Categories
Family

The Messy Side of Toilet Training

Toilet training is stressful and very messy!

Last Sunday was a horrible day. The twins were driving me mad, not listening and just acting up.  Alexander was needy and wanted mummy so I was with him for most of the day.

During the times that he wasn’t with me, he wanted to play with his sisters. His sisters decided they had other ideas and playing with their baby brother wasn’t one of them.  Geez now more crying, carrying on and just screaming. Really… this day is going well!

The Cushie Step Up all set up
The Cushie Step Up all set up

My little boy decided to strip off and run into my room. Oh boy, I really need to get him out in case there is an accident.

I only left him for a minute or two and returned to my room. When I entered he was on my bed rolling around in the sheets giggling.

To access the room I ended up stepping in poo! Yep, you read that right. I had stepped in poo and then realised that my sheets needed to be changed, the floor needed to be cleaned and also the toddler and I needed a shower.

I managed to clean everything up all the while rather annoyed and angry that my little person didn’t use the potty. He is so good and then sometimes just decides to go wherever.

This day was repeated on Tuesday but ended up with poo in the yard and right near my car. If I left it, you can just imagine the disaster getting into the car in the morning. So I did the right thing and removed it. My little nature boy is happy outdoors and when the call of nature strikes he is happy to go wherever. This at least means it is not in the house, but still means I need to clean it up.

After I finally cleaned up the outside accident I then discovered that my little boy was top to toe covered in poo and there was another two surprises waiting for me inside. Yep fantastic! More cleaning on the floor, me, him and then a bath and a wash for me, and finally clean clothes.

The Cushie Step Up is in the spare toilet
The Cushie Step Up is in the spare toilet

As said, he is doing so well and most of the time goes to the potty. I have set up the spare bathroom with a special Cushie Step Up just for my little boy. He is getting on it but I think it will take time to get used to it.

I was told that he might prefer to go to the big toilet like everyone else and hence why he is not wanting to do poo’s in the potty. I thought maybe this is right and hope with the introduction of his own area in the bathroom it will mean that he is using the toilet like his big sisters.

Maybe this is payback, my mum said that when I needed to do a poo I would hide behind the lounge and laugh at her, all the while she was trying to get me to get out and to not do it. Possibly a karma thing that has come back to bite me.

How are you dealing with potty training? Are you having success? Or is your little person liking to be at one with nature like mine?

 

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.

 

 

This post contains affiliate links

 

Categories
Family

Potty Milestone

As a parent when you see that your child might be getting ready for toilet training, you get excited.  I never thought that I would be so happy with this milestone.

I obviously need to get out more, but the thought of no nappies for our little boy is so exciting!  All you parents will know exactly what I’m talking about.

I have been trying for a while to get Alexander interested in going to the potty or using the toilet, however, all of my efforts ended in him screaming, crying and not wanting to sit on the potty or the toilet.  If you heard the carry on you would swear I was killing him, or at the very least torturing him with horrible instruments of cruelty, but I just wanted him to sit on the potty.

The potty in nature. He started to use it outside and I found it easier due to him wanting to strip off due to the hot summer days.
The potty in nature. He started to use it outside and I found it easier due to him wanting to strip off due to the hot summer days.

Due to his reaction to sitting on the potty or the toilet I was at a loss on how to get him interested in going on the potty.

Late last year he seemed interested in my undies, he said, “Mummy you are wearing blue undies” I then asked if he had undies what colour would he like? Alexander then replied, “Red Mumma!”

I then raced out and purchased red and blue race car undies, superhero undies and Paw Patrol undies.

Alexander was taken with wearing the undies but not with taking them off to go to the toilet. Many pairs of underpants ended up back in the wash due to this issue.

However, on the 1st of December 2018, he wanted to sit on the potty all by himself. Finally, he sat on the potty and actually did something.

Yes!

I was so happy and ecstatic due to the fact he finally wanted to do it. Maybe he now knows that the potty will not hurt him or gobble him up.  I couldn’t contain my excitement and rang everyone to tell them the good news. (Very interesting that this is newsworthy of calling the whole family, but I’m sure you’ve done the same)

So what does a very excited and happy mummy do? I called everyone to let them know. I know, who does this? I was so pleased and happy about this exciting milestone.

Not only was Alexander starting at the same preschool the twins went to, but he was also on track to be nappy free for a February 2019 start. I was getting concerned due to the fact he wasn’t interested.

He seemed to be fine with doing a wee in the potty, but if it was a poo this ends up in the garden or somewhere else you don’t want poo to be.

I've been encouraging Alexander with Stickers on his potty, his chair and for him to keep. He loves his monster and dinosaur stickers.
I’ve been encouraging Alexander with Stickers on his potty, his chair and for him to keep. He loves his monster and dinosaur stickers.

My little boy is a nature lover and loves to be naked and running around using his feet (no shoes) and not being weighed down by clothes, undies or even a nappy.

Although he is doing very well and letting us know when he needs the potty sometimes he gets distracted and has an accident.

What I’ve been doing to help

  • Having the potty accessible at all times
  • Reminding him to go
  • If he doesn’t go, I stop what we are doing and say that he needs to go to the potty and then we will play with the cars, or watch the show he is watching.
  • Also if my little wishes to do another game or play outside I say, yes but only if you use the potty first. He is a good boy and goes on the potty as he is keen to do the game or go to the park with his sisters.

I did think it was interesting that he just got up and used the potty on his own. I thought he was not going to be ready for preschool. However, I had the same thought with the twins. The girls did get it a little earlier than Alexander but all of them were ready for preschool so that is the main thing.

One thought I had when the twins were little was that they would be 18 and still not potty trained. Do you do this too, create alternate scenarios that will never happen?

I tried and tried to get them interested and nothing worked. The thing that helped the twins was positive peer pressure. They saw one of their mates use the potty while at a play date and were so taken with the idea that they did it when we came home, the twins were 2 and a half at this point.

So as you can see my thought about the twins being 18 and not toilet trained was not to be, and thank goodness for that.   In the thick of it all, you do wonder if it will ever happen.

Basically kids potty train in their own time, and the more you try, the more you can stress the kid and it leads to not wanting to go.

Relaxing and not pressuring your child to use the toilet/potty.  It will happen eventually and I know you might not be happy about the timing or not doing it when you thought it should happen, but it will happen.

Don’t worry your house will soon be nappy free like mine will too.

 

Sign up for my newsletter

Stay current with all the things that are happening on Mummy to Twins Plus One. Don’t miss a thing by signing up for my newsletter. This newsletter will list all giveaways and fabulous things that are happening.

 

 

This post contains affiliate links