How We Roll With Twins: Potty Training, Making the Decision To Train

Ready as they'll ever be...

Potty training experts agree that you should not attempt to potty train a child until they show signs of readiness.  These include telling a parent when they are wet or dirty, showing interest in bathroom habits, being able to sit quietly for a few minutes, and the ability to pull their pants up and down.

The boys are almost two and a half, so I’ve been on the lookout for these signs of readiness for a while now.  One morning I found them both buck naked in their cribs with their (thankfully just wet) diapers strewn on the floor, and I thought to myself, "Pants off.  Check."

A couple of days later, I went to get them from their cribs and Ryan pronounced happily, “I steen-ty!”  

“You’re stinky?” I asked, hoping to clarify.  

He threw his arms up in the air and yelled, “YEAAAAHH!!!!”

Awareness (and pride) of soiled diapers?  Check.

Over the next weeks, the boys were more often naked in their cribs than not, and I was beginning to think it might be time to start training, if for no other reason than to avoid washing sheets every day.

But the real push to potty train came when I heard the boys screaming in terror after I put them down for a nap.  I rushed up, thinking someone was hurt.  When I opened the door, Joel was naked and pointing at his blanket yelling, “blankie wet!!!!!”

It turned out blankie had been defiled, but it wasn’t wet.  Joel and I both turned to look in his crib at the same time.  Sitting just inches from his bare feet, on top of his Pottery Barn Kids whale sheets, were two medium sized turds.  Joel backed away and started crying again, “NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!”

I’ve never read that fear of one’s own turds is a sign of readiness for potty training, but it probably is.  I went out and purchased two packs of tiny boxer briefs and a training seat, and loaded up on potty books and movies from the library.  My plan was to read them the books and show them the movies on Sunday and start the actual training on Monday.  

Allie and Coco were definitely on board to get this whole potty train moving.  Mostly because years ago when potty training the boys was nowhere on my radar, I may have said something like, “We are definitely not getting a cat before the boys are potty trained.”  What Allie and Coco heard was, “We will definitely get a cat the second the boys no longer need diapers.”

Anyway, the girls were more than happy to help speed things along.  Allie read the twins one of the books while they ate breakfast.  Unfortunately, Curious George was on the TV behind her, and the boys spent a lot more time yelling, “Nooo,” and shooing her away with their hands than they did listening about Henry, the little boy who discovered his potty was not a fish bowl or a hat or a bird bath.

We all sat in the basement and watched ‘The Potty Song’ followed by the “The Potty Movie,” and the girls and I wondered why Henry, who was able to brush his teeth, get dressed, put on his shoes and do calculus, was not yet able to use the potty.

One thing I did learn from all the books and movies was that it seemed everybody used those little potties and not the seat that just sits on the big potty.  With all of my kids, I’ve hoped and hoped that we wouldn’t need to use the little potty (because they’re gross), but with all my kids we’ve ended up using it, at least at first.  So I caved, and ordered two tiny potties from amazon prime.

That night, I decided to check on the boys over the video monitor one last time before I went to bed.  Joel was sleeping peacefully with his legs tucked under him and his blanket covering his back.  Ryan was also sleeping peacefully with his legs tucked under him and bum in the air.  “Umm, Chris?” I nudged him.  “Is that a crack?”  

Pants off?  Double check.