Our Potty Progress, Day One

Woah. So many changes in such a short amount of time. A little ambitious, perhaps, for toddlers, but there's no turning back now!

Here's the long-story short:

The boys are now sleeping in their big boy beds and went one complete day with dry underwear. They even woke up from their 2-hour nap with dry underwear - both of them. Absolutely amazing. It was just the first day, though, so we'll see how things continue to progress from here!

Here's the long-story incredibly longer:

Big Boy Beds

We've had both twin beds in the boys' room for about a week now. And honestly, it was super chaotic. I felt like it was too much for them to handle, choosing between sleeping arrangements. They would literally bounce (and jump) between their beds to their cribs, back to their beds. But since I did want them to get used to seeing/being around their big bed, I wanted it in the same room. Naptimes had become a nightmare again. They'd start in their beds, but want ME to put them back in their cribs about ten minutes later. Then they'd change their mind again. Then they'd want a drink of water. It was just insane.

On Sunday afternoon, we built up the idea of the boys using Daddy's tools to take down their baby cribs. Emphasizing the excitable fact that they were Big Boys now (something they were quite confident of after ridding the house of their sippy cups,) they were thrilled to be part of it. Honestly, they were probably more interested in the tools than in the process, but even still, we managed to get both cribs out of the room with their cooperation and set up their Big Boy Beds in their place. They understood that their baby cribs were going in the garbage, even though Daddy put them in the basement. We'll be bringing one of them back up in a few weeks to set it up for our baby girl.

By the time everything was set, though, it was 2pm. And for boys who take a nap around 12/12:30pm, that was just not cutting it. They played and made noise in their rooms for an hour before we decided they weren't going to nap at all. We kept them busy for a while and made it an earlier bedtime.

Technically, they were in their beds at 7pm. Except Ben wouldn't stay. He was going ballistic. It's not that he was asking for his crib, but he refused to be alone. I did what I could to comfort him, but then I had to send in my reinforcements (i.e. Daddy.) Andy worked for 45 minutes, finally convincing them to stay in his bed. But that wasn't until Ben had exhausted every manipulative method he could think of to keep Daddy by his side, including screaming at the top of his lungs. I'm sure my aunt and uncle upstairs thought we were ripping out his fingernails. When he finally conceeded that Daddy's will was stronger than his, he gave up and laid down in his bed.

At around midnight, we heard one of them fall out of their bed. Now, I had put up every protective barrier I could think of to keep them in bed and then pillows and blankets to shield any kind of fall, so I knew he wouldn't have been hurt. Even still, Andy got up to be sure he was alright. "Hi guys," I heard him say as he rounded the corner. Huh? Are they both up? "G'night," he repeated back and then came back into bed. I looked at him expectantly for an answer. Apparently, Ben had fallen out of his bed and rather than get back into it, he crawled into his brother's bed just across the room. My heart just about melted. We have never put the boys in the same bassinet, crib or bed before. But he felt comforted being near his brother, so we let them stay together and they stayed in the same bed the entire night.

I refused to give Ben a sticker for following the Sleep Rules this morning because he had made such a fuss with Daddy last night and man, was HE mad. "No sticker prize, Mommy," he told me all morning. So at naptime, he was ready to redeem himself. I am constantly amazed at how much a sticker, a small prize or an M&M can motivate a toddler. Or an eleven-year-old. I used some of the same bribes... I mean rewards... with my sixth graders :)

Potty Training

As I said, I probably made too many changes at once, but when we started, I knew I couldn't go back. I wrapped up some Disney-themed underwear in wrapping paper and let them open it last night before they went to bed. I explained that in the morning, we would be getting rid of our baby diapers and instead, wearing Big Boy underwear. Ben was excited about the characters and wanted to try them on. Jack, on the other hand, was a little skeptical and wanted nothing to do with them.

After the boys went to bed, I "studied" the program again and tried to play out the possible scenarios in my head for what we had planned for the next morning. I felt like I was studying for a final. But this time, if I failed, I was taking more down than just a single grade.

I did as the program suggested: got myself dressed, teeth brushed and ready for the day. I changed the boys' diapers into clean ones and put their clothes on, too (as well as a clean diaper.) We all had breakfast and were happy and fed before I asked them boys to come sit on the couch. I'm glad that I had my camera closeby today, trying to capture different moments of the day, but I really wish I could have captured the two personalities that sat in front of me as I started my little speech.

Ben, Mr. People Pleaser, was so eager for our new adventure. He said all the right answers and his legs happily kicked over the side of the couch. Jack, much more cautious than his brother, sat back with his feet straight out in front of it and his head down, his eyes barely looking up. Such a picture! I reminded them of our conversation the night before, brought out the Big Boy underwear, and encouraged them to pick one out. Ben dove right in and finally decided on a red pair with Mr. Incredible on it. We put it on and he was glad to pose for a picture. Jack didn't want underwear. "No, my diaper," he kept repeating. Oh, geez. I hadn't anticipated anything but excitement. I kept distracting him with other activities - including 'throwing out' all the baby diapers in the house - until we followed his eager brother into the bathroom. He saw Ben get an M&M for going pee on the potty and decided he wanted one, too. It was about 40 minutes from start to finish that Mr. Jack finally put on a pair of Nemo underwear. Phew.

I kept reminding the boys to tell me if they had to go potty. You really do sound like a broken record after a while. Then I would ask if their underwear was dry, when I knew it was. Just an opportunity to praise them for their effort. They loved it. We called Daddy to tell them about their progress, we called my sister, we called my mom. My favorite was when Jack told my mom, "Nana, I went two times!" "I big boy," Ben explained. So so sweet.

They had no accidents and I never had to carry them mid-process to move them to the potty. That was one of my biggest fears being almost 31 weeks pregnant: I can't lift. At one point, I was in the kitchen toasting a PopTart when I saw Jack dart into the bathroom. "I go potty, Mommy!" he yelled back. Jack ended the day with the same pair of underwear he started with. I was absolutely astonished. At one point, I did exchange Ben's underwear for another pair because they seemed damp. Even then, I was encouraged because he was learning control! It seemed as if he started to go and then realized he needed to take it to the potty. Wonderful.

I had been pushing the liquids all morning, so I was a little worried about naptimes. We were doing this cold turkey, which meant they were going to be wearing underwear in their big boy beds. No diapers, no Pull-Ups. But not only did they sleep in THEIR beds for more than two hours before I woke them up, they BOTH woke up completely dry. I was absolutely astonished. Not sure if it was a fluke or if they're really getting it (because they were certainly drinking a lot!) but I was so so grateful. We made a few celebratory phone calls to share the joy and continued to keep ourselves busy.

At the end of the day, my biggest concern was the imminent poop. My boys have been doing extremely well going pee in the potty - we've been doing that for a year now, at least once a day - but they have never EVER gone poopy on the potty. The past few weeks, I could SEE them going in their diaper, but when I invited them to go in the potty, they flat-out refused. So when we ended our day without any poops in the potty, I tried to remain optimistic. We were saying our good nights when I smelled something rancid; one of the boys had gas.

But one look at Jack and we realized that it wasn't gas at all. He was going poop in his underwear! I was holding Ben, so I motioned to Andy to pick up Jack and take him to the potty. You're supposed to catch them 'in the act,' so you could bring them right to the potty so they come to make that association. That poor kid was entirely freaked out! He was still screaming when Andy pulled down his underwear and let his feces drop in the potty. He was probably so confused when the two of us were hooting with excitement at his development. "Look what you did! Your poopy is in the potty!" Through his tears, he allowed himself to see the thing he created. Still crying, he wasn't sure what to think. But after a few minutes of praise, cleaning and new underwear, we encouraged him to dump his poop in the potty and flush it down. At the end of the ordeal, he was pretty pleased with himself.

The boys went down pretty well after two trips to the potty to be sure we emptied their bladder and I've been typing this update. A few minutes ago, though, we heard a sound from their room. Poor Benjamin was throwing up! Apparently, the Chinese broccoli and chicken lo mein I had asked Daddy to bring home didn't sit very well with my little man. Poor poor baby. Andy cleaned him up while I changed his bedding. That's not what I had been planning to clean up after tonight! He went right down again, obviously much more comfortable. The first set of sheets are being washed. Hope he's doing better through the night.

So, I am cautiously optimistic. Very grateful for how well the day went, but anticipating much more of a fight tomorrow. That's the best part about parenthood... you just never know!