At precisely 2 weeks past the 3rd birthday of our twin boys, I can proudly say we have successfully accomplished the first stage of potty training. If that doesn't count for celebration, I don't know what does!
Our potty training journey began officially this past March (8 months ago) when we first put the boys in underwear to "try" it out. At the time they were 2 1/2 years old. In the first hour we went through 6 pairs of underwear and accidents on the floor. I didn't know how we were going to manage!
However, rather than pressuring them, we let them get used to it and go at their own pace. We let the boys wear underwear when we were just hanging out at home and had two potties available if we caught them in time. Through the summer they hung out in underwear (and nothing) in our yard a bit and they got used to peeing outside. Our Baby A (firstborn) caught on pretty quick and by the time Fall hit, he was wearing underwear at home and out to places like the church or the park without a diaper. We only had one big messy mishap at the park when we didn't quite make it in time...let me just say, ew! Our other son (Baby B) is pretty resistant to trying new things and was adamantly against wearing underpants. We didn't push him but he saw his brother doing it and talked about doing it when he was ready. Finally, just before their 3rd birthday, he agreed to try on underpants. He practiced peeing on the potty but wouldn't do a number two until he had a diaper on (though he would go away somewhere private and tell me to go away, so we knew he was well aware of what was happening).
After their birthday, we took the plunge and decided just to drop diapers during the day! We created sticker charts right in the bathroom, and had toy cars as incentive for when they did a poop in the potty. Within just a day or two, our second son was pooping on the potty! He was still hesitant to try (he said he was scared he would make a mess on the floor) so when I caught him about to poop, I dragged him to the potty and made him sit and try. When he finally did it, he was so proud of himself. It was just adorable. After that, he hasn't had a single accident. Now, two weeks in, they are both able to articulate when they have to go, and we are the parents who race to get them there as quick as we can!
Potty training stage 1 complete! What I didn't realize is that there are stages of potty training. While we are successful in the daytime, we haven't attempted sleeping potty training. We're at a stand-still for two reasons: 1) the boys are still napping, and naps haven't been going well anyways so we don't want to introduce a new factor and, 2) the boys are in cribs so it doesn't make sense to night potty train when they can't get in and out of bed on their own. So, for now, they wear pull-ups to bed every time they go to sleep. Let me tell you, this hasn't stopped them from using the potty excuse to stall bedtime as much as possible every night.
So, that's how we potty trained our twin boys! I remember thinking before we trained them that I had no idea where to start and how to do it... and I now realize that you really can follow your kids' lead and do what works best for you and your family. Don't stress about it and let it naturally unfold. It really wasn't as messy and scary as I thought it would be.
Anyone have any tips to share on night potty training??? Moving the boys out of cribs into beds is the next (huge) hurdle we have to face. It freaks me right out! I am pretty sure they (and we) will never sleep again... lol! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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