Potty Training: Day One

We have  been casually potty training the boys for about six months now, encouraging it now and then on the weekends and putting together a sticker chart / reward system but not being consistent about it in any way. Adam has been more ready than Zach in the past but neither really showed signs that they were mature enough for the transition just yet. That worked out fine for us because we really didn’t have enough time to get them into a habit. Weeknights were just too hectic and weekends were difficult because we usually needed to leave the house several times. A week-long stretch of time at home was the perfect opportunity and luckily both of the boys had started showing increased interest in the last month. We’ve technically been on vacation for five days now but held off on the official training until after Christmas. There was too much prep and travel before that to get started. Today was our first official day. We rolled up the carpet in the living room, put towels on the couches, and put a whole pile of “undawayas” on the table. We planned for a lot of accidents and luckily didn’t have too many. It was a little bit rough at first when they woke up but eventually we got into the swing of it. We started by using a timer that would remind us to ask them every 30 minutes but we quickly ended that routine in favor of just asking… all the time. At this point the boys aren’t that good at telling us that they need to go but are usually willing to sit down when asked. Most times they were able to pee and we celebrated with a “Yay!”, a sticker, and a candy. Surprisingly there were only a couple of accidents, which were minimal at that. There was always enough left to finish on the potty. We didn’t have any successful poops, but that’s a bit harder. During the morning and any time we are at home the boys wear real toddler underwear. Whenever they nap or we need to go out we put them in “special underwear” a.k.a. pull-ups. We talk about them just like underwear and ask that the boys not pee or poop in them. I’ve heard conflicting things about using pull-ups; it really depends on who you are and how you use them. We are going to use them for these special cases for a few days and as they boys get more into the routine we’ll phase them out. So far, the most potty training that we’ve ever done has been a weekend morning. As soon as the boys woke up from nap we were too drained from the morning to continue and switched right back to diapers. This was the first day that we not only encouraged the toilet incessantly but also continued immediately after nap. I’ve got to say that the boys have done a fantastic job and it hasn’t been as bad as we thought. There are definitely hectic moments when both want to go at the same time or one doesn’t want to go at all but we’ve found creative ways to get through it.  They are encouraging each other as well, showing excitement when one has success and joining us with a “Yay!” There is a bit of competition at the sticker chart as well. I know it will take some time for the routine to set in. I’m hoping that it will begin to stick in the next couple of days and hopefully they will be day-trainied by the end of the week. I’ve heard from a bunch of parents that dedicating a week is the way to go. It certainly ties us to the house but I think it will be worth it. Those diapers have to go! Time to reset and get ready for day two.