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Oh man. Potty training two scared the crap out of me. I had no idea how I was going to do it. So, I started researching and reading and figuring out my game plan. I decided to read “Oh Crap, Potty Training” (linked here and below) because the title was speaking to me, haha. It was exactly how I was thinking and feeling. It also is semi about a three day training method, and appealed to me. I also used the book as a guide, I did not follow it in stone.
Let me take a moment to say; I am no potty expert. I’m just a twin momma who read a book, gave it a shot, and am now sharing my experiences and tips with you.
Also, I’m a firm believer in even though they are twins, they are their own person. Both of my kids have their own personalities and own identities, so I did not expect them to both get this at the same pace. My son has always been slightly behind my daughter developmentally. He has done just about everything after his sister did. With that being said, I started with both my kids at the same time, but little man just wasn’t in it. I’ll explain more in the son edition.
I bought a potty (linked here and below) and got started. I started this process when the kids were 26 months. The books suggest that you potty train between 20 – 30 months. The book also suggests items your child should be able to do before being ready to train, like reciting the alphabet. I also felt my daughter was ready because she was waking up from her naps dry, she was starting to tell me when her diaper was wet. My son wasn’t telling me any of those things.
One of the things the book talks about is starting naked or bottomless. At first I wasn’t sure how I felt about this. I didn’t love the idea of letting them run around without pants on. I can’t pinpoint what it was, but I wasn’t loving the idea. So, I went with my gut and put loose sweat pants on them.
That was a big mistake.
I was missing their cues and signals that they needed to pee and they were just wetting themselves. So I took a step back and gave it a shot, and man, going pantless was a huge game changer for my little lady. I was able to catch my daughter’s signals and cue her to head to the potty.
I also made it a huge party when we got pee in the potty and not on the floor. We danced and jumped up and down, I kept giving lots of praise “you did it” etc. I also gave stickers as rewards (the book is kind of against rewards. Told ya, I did what I felt fit our family.) and I may have given m&m’s the first few times we did number two on the potty. It wasn’t for very long, just enough to get them over the fear of going on the potty. It’s important to note too, accidents will happen and it’s important to not reprimand a child for missing the potty. They are learning and it takes time to learn a new skill. With that, I reminded her that she was learning, “It’s okay, you’re still learning”.
After the first few days, it clicked for her. She was telling me when she needed to go and she was initiating heading to the potty all on her own. We kept going and went commando (pants, no underwear) for a week or so. In the beginning, she had an accident here or there, but after a few days, all was good.
I think it was probably about two or three weeks and we attempted our first outing and she did great. I also prompted her to use the bathroom before we left the house and some reminders to let me know if she needed to go while we were out. I was a nervous reck that I was going to be that mom whose kid peed in the middle of the store, but thankfully, she proved me wrong and was a rockstar. I grabbed a foldable travel potty seat (linked here and below) for when we are in a store or somewhere with its own bathroom. It’s easy to slip into a bag and wipe clean. We bring our little potty in our car for any outing, just in case too.
Nap and bedtime were something different. I did not night train at the same time. I didn’t feel she was ready. However, she was already doing a great job holding her pee during her naps. But to be safe, we used pull ups at nap and bed. As she started getting better at learning her body, she started staying dry at night. Now, over a year later, she’s daytime trained in my eyes. She is still wearing a pull up at night, partly because she still wets them from time to time, but also because she asks for them. She doesn’t seem quiet ready to part with them. I’m not really sure why, but I’m not pushing it too much, yet.
Momma, you can do this! Give yourself and your daughter grace, and lots of patiences. Good Luck!
