My mom & dad arrived last Wednesday night. I told them I needed their help with a big project...potty training triplets, round one. As you know we've been putting these three on the potty since they were six or seven months old and a good friend of ours swears there is a potty training window at 18 months. Well, we are now 18mo adjusted and with extra hands and eyes on board I figured we might as well give it a go. We did a version of the 3 day potty training method that another triplet family we know used which basically has the kiddos naked from the waist down and you just catch them in the act and swoop them to the potty and then celebrate like crazy if they even get a little in the potty. It is harder than you might think to keep your attention focused on these bodily functions even when you are focused on them one on one and not trying to do anything else! And with three the challenge is certainly magnified! I'll skip the suspense and just tell you that we are far from being done with diapers around here. =) Well, Avery is well on her way and basically diaper free except for naps & nighttime now. Ellie is showing more and more that she isn't too far behind, but I think it'll be a little longer for Isaiah. We cleaned up quite a bit of pee (and a couple poops), but we also spent a lot of time outside which helped minimize the mess. In the end, the kids had a few fabulous days of nakey-time and had a great time playing with Grandma Rae & Grandpa Mark. Here are some pics of day one
too chilly in the morning for all out nakedness so we compromised
water table fun with G&G
one gone rouge...likely on a mission to destroy a tulip...
post nap potty & water...
Grandpa was sharing his ice water...once he got wet though Isaiah was done...
Avery kept going back for more even though she kept getting freezing cold
ice water all down her belly!
They were all pretty fascinated with Grandpa's nipples & the fact
that they were always accessible. Avery decided to see if they worked like
Mommy & Mama's...she was disappointed when she just got a taste of sunscreen! =)
nakey in the swing
fly!!
Ellie getting a little snuggle time with her baby, who unlike her,
is wearing a diaper! (Thanks Grandma Stephen!)
I'm well aware that many of you will, upon reading the first part of this post, think that we have finally lost our minds, but keep reading! I've honestly been putting off writing this post because of the "you're nuts" reaction, but here goes!
A little over two months ago Michelle and I were noticing that practically every time we took Avery's diaper off she peed. So one day I decided to bust out the little potty chair. At first I just put Avery on immediately after taking her diaper. After a day or two and a few successes I decided to just start putting them all on whenever I did diaper changes. I even came up with a little potty song to help entertain them and give a consistent little song they could associate with being on the potty. At first Avery was the only one who ever went in the potty, then Ellie started catching on, and a couple weeks ago it started to click for Isaiah. Now we give them an opportunity at every diaper change and when we notice that they're trying to poop, which often seems to happen during dinner and the bedtime routine!
It's a potty party for Ellie!
Sometimes all three will pee or poop in the potty at one diaper change and sometimes no one goes, which is totally fine. It's hard for me to estimate how often they go in the potty, but I'd guesstimate it's somewhere around 50-60% of opportunities. But every time someone actually poops on the potty it's one less poopy diaper I have to change and that makes me happy! And although I have no grand illusions of being out of diapers any time soon, I figure this has to be helpful. If nothing else the potty will not be a scary unfamiliar thing when official potty training time comes. Sometimes we use the "big kid" potty in a pinch so that will be familiar too.
"don't drop me mom!!"
So, feel free to think we're crazy, I'm over it. I'm pretty sure my parents thought we were nuts for doing this until they came to visit for a couple of weeks and actually saw how often they actually go. I'm also sure that just reading this post means that both of them now have our little "potty party" song stuck in their heads, which they undoubtedly thrilled about! =)
The other bonus about the potty time is that it forces us to pause and just be with each kiddo one on one for a couple minutes at a time. They will often reach for our faces or just chat with us. After we sing the potty song we just hang out with them for a minute or two chatting and being silly with them. (If they are actually pooping we hang out for quite a while! I've rushed the process a couple of times and been given a clear message that they weren't finished when they continued pooping on the changing table!) And really, it's kind of nice to just have that little bit of time to just connect in the midst of our busy busy days.
