On Our Way

Hi All,
A few weeks ago, I was pulling my hair out over potty training. A post I wanted to pen, but never quite made it was "Niagara Falls". Those were the early days of boot camp potty training. The kids went straight to underwear, (well in Drew's case, no bottoms because that's what he prefers). Too many times, I heard the sound of streaming "water" - except it wasn't water, and nobody was sitting on their training potty. Someone relieved themselves on the couch, and someone else went while standing and drawing at the Lego table. (As luck would have it, that there was a plastic lid used for one of the crayon bins underneath and catching much of the stream.) Those are just a few of the war stories. I knew it would be rough, and I knew there would be no immediate mastering of the toilet. But the real zinger of it all was at the point nobody was telling me they were peeing / had peed, etc. What I wanted to say: "Umm, hello, you can't stop what you are doing long enough to tell me there is another puddle to clean up?!?" Toilet skills are in process, but they can talk just fine.  To make matters worse, we have a house full of carpet. We even have carpet under our kitchen table, which always perplexes me as to why anyone would design a place with carpet in an eating area. We even have fabric on our chairs at our kitchen table. (We only have ourselves to blame for that one.) In case you are wondering, yes, someone took it upon themselves to christen that, too.
I reached a breaking point. I asked the kids if they wanted to wear diapers or big kid underwear, since they were not using the potty. Drew opted for diapers, and Bree was still very interested in the big girl underwear, in addition to waking up dry most mornings. So, I retreated with Drew and after a few day hiatus, persevered with Bree.
And then something wonderful happened. In a very short matter of time, Bree and I started working very well together to get her on the potty when she woke up, every few hours and after meals, and before bed. It only took a few successes for her to be totally excited about what she was learning. I spent about a week directing her to the potty with much success. We even left the house sans diaper - to Uncle D's carnival (where she used the big potty), to the movies, and shopping excursions with several stops.  Saturday was a big test - we sent her to daycare with Jim in her big girl underwear and, lo and behold, no accidents! (Jim checked in with her regularly and got her to the potty when needed.)
Monday was even more incredible. I was brushing my teeth, when Bree came running into the bathroom with potty in hand, dropped it down next to me, and did her business all by herself.  And it continued that way for the rest of the day and day after.
She was so proud, she had a conversation with our cat about one of her "sessions". It went like this, "I peed Slater, did you look at it? I peed all by myself!" He then meowed, at which point Bree turned to me and said, "He said, 'Good job, Bree Bree.' " It's all music to my ears.
Not to say we don't have accidents, do we ever! In fact, the day I began this post was an entire day of accidents. But we are back on the horse, and not looking back. And, someday soon, Drew will be back in the saddle. So, I'm happy to say we are well on our way to diaper free days!

Full of It

An excerpt from an email to a friend that I recently sent - thought some of you may enjoy it, too....


It seems we are full of it around here. My two year old son's latest fascination is reaching back and digging in his diaper once he's dropped a load. (Perhaps he gets that from his father's side.) The other day when I was on the phone, he ran up to me excitedly saying "poop, poop!", and I thought surely he was telling me he needed to use his potty chair. But then I realized he really just wanted to show me what he managed to extract from his diaper. The next day, I got my hopes up once again when he actually asked to get out of the tub to use his potty. But the celebration was cut short when, less than an hour later, he presented me with yet another brown finger. Having twins only complicates matters. When my nose senses someone in need of a diaper change, I ask the kids straight up "Did you poop?" Without hesitation my daughter will say, "No, brother did!" This is her standard response regardless of who the perpetrator is. So then I have to resort to other measures. Never in my life did I envision uttering "Let me smell your butt" on a regular basis!

News from the Bathroom

Hi All,
I thought I'd mention a quick update on potty training. We recently received a small potty ring for the big toilet from friends, and we store it in our half bath. Drew has taken some interest in it. He even has sat on the big toilet long enough to pee a couple of times. But the biggest draw to sitting on the toilet for him is unraveling toilet paper and flushing the toilet. Bree has no interest in using any of the pottys. When I ask her about using it, she always points to Drew and says "brother!", as if to say he should do it. Since Drew is quite dramatic about his bowel movements, I almost always get him to his little potty in time to do his business. He loves to empty the bowl into the big toilet and flush. And he also likes getting M & Ms as a reward. Bree cheers him on, and for that she also gets an M & M (for now). In all fairness, we haven't taken a true dive into potty training as of yet. We have been in the "introduction and evaluation" phase for quite some time. We'll get more serious about potty training sometime after the kids turn two. And I prefer that all of us are clearly ready when we take that dive.

As for other bathroom news, my girl sure loves the tub! Here's the little mermaid in action.....

Oh Crap!

Hi All,
Well I suppose Bree could not be outdone by her brother for too long. So this week on Monday she also decided to use the potty. She followed me into the bathroom and seemed to want to sit on the potty. Sure enough, she agreed to do so and was able to get a little something out. Truth be told, much of it started out on the floor. And then all of it ended up on the floor when Bree stood up, grabbed the pan and turned it upside down. That's a kink in the training plan that we'll have to work out! But nonetheless I was proud of her efforts.
Then on Tuesday, another amazing thing happened. It's usually quite apparent when Drew needs to "do some business" because he typically fights it every step of the way, ever since a bout with constipation. He tenses and strains to keep it from happening, which is not at all pleasant. I was worried this would present a big problem in the potty training department. But quite the opposite seems to be happening. I caught him tensing up on Tuesday and suggested he try to use the potty. He agreed to sit down, and I think the sitting position actually helped him relieve himself of the dreaded number two!

There was no tensing for a few days after, because he got a little help with the constipation in the form of Milk of Magnesia. But sure enough, we had a repeat episode on the potty on Saturday, with excellent results!

Way to go, Drew and Bree! They are off to a great start.

Potty Training - Beginnings

Hi All,
We purchased potty chairs for Drew and Bree about a month or so ago. I have had discussions with the kiddos about what they are and how exciting it will be to use them. (Well, it's exciting for me anyway!) But, they hadn't taken the least bit of interest in them. I don't push it, because I want it to be a positive experience and something they look forward to doing. So the potty chairs sit in the living room and bathroom, hoping they will get some inspiration to try them out. Well, Drew did just that today. He was squatting after his bath, so I  asked it he would like to sit on the potty. He agreed and to my amazement sat down and did his thing! I'm sure it's a bit of a fluke, being after the bath and all. But I gave him lots of encouragement, so hopefully he will look forward to trying it more in the future. He also seems to enjoy flushing the toilet. So of course I let him flush after we dumped his pan. It's the little things in life, right?!?