I have to first admit that I DREADED the day I would have to potty train the twins. I had horrible thoughts of sitting in the bathroom for hours, pee all over the house, a massive water bill from the added laundry, and a sentence to house arrest. Dread!
So when my daughter first started showing interest in using the potty, you can imagine my horror. We started slow, more so for me. She would go pee before getting in the tub at night and that was it. She then became more interested so we tried it out here and there during the day and at night asking her if she wanted to try going. Sometimes she did and sometimes she threw a fit and screamed her hatred of the toilet.
At this point she would tell me when she went in her diaper and would ask to be changed. She knew the deal. She was just about ready. So how did I know when she was finally ready? I made the choice when she pooped in the potty and thought nothing of it. That weekend we said goodbye to the diapers for her. We stayed home all day that Saturday and she only had 2 accidents the whole day. HINT: Mini marshmallows and an iPhone app called Potty Time were great motivators. I put her to bed without a diaper and prayed (confession, I put a puppy pee pad in her bed the first few nights just in case. Those of you saying "Ew" it was genius, admit it). She woke up dry the next morning and I was probably more excited than she was. She did have the occasional accident over the next week or so, but not many at all. She would also tell me to stop asking her if she had to go and that she would tell me when she did (2 going on 13). Then when it was time to go she was right on the potty going. We did not sit in the bathroom for hours. I was very grateful for that.
My son wanted no part in it for a while after she was trained. He wouldn't even try. Then one night he realized that his sister got to stay up a minute later than him all because she had to use the potty first. Genius he must have thought. So that night he asked to use the potty. I thought he was joking, but I humored him anyways. To my surprise he actually peed! When I went to take him off he said "Wait, I need to poop". And that was that.
Over the next few weeks we went through the same exact steps we did with my daughter. It was really strange how similar they were to train. Not to say my son doesn't still pee the bed from time to time, but we're working on it (And I ran out of puppy pee pads, so alas I've had more laundry to do). But now I have two kids out of diapers and it is wonderful. It is so much easier than I thought.
So here are justa few tips that might help you:
- Once you make the decision and you know they are ready, don't turn back. Get rid of all the diapers!
- Little treats, whether it be mini marshmallows, m&m's, or an iPhone app work wonders
- Pee pads in the bed at night are a genious idea thought up by me. You can use it.
- Always have extra clothes no matter where you go (Inlucing socks because those get wet too)
- They will have accidents, but don't get mad when they do. They're still learning something new.
- Trust your child. It's ok to ask them if they have to go, but if they're like my two they'll yell at you after the 5th time and tell you to stop bugging them. They will let you know when they need to go if they are ready.
Hope this helps some, and good luck to you!
