It's Potty Time!

We're sure a lot of you out there have had to listen to Mommy moan and complain about potty training us. So if you're one of those people, and you're tired of hearing about pee pee and poo poo, stop reading now. This is not the blog entry for you!

Right, potty training not one, but two, 2.5-year-olds is torture and could be an effective tactic for the military. It could easily slip through the cracks of the Geneva Convention yet get anyone to cave.

Let's start from the beginning - we were ready. Well, Lucy slightly more than Liam, but Mommy knows we're competitive with each other so if one was doing something new, the other would want to follow. Plus we've been doing everything together since birth (eating, sleeping, playing, etc.) so why stop now? Anyway, when we started telling Mommy every time we were going pee pee or poo poo in our diapers, a light bulb went off that we might be ready. But Christmas was 3 months away and she didn't want to start something new so close to the holidays. Really, it was Mommy who wasn't ready.

The holidays came and went and Mommy could no longer procrastinate. One problem: she hadn't a clue where to begin. Thankfully she has a lot of PT-veteran friends who offered their expertise on the matter. Mommy took little pieces of advice from everyone and came up with the official, "L&L 3-Day Potty Boot Camp Plan of Action". Of course like any plan with kids it had to be re-worked several times along the way, but this was the general idea (Mommy's commentary in bold italics):

GOAL: PEE PEE AND POO POO IN THE POTTY AFTER 3 DAYS OF BOOTCAMP

1. Start talking about how big girls and boys go pee pee and poo poo in the potty. Inundate our lives with potty talk. Read books about using the potty. Watch DVDs about using the potty. Sing songs about using the potty. When you dream about Elmo using the potty it's time to take the next step.

2. Get excited and go shopping for big girl and boy underwear - Dora the Explorer for Lucy, and Thomas the Tank Engine for Liam. And buy double because we're bound to have accidents. L&L have over 40 pairs between the two of them.

3. Stock up on potty incentives, food, juice, and toilet paper because there will be no leaving the house for 3 days - everything we do will be about using the potty. Lolli pops for pee pee and ice cream cones for poo poo.

4. Start in the morning by putting on our new big girl/boy underpants and talk about how we're going to start using the potty now instead of our diapers. Constantly remind us about using the potty - every 5-10 minutes a reference to the potty is made. This is why mommies lose brain cells. I should be making commission on my 'selling the potty' techniques: 'don't forget we have a wonderful potty', 'be sure to tell Mommy, and I'll help you use the potty', 'I have a lovely potty for you to use when you need it', 'have you seen the latest potty? it's very cutting edge', 'using the potty is so in now - every one's doing it', 'you know Elmo and Barney use the potty?'

5. Keep our sippy cups full of juice at all times - it's necessary to practice the act of using the potty over and over and over again. This is where the torture begins. Liam wakes up very thirsty in the morning and downs 7 oz. of juice (diluted) in 30 seconds flat. Right as I'm about to start my sales pitch about using the potty, Liam starts peeing on the spot. I race him to the bathroom to see if we can get something in the potty but we're too late. I remind myself that this isn't suppose to be easy, change his underwear, hand him another full sippy cup, go into my sales pitch and watch him pee on the floor again. This continues, for both Liam and Lucy, every 5 minutes for the next 2 hours before I finally ditch the fluids concept. Six pairs of underwear left (out of 40) and I revise our Plan of Action (aka, POA).

6. Keep us moderately hydrated and remind us about the lolli pop. Lucy is all over the lolli pop. She runs into the bathroom yelling, 'gotta go pee pee', sits down, does her business, washes her hands and asks for her lolli pop. I reward her, Liam sees this, goes to the potty and tries to go like there's no tomorrow. Sibling competition is an effective strategy to incorporate. Also abandon the idea of night training. Add addendum to POA for night training - there's no way I'm tackling that now.

7. Continue this for the next 3-5 days. Wake up on Day 2 and I'm ready to go back to diapers (on them). They're just not ready. But when I get them up they're so excited to wear their big girl/boy underwear and run downstairs to put them on. It's not that they want to go potty, they want a lolli pop which is why POA is revised again - two kids x unlimited sugar = complete and utter chaos. Solution: M&M's -- much smaller. Problem: cannot leave the house because one, it's not in the POA, and two, the roads are iced over. So another day of sugared-up toddlers and one delirious Mommy. Then clever little Lucy remembers that poo poo gets an ice cream cone (pink) so she marches to her potty, sits down, and pops one out. Liam sees this and spends the next hour trying to do the same. It doesn't happen but Lucy does shares her reward with him. By the end of Day 2 Lucy has, hands down, mastered the potty. Liam succeeds on pooping Day 3, but hasn't gone since. There is light at the end of the tunnel but 2 days feels like 2 weeks.

8. When you think we're ready, venture out for short outings and build from there. Ding, ding, ding!!! Our first car trip was down to the gas station to stock up on M&M's and we made it without any accidents but boy I was sweating bullets. I did NOT want to have to wash the car seats on top of everything else.

9. Day 5 - diplomas! Wrong -- but by Day 8 I'd say we were 87% there. We even went to the Children's Museum, the grocery store and to get haircuts and had no accidents.

10. Day 19 - Life without daytime diapers! Liam had a few set backs in the beginning but is now a pro going pee pee and has excellent technique. We haven't tried standing yet but will try the recommended Cheerios game when the time is right. Pooping is still a challenge but we're working on it. Lucy, on the other hand, has it down and continues to take advantage of the incentives. She pees strictly for the M&M's. Pooping makes her very proud and she will remind you about it several times throughout the day, "Mommy. I go poop in da potty. I get pink ice cream cone."

Both LOVE using public restrooms. A whole new world to explore. If only I could get past the whole germ factor. I have to add more time to whatever we do outside the house because you can be sure we'll be using the facilities twice - upon arrival and departure - but it's better than an accident.

I'm so proud of Liam and Lucy at this important milestone yet it's made me realize that my babies aren't babies anymore. I know I'm going to experience this feeling many times throughout their lives which is natural and to be expected. Still, it's a little sad (sniff sniff). And it's why I keep this blog. I don't want to forget the little details of their lives.

That being said, the next upcoming phases in our TMI-POA will include incentive weening, nap time/nighttime training and target practice so stay tuned and thanks for reading!!!

Enjoy some shots that Mommy got of us on the pot:

Lucy: "Oh, Mommy, can I have some privacy please?" Note Liam's t-shirt. It says, 'England Star in Action'. I'll say!

Lucy's first poo poo (Photoshopped). She was soooooo proud.

Liam, still trying....