It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. But, more so the other way around, because what started out as the worst of times (I mean, does anyone really enjoy cleaning two toddlers-worth of pee up off the floor?), soon became the best of times and one of my proudest mom moments!
So, without further ado, here is a glimpse into our experience potty training 22-month-old boy/girl twins.
The Why
First off, let’s talk about the why. Why did I dive in and choose to potty train two under two-year-olds as a first-time mom? Was it because I felt exceedingly ambitious and brave? I wish I could say “yes!” But, really it was because we are expecting baby #3 in two short months, and the thought of having THREE kids in diapers seemed more daunting than the process of potty training the twins. Even more so, the thought of potty training the twins after the baby arrives in the midst of sleepless nights & breastfeeding seemed like utter chaos. So, I decided to go with my gut and potty train.
The Method
We chose the “Oh Crap!” potty training method / book written by Jamie Glowacki. The method is very simple and straight-forward. You simply follow steps or, as Jamie calls them, “blocks,” making sure to not move on to the next block until the previous one is mastered.
The When
The author of the book highly recommends starting this process of potty training between 20 and 30 months old. Kids can of course be trained outside of this window, but according to Jamie, it’s usually harder. As I mentioned previously, the twins were 22-months-old when we started.
Jamie considers some signs that your child is ready such as being able to say the ABC’s (the twins can NOT fully recite their ABC’s but they are working on it), being able to communicate some basic needs (ask for a drink, snack, toy, etc. – which the twins can definitely do), and/or going somewhere for “privacy” when they are using the bathroom (Duncan would do this, Delaney not so much).
The twins were also showing signs of readiness in the form of verbally communicating when they went #2 in their diapers, and occasionally verbally communicating when they went #1. They could also say “diaper” and “toot-toot” at this point in time and could use these words to communicate an understanding of going to bathroom or responding to nature’s call. However, the twins had never gone to the bathroom on a potty chair prior to diving head first into training.
The How
First, read the book. Yes, actually read it…cover to cover. Please don’t just read this blog post and start potty training tomorrow! The author writes about each “block” in great detail and my brief descriptions below will not do them justice. The author also has several chapters devoted entirely to troubleshooting possible problems that may arise.
Below you will find simple block descriptions as well as what they looked like for us, but every child is different (take Duncan & Delaney for example – potty training them went very different those first couple weeks!)
Block One: Peeing and pooping while naked, either with prompting or without.
As you probably gathered, step one you take the diaper off your child and plan to spend at least a few days at home with your kid totally naked from the waist down. You must watch them like a hawk all day to catch them starting to pee/poop. You will definitely want to have a small, portable potty because you will not make it to the toilet in time.
When you see them start to go, stay calm and say something along the lines of “Uh-Oh (or just “oh”) you're peeing/pooping, pee/poop goes in the potty” as you quickly pick them up and sit them on the potty to finish. Staying calm and collected is crucial here, as you don’t want to scare your kid and make them think they’ve done something wrong.
In this block, you are NEVER to ASK your child if they need to pee/poop. As you learn their potty schedule / behaviors (such as their “potty dance” or equivalent), you can prompt with telling them it’s time to try to pee/poop on the potty, but never asking. By asking “do you want to go try to pee/poo in the potty?” you give your toddler the absolute perfect scenario to say that two letter us parents know oh too well “NO.”
Block One for us took Duncan 4 days and took Delaney a very long 10 days (we eventually put her in dresses with nothing underneath). Duncan picked up on going to the bathroom when prompted very quickly. Delaney, on the other hand, HATED being prompted and would stand right back up the second after I sat her on the potty. I tried several of the book’s troubleshooting techniques for kids that do not respond well to prompting. However, in the end (day 10), it took bribery in the form of M&M’s to entice her to sit long enough to let out a pee. Almost immediately after this breakthrough though we were able to move on to block two and put her back in pants.
NOTE: The twins are still wearing a diaper during naps and nighttime. You CAN do daytime, nap time, and nighttime all at once and Jamie talks about how to do this in the book, but this was just something I did not want to take on all at once.
Block Two: Peeing and pooping with clothes on, commando, with prompting or without.
Once your child is able to hold it long enough to actually make it to the potty successfully with or without prompting, you can put pants back on, but no underwear just yet. Jamie says that underwear just feels too much like a diaper to kids who are this new to the process.
Block two is when you can start making short trips out of the house, such as a walk around the block or a quick run to the grocery store. Bring an extra set of pants or two!
For us, this was taking stroller walks around the neighborhood. I would prompt them before leaving, pack them up in the stroller for an hour long walk, and then prompt them when we got home.
Block Three: Peeing and pooping in different situations, with prompting or without.
In this block, you can start to take your kid(s) on longer trips out of the house and have them use a potty/toilet outside of your home.
For us, the first time we enter this block was a trip into town so AJ & I could attend church. We dropped the twins off at my parent’s house and they used the potty there. We prompted them right before we left our house, they went at my mom’s house, and then we prompted them right when we got home.
The next week we took the twins with us to church and they used the small toilet in the church nursery. Later that same week, they went to their Bible class that is at a different local church and they also successfully used the small toilet there.
Block Four: Peeing and pooping with underpants, with prompting or without.
This is the block where you can put your kid in their exciting new underwear for the first time! No more commando in pants!
We just ordered the twins underwear (they have been going commando in pants for around 3 weeks now), so check back soon for our continued experience working through Jamie’s blocks of potty training!
Block Five: Consistent self-initiation.
Block Six: Night and nap (unless you are choosing to do it all together).
UPDATE: A YEAR later and one of our twins easily nap and night trained by themselves, and my other twin is still in pull ups for nights. Their can be a lot of variance in potty training for sleep!
Luckily, there are a few chapters in the "Oh Crap" book dedicated solely to nighttime training, so please refer to the book to learn more.
Potty Training Must Haves:
· So. Many. Paper. Towels. ;)
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