Potty training…the stage that everyone dreads!
I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone say that they love the potty training stage. If you are someone who does, I would love to know why. I’ve seen several posts lately from moms asking about help with several different aspects of potty training, so I thought I would share our two different experiences.
When my first turned 18 months, I took the leap to potty train because I was not having three kids in diapers — I just wasn’t doing it!
I borrowed the book Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right from the library to prepare because I had no idea what I was doing. I decided to do the three naked days and that was pretty much all it took. I don’t remember my daughter having a hard time with it. It took her a little bit during those days to go poop on the potty, but once she did, that’s where she wanted to go every time after. I did not potty train her overnight because I treasured my sleep and I used Pull-Ups quite a bit going out, but we didn’t go out much because it was COVID year. She did relapse a little shortly after the twins were born which is completely normal for children to do when their world changes. Relapses happen, but she outgrew Pull-Ups on her own. We never did the overnight potty training techniques. Once my daughter had been waking up dry from her naps for a month, we decided to forgo Pull-Ups. We did the same when she started waking up in the morning dry for about a month. She was probably four when that happened.
When it came time to potty train the twins, I was not brave enough to do it at 18 months like I did with my first.
Oh man! I felt like things just kept happening causing me to push back the timing like being sick, which we all know affects our bodily functions, teething, and traveling. I finally took the plunge during fall break last year, just before they turned three. I was worried that I had missed the window. People are always talking about there being a window where your kids are ready to potty train and if you miss that window, then it’s more difficult. I don’t know if that’s true. If there is a window, I think it’s different for every child and every child will be ready in their own time.
Anyway, back to the twins. I decided to do the naked day method again, which took longer than with my first. I considered attempting one at a time, but I knew that if one was naked, the other would want to be too. Day one was hard; I felt like I was constantly cleaning up mess after mess. But as the next few days passed, I could see my daughter realizing when she had to go to the bathroom though it was always too late.
My son however would pee on the floor and say, “I just peed.” It was a long road. Once they figured out peeing, the next step was pooping. I think I maybe had one mess on the floor to clean up, thank the Lord. But it really wasn’t the initial stage that was the most frustrating. We had been doing well for a little while and then my son decided that instead of going number two on the potty, he would just go in his underwear. This was the hardest for me. I was going out of my mind and had no idea what to do. It took what felt like months to get through this. I tried the sticker chart, which lasted for half a day until he started pulling them off the fridge. I tried where he wasn’t allowed to go back to what he had been doing when he popped in his underwear. We even got to the point where we just started throwing his underwear out.
One Wednesday night, I sent them to church in underwear because I thought, “They’re only away from us for an hour and he doesn’t usually go number two at night.” Boy, was I wrong. He had gone in his underpants and the pastor’s son was the one that had dealt with it. I was mortified and so apologetic. My son eventually stopped and I don’t remember why or what made him start going on the potty again. It actually took me about a month or two to realize that he hadn’t gone in his underpants in a while. At some point in the spring, his twin sister started pooping in her underwear and she had been totally fine up until then. I don’t know why or what changed — she just did. It took about a week or so for her to stop. Relapse is common.
We are almost nine months out from initially starting potty training, and we are in a really good place.
We can go out without Pull-Ups and we haven’t had an accident yet since being back on track. I definitely got braver sooner with the twins than with my first when it came to wearing underwear to go grocery shopping or to the playground. We are now at a point where we only wear Pull-Ups for nap and bedtime, and that will continue until we decide otherwise because, as I said before, I treasure my sleep.
Mama, remember that every child is different and that what works for one, might not work for another. There’s lots of advice out there on what to do and what helps, so it might take a little bit to find something that works for you. There are many mamas to turn to for support.
Remember, it will only last for a season. May the odds be ever in your favor.
https://chattanoogamoms.com/family-lifestyle/generations-united-reflections-on-my-20th-high-school-reunion/
