There are a lot of things I would rather do than potty train twins - eat black licorice, drive cross country without a radio, gouge out my eyeballs with a dull knife. I mean, do you feel me? For the last 34 months, we have had babies who have exclusively used diapers, and now, in about 72 hours, we are supposed to teach them to use the bathroom in a potty in a specific room?? Girl, please. This shit isn't at all exciting. Literally.
But we got to a point that Ella was ready. I mean, really ready. She would go on the potty each morning, then got good at going before bath time and bed time. She would accurately tell us if she had to go, and at daycare, she was staying dry between diaper changes and going on the potty. Yeah, she was ready.
So, reluctantly, I jumped off the "diapers-forever" train, and decided our three-day-MLK-weekend was potty boot camp. We knew Ella was ready, and we weren't too sure about Sydney, but I'm not going to attempt only one kid, so we gave it a go with both. (Don't worry, I'm still riding the "cribs-forever" train, and I'm not hopping off that one so easily ;) )
And... they did amazing. I mean, really amazing. We started on Saturday morning, they chugged water and juice like it was their job.... and.... peed on the floor. But, surprisingly, they kind of got it. And Sunday right before lunch was the last time someone peed on the floor. Sydney had a hard time figuring out HOW to go, but once she did, she was a champ! By Monday, we were wearing pants, and I felt confident about the week ahead at school :)
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28 pairs of Frozen & Minnie panties
Minnie Mouse juice cups, so we could chug chug chug
New Minnie sweatshirt
Let's do this |
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| cute small fries pumped about their new cups |
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| in order to pee a lot, you gotta drink a lot |
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| they wanted to watch something on their tablet, but had to protect our floors with a towel |
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| when you have a twin, you always have someone to potty with... and entertainment when you get bored |
Thankfully, we didn't really need to bribe them to potty train. Honestly, I'm of the belief that if your child is ready to potty train, that you should have the expectation that they can do it without a bribe. Children are way more capable than we give them credit for, but alas, I digress. Anyway, it's impossible with multiples. One gets a reward, but the other one is confused on why she can't also have a reward. It's just too much to manage. SO... when Ella was going on the potty before we trained, we would make a HUGE deal out of it (I know, being a parent is gross). We would cheer and clap and be super excited. And that's all they knew - being excited, and not getting a bribe.
While we were in the thick of it, we would let them have peanuts randomly if we asked if they were dry and they were, or sometimes after they had gone. So it wasn't consistent, but it was something fun for them. They liked to "turn da key" and their peanuts would spill out.
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| Ella's turn to "turn da key" |
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| Daniel received this Hockey book for Christmas, and funny enough, it's Ella's favorite, haha |
Sydney's problem was she didn't know HOW to go. She would run in circles from the dining room through the foyer and around the kitchen, which was our cue that she had to pee. Then she would sit and not go. Despite all that she was drinking, she literally went all morning without peeing. And then finally, when we almost threw in the towel because we didn't think she was ready and it was too unhealthy to hold it so long, it clicked. And alongside her, was her biggest cheerleader, more excited out of all of us to see her pee pee in the potty. Twins, man, such a special bond... even when it's weird.
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| "You are going pee pee, sissy" |
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| I'm telling you, this parenting thing is weird. |
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| we graduated to warm sweatshirts... reading to our babies |
And then Monday came, and we were so impressed, that they got to wear pants!
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| they often times have to go at the same time.. and our small bathroom becomes a crowded space |
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| two sweet little princesses playing so nicely in their castle... a momma's dream |
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ending our weekend with two favorite books - The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Chika Chika Boom Boom
Sydney's face is hilarious and so, so cute |
So all in all, now that we're on the other side of this, the actually training wasn't so bad. We were pretty tired and grumpy by the end of each day, but children in general are so amazing. They adapt and listen and can do more than we give them credit for. I will say the major downfall to potty training is that it's now hard to go places (again). When they were first born, we were in twin-newborn-hell. And leaving the house was a monumental task that we avoided at all possible. Then, it slowly got easier and we fell into a routine when we would take them out together. And we were finally at a point that we would take them places solo. Now, I feel a little bit defeated because it feels like we're back at square one. Going out is hard again. You have to make sure you know where the bathrooms are, and be prepared to have to book it to the bathroom in the middle of shopping or eating. Oh, and not one has to go, but the second one decides she has to go, too. And bathrooms are nasty. I'm trying to manage getting one on the potty while keeping the other one from touching anything. It's hard and exhausting and gross, so we have just found that it's easier to stay home. And I know, their bladders will get stronger and we will get better at this whole thing, but for now, it's back to being hard.
One morning a few weeks ago, the girls were wearing dresses with pockets in them, and Sydney was standing up on the stool to get her hair done and teeth brushed, and she said "we don't pee pee in our pockets". No, no we certainly do not.
See, they're learning :)
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