Potty Training - Day 1

My goodness! I knew potty training would be tiring but was not expecting it to be like this. First of all, I'm training two little guys instead of one. (I started babysitting a dear friends children a few weeks ago.) So the boys (born a week apart) are starting Miss Deb's Potty Training 101 class. I started out putting undies on each when they got up. The goal was to put them on the potty every 30 minutes. I placed them on the potty right after they got up from a nap and gave them a cup of juice. Ten minutes later, I put some undies on them and let them go play. Two minutes later, I was cleaning up the floor. As I got Ashton dry, Noah came around the corner with wet undies. I knew it was going to be rough.

Thinking that I would have at least 20 minutes before another potty time was needed, I got the boys and the floor cleaned up. I let the boys go back to playing and then a few minutes later, both had wet the floor!! No, I'm not joking. Thinking that surely they had emptied their bladders, I put new undies on them and cleaned up the floor once again. But alas, I was the fool. They still had more in them. And no, it did not matter that I put them on the potty after each accident. They held it until I got everything cleaned up! By the end of that, I decided it was time for lunch (with a diaper because all the undies I had were dirty). Then it was on to nap time.

Now you might be wondering if I'm too ambitious when it comes to the potty training. I don't think so. The boys are 22 months now. We've been taking Ashton to the pool all summer and he rarely tinkles in the pool. I know it's rarely because he hangs onto Daniel and I most of the time we are there.

The boys woke up from their naps around the same time. And, they were both dry! I could tell that Ashton had to go (moms just know these things). I was pretty certain that Noah did as well. So I fixed the boys some juice and set them on the potty. About 10 minutes later, Noah had completed the deed! I was so excited. Noah was just excited to be able to get up!

Poor Ashton still hadn't finished anything. He's so funny about it. Just as he got ready to go, he clinched up and stopped everything and then cried because he wanted a diaper. I made him sit on the potty and wait. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later he couldn't hold it any longer. I then put a diaper on the guys and let them go off to play.

What did I learn today? I needed to buy a mop and I needed a better plan. I had to clean up all the accidents on my hands and knees because I threw out our old, broken mop. Since I'm the size of a house right now and bending is not my favorite activity, a mop is a necessity for cleaning up the messes. Second, a better plan was necessary. Tonight I compiled a good amount of information from other moms. I'm not the drag it out type and I don't believe that we should let the child tell us if he/she "feels" like learning to potty. Since the boys can control flow, they can learn now. I then stumbled onto sites talking about training your child in 3 days. This is where I'm headed. I don't follow the notion that all children learn the same. But, I do believe that with some dedication, this path is the best way. Will they learn in three days? I hope so. But if not, I'm confident that the guys will be going regularly within a week. I can't say how long it will be before they are accident free, but I don't really care. I'm hoping that they are mostly trained by the time baby Brenna arrives.

If you are interested in a little information about the approach I'm taking, check out this link http://www.momadvice.com/parenting/potty_training.aspx. I'm also checking out a few books from the library for moral support! The next few days will be tough, but I hope it will be worth it!