was a couple weeks ago. She was still taking her diaper off every chance she got, so I decided to give in and attempt to potty train her for real.
I bought some cute like undies in preparation. They were size 2T/3T (she's 20 months) and they were HUGE on her! They basically did not help because they were so big she couldn't even tell when she had an accident in them. I bought her some new ones that are a little smaller, but I can't seem to find any small enough! (Help me out, anyone?) On Monday I started putting her in the underwear (with just a t shirt) and explained to her that she's a big girl now, we go potty on the toilet not in our underwear, blah blah blah, you know. All day long I would tell her every 10 minutes to "Tell Mommy when you need to go potty." And she told me. Right after it happened. Every time.
I have this carpet cleaner spray stuff that's for pet messes that seems to be working well for the that. I went through the whole package of poorly fitting underwear. I have done a LOT of laundry this week.
Tuesday was a little tiny bit better at first. She started to go and told me so she held it long enough for me to rush her to the bathroom where she peed on the floor right next to the potty. Progress. She still has not actually gone in her potty since she's been out of diapers. I put her in a fresh pair of underwear and let her play. She decided to sit on my lap. Feel free to stop reading this paragraph if you are easily grossed out. I reached down to hold her leg and felt something gooey and sticky. I looked at my hand, completely grossed out in my head before I even saw it, and realized it was covered in poop. She had just pooped and the undies were not holding it in. I quickly stood her up and tried to take her to the bathroom while she screamed. She took two steps and like slow motion I watched more poop fall out of her underwear heading toward my carpet!!!! I reached out and caught it. In my hand. Ewww..... I carried it to the bathroom and put her on the potty while I cleaned everything up. She cried the whole time. I didn't get mad at her. I just told her that it was gross and we go potty in the toilet. After that I put her in a pull up and I took a shower!
After that little adventure I had to make it a good experience to sit on the potty again. She was a little apprehensive and I don't really know why. It's not like she even got in trouble for having accidents. We had another family gathering watching as she tried to go, so that made her happy. Anyway, she tried tried to go a couple more times that night. She had an accident almost immediately after exchanging her pull up for another pair of underwear. She hasn't been waking up dry in the mornings, but she has been doing well after her naps. I still put her in a pull up or diaper while she sleeps. I'm not ready to deal with that yet.
We're trying. I'm tired. She's probably frustrated. We are all shut ins. Hopefully this will get better. Soon.
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
Potty Training Twins Part 2 of a Billion
Isn't it funny how pee, poop, and potty becomes a regular part of a parent's vocabulary? It's funny enough that we talk about it, but even more so when we celebrate it! It seems like it should just be a natural thing to do, but it can become a source of much frustration if it isn't happening when or where you want.
My next... adventure I guess we'll call it, was with Miss Hailey. I caught her in the act. She looked like she was about to poop in her diaper, so I asked her if she wanted to go on the potty and she nodded her head, "yes". I whisked her in to the bathroom and stripped her down so she could sit on her little potty. (This was on Sunday so she was in a very fluffy pink dress which makes sitting on a tiny potty chair slightly problematic.) She was okay for like a second. Then she cried and kept pointing to her diaper like she wanted to go in it. I talked to her about going in the potty and she totally understood and settled down a little. But then... she heard her siblings in the other room having the time of their lives! She no longer wanted to sit, but she was such a good girl and stayed sitting down, all the while practically begging me to let her go play. I brought her a book so she would be a little more okay with staying for a while longer. Soon the whole posse' strolled in to see how it was going. I had to kick the other two kiddos out though because they were super distracting. Hailey made her daddy stay there for moral support while she sat. And sat. And tried to poop. And sat some more. Finally he got really uncomfortable (because he was laying on the floor in the hallway, not because it was family bathroom hour) and decided to go cook dinner. (What a man, let me tell you! So great!) Don't you worry, we sat there for half an hour at least, not even exaggerating. She gave it a good effort and kept pointing to the cup thing that she was supposed to go in and saying "poop" over and over while I excitedly said "Yes! Go poop in there!", but alas, she did not go. And when David told us dinner was ready we gave up for the time being and joined our family for dinner.
I was honestly looking forward to her having a great first(ish) experience. I wanted so badly to be able to celebrate and give her a treat. I wanted her to see and understand what we were talking about and why we sat there- she sat there- for so long. Luckily it was a mostly positive experience, just basically without results. It will happen eventually. Like I said in Part 1 of this potty training journey, I am not trying to rush this. We're taking baby steps! The only reason we did sit there for so long was because I knew she had to go. And she did. Half an hour later. In her diaper.
Sigh...
Let me tell you how I plan to do this. I want to start this slow process out by recognizing, like I did with Hailey, when they are going to go poop and then help them to recognize it also. I don't want to do the whole "try to go potty" thing. That doesn't seem effective to me if they aren't understanding what is supposed to be happening. I want them to be able to recognize when they need to go. Right now they are recognizing as they go or right after it happens. Baby steps. It's progress. And important progress at that. Understanding what is happening with their bodies helps them to be able to start to control it a little bit more. It is still their choice if they want to go on the potty right now. I always ask them if that's what they want to do. These girls are pretty stubborn, so it is going to have to be their choice. I have heard a lot from other moms that going poop in the toilet is harder to teach. That's why I have tried starting with that one. I would much rather clean a wet diaper than a poopy one! And if that's the hard part, why not get it over with? That's the plan anyway. We'll see how it goes.
Read Potty Training Twins Part 1 of a Billion
My next... adventure I guess we'll call it, was with Miss Hailey. I caught her in the act. She looked like she was about to poop in her diaper, so I asked her if she wanted to go on the potty and she nodded her head, "yes". I whisked her in to the bathroom and stripped her down so she could sit on her little potty. (This was on Sunday so she was in a very fluffy pink dress which makes sitting on a tiny potty chair slightly problematic.) She was okay for like a second. Then she cried and kept pointing to her diaper like she wanted to go in it. I talked to her about going in the potty and she totally understood and settled down a little. But then... she heard her siblings in the other room having the time of their lives! She no longer wanted to sit, but she was such a good girl and stayed sitting down, all the while practically begging me to let her go play. I brought her a book so she would be a little more okay with staying for a while longer. Soon the whole posse' strolled in to see how it was going. I had to kick the other two kiddos out though because they were super distracting. Hailey made her daddy stay there for moral support while she sat. And sat. And tried to poop. And sat some more. Finally he got really uncomfortable (because he was laying on the floor in the hallway, not because it was family bathroom hour) and decided to go cook dinner. (What a man, let me tell you! So great!) Don't you worry, we sat there for half an hour at least, not even exaggerating. She gave it a good effort and kept pointing to the cup thing that she was supposed to go in and saying "poop" over and over while I excitedly said "Yes! Go poop in there!", but alas, she did not go. And when David told us dinner was ready we gave up for the time being and joined our family for dinner.
I was honestly looking forward to her having a great first(ish) experience. I wanted so badly to be able to celebrate and give her a treat. I wanted her to see and understand what we were talking about and why we sat there- she sat there- for so long. Luckily it was a mostly positive experience, just basically without results. It will happen eventually. Like I said in Part 1 of this potty training journey, I am not trying to rush this. We're taking baby steps! The only reason we did sit there for so long was because I knew she had to go. And she did. Half an hour later. In her diaper.
Sigh...
Let me tell you how I plan to do this. I want to start this slow process out by recognizing, like I did with Hailey, when they are going to go poop and then help them to recognize it also. I don't want to do the whole "try to go potty" thing. That doesn't seem effective to me if they aren't understanding what is supposed to be happening. I want them to be able to recognize when they need to go. Right now they are recognizing as they go or right after it happens. Baby steps. It's progress. And important progress at that. Understanding what is happening with their bodies helps them to be able to start to control it a little bit more. It is still their choice if they want to go on the potty right now. I always ask them if that's what they want to do. These girls are pretty stubborn, so it is going to have to be their choice. I have heard a lot from other moms that going poop in the toilet is harder to teach. That's why I have tried starting with that one. I would much rather clean a wet diaper than a poopy one! And if that's the hard part, why not get it over with? That's the plan anyway. We'll see how it goes.
Read Potty Training Twins Part 1 of a Billion
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Potty Training Twins Part 1 of a Billion
Are there actually twins out there who are potty trained? Or are all adult twins secretly just wearing diapers still? I'm not so sure it can be done... It might be impossible, but I have to try!
When I potty trained Jackson it was like the easiest experience ever! He wanted to be a big boy so badly that he basically potty trained himself. Starting at about 18 months I never had to change a poopy diaper from him again! Miraculous, I know. I have a feeling the twins are going to be a whole other story.
These cute twinners of mine have been very similar in development for EVERYTHING! From crawling and walking to talking and even getting teeth they have been within 3-10 days of each other. I was a little overwhelmed thinking I might have to potty train them at the same time, but they aren't showing the same, uh..., interest? So I'm hoping as soon as I'm finished with one I will be able to start with the other.
Hailey, the oldest of the two (by 18 minutes- semi long story), has shown signs of potty training readiness. She understands what poop is, and don't you worry, she tells me right after she is finished going- in her diaper. She also likes to take off her diaper when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap because it is uncomfortable. (I have cleaned up way too many poop messes because she does NOT want to wear that diaper when it's full.) She will nod her head if I ask if she wants me to change her diaper, and she wants to watch everybody in the family go to the bathroom!
Melanie, my youngest, on the other hand shows none of these signs, except nodding "yes" when she wants her diaper changed. So... that means I think I will be starting with my other sweet girl, Hailey.
They are definitely alike sometimes. They both SCREAMED when I put them on the real toilet. Yeah, I wasn't doing that again. They are much smaller than Jackson was when he was their age and they seemed terrified! It probably looks like a potty for giants when you're that small. So I pulled out the tiny potty chair thing that my son had used like twice- after cleaning poop out of one of those things you never want to do it again! And I figured out a solution for the cleaning problem. I put a baggie inside the "cup" and put a rubber band around the outside so it would stay in place. It can be rinsed for pee and thrown away for the poop! Not a perfect system, but it's the only way I'm doing this. I will transition them to the regular toilet that flushes ASAP! But for now, hopefully this works.
They have both taken turns sitting on the potty just for pretend. No screaming though, which is totally progress! Jackson is my helper and he keeps asking him if they have to go potty haha! But... I did ask him to stop doing that. I don't like that system. I want them to "tell" me (signs, words, or partial words) when they have to go. I'm not potty training myself. Been there done that. I'm trying to train them to recognize when they have to go. I also made sure they know it's yucky to go in their diapers (started telling them that at about 17 months) and now that they know we can talk about how it's important to be clean and dry by going potty like big girls! Those are just a few tips I've learned already. I am also not above bribery so they will be getting small rewards once we have a little more progress. We will make sure they know it's a BIG DEAL!
This is probably going to be a gradual process for both of them. I'm not sure I'm ready to go out and buy big girl underwear yet, but hey, I have a hope for a future without large quantity diaper purchases!
When I potty trained Jackson it was like the easiest experience ever! He wanted to be a big boy so badly that he basically potty trained himself. Starting at about 18 months I never had to change a poopy diaper from him again! Miraculous, I know. I have a feeling the twins are going to be a whole other story.
These cute twinners of mine have been very similar in development for EVERYTHING! From crawling and walking to talking and even getting teeth they have been within 3-10 days of each other. I was a little overwhelmed thinking I might have to potty train them at the same time, but they aren't showing the same, uh..., interest? So I'm hoping as soon as I'm finished with one I will be able to start with the other.
Hailey, the oldest of the two (by 18 minutes- semi long story), has shown signs of potty training readiness. She understands what poop is, and don't you worry, she tells me right after she is finished going- in her diaper. She also likes to take off her diaper when she wakes up in the morning or after a nap because it is uncomfortable. (I have cleaned up way too many poop messes because she does NOT want to wear that diaper when it's full.) She will nod her head if I ask if she wants me to change her diaper, and she wants to watch everybody in the family go to the bathroom!
Melanie, my youngest, on the other hand shows none of these signs, except nodding "yes" when she wants her diaper changed. So... that means I think I will be starting with my other sweet girl, Hailey.
They are definitely alike sometimes. They both SCREAMED when I put them on the real toilet. Yeah, I wasn't doing that again. They are much smaller than Jackson was when he was their age and they seemed terrified! It probably looks like a potty for giants when you're that small. So I pulled out the tiny potty chair thing that my son had used like twice- after cleaning poop out of one of those things you never want to do it again! And I figured out a solution for the cleaning problem. I put a baggie inside the "cup" and put a rubber band around the outside so it would stay in place. It can be rinsed for pee and thrown away for the poop! Not a perfect system, but it's the only way I'm doing this. I will transition them to the regular toilet that flushes ASAP! But for now, hopefully this works.
They have both taken turns sitting on the potty just for pretend. No screaming though, which is totally progress! Jackson is my helper and he keeps asking him if they have to go potty haha! But... I did ask him to stop doing that. I don't like that system. I want them to "tell" me (signs, words, or partial words) when they have to go. I'm not potty training myself. Been there done that. I'm trying to train them to recognize when they have to go. I also made sure they know it's yucky to go in their diapers (started telling them that at about 17 months) and now that they know we can talk about how it's important to be clean and dry by going potty like big girls! Those are just a few tips I've learned already. I am also not above bribery so they will be getting small rewards once we have a little more progress. We will make sure they know it's a BIG DEAL!
This is probably going to be a gradual process for both of them. I'm not sure I'm ready to go out and buy big girl underwear yet, but hey, I have a hope for a future without large quantity diaper purchases!