My sister-in-law once (half) joked that the number of kids she wanted was based on how many kids she was willing to potty-train.
Potty-training can be frustrating and stressful.
It can turn even the most confident of parents into bumbling fools.
So when John kept mentioning potty-training Twain this summer, I was less than enthusiastic. Every time I brought a pack of diapers home from Target, John gave me "the look"-- Like, why are you buying those things? So I kind of snuck in the door each time I bought a new pack, hoping his ever watchful eye would not scorn yet another pack of diapers.
He even offered to buy Twain some underwear out of his own clothing budget.
And offered to do the potty-training.
This continued week after week, until I finally caved.
The day of potty-training was set for 4th of July: we were all ready to declare !FREEDOM! from diapers.
The night before, John got all set up.
We were using a potty-training method which required a doll as a visual guide. We have no dolls 'round here, so John used the boys' "ewok"(wink, wink) instead.
And then John proceeded to make a very BOLD statement.
He put this VERY presumptuous diaper on our boy the night before our big day.
He put this VERY presumptuous diaper on our boy the night before our big day.
I am pretty sure we were expecting Twain to be fairly easy, based on previous data:
Finn age 3: potty train attempt 1 FAIL.
Finn age 3.5: potty train attempt 2 Success. And that did not include night training.
Calvin age 2 years and 4 months: SUCCESS!
Ollie age 3. SUCCESS!
So, based on this track record, we figured Twain would be ready, since the A-models* are potty trained around age 3 and the B-models* are trained around age 2. Highly scientific reasoning over here.
*Finn and Ollie are the A-models and Calvin and Twain are B-models
Everything was all ready. Cups for drinking LOTS of fluids, lots of snacks/rewards, chonies and last but not least, the little potty.
I took the older boys to Grandma Betty's house for the day while John worked feverishly with his little toilet trainee.
I got an occasional text from John, updating the progress from time to time. Initially things went ok. He whizzed and pooped at first. And then things were not going well. Accident after accident after accident.
By the time I brought the boys home, John looked POOPED.
And Twain seemed fairly unconcerned by his lack of progress, to say the least.
We even graduated him to the big potty and this mama could not be happier. I was most thrilled to finally ditch that stinky little pot that needed to be rinsed after each use--that thing is almost as bad as changing a diaper.
Wood shelf($3), white vase($1) and chalkboard($1) were all from the Goodwill. Frames were from around the house and I just printed out free clip-art of the deer and whale pictures. Mustard/gold towels were totally free, thanks to Kohls $10 gift card in the mail, and 'buy on get one free' promotion. Every time I get a Kohls gift card in the mail I buy more towels.
And the new fake wood vinyl floor is a DREAM. Feels nice on your feet, easy to clean and shows no dirt!
Twain was totally confused. Just not getting it.
I felt sorry for him. I just wanted to scoop him up, give him a big hug and say "it's ok".
I felt sorry for him. I just wanted to scoop him up, give him a big hug and say "it's ok".
That night we celebrated a sweet, lovely and wet 4th of July with our dear neighbors.
By nightfall, there were more accidents than I could count. We were ready to admit defeat. Twain just did not seem ready. He was showing no initiative.
Images of "My Last Diaper" taunted me.
If I had a diaper in the house I would have used it for Twain to sleep in. All stores were already closed that sad wet little night of July 4th. So we put him in those plastic clown underwear and said 'nighty-night'.
That morning, I was ready to go to Target to buy some more diapers. And then something odd happened. Twain got up and wanted to use the potty. And he went pee-pee!
We all celebrated. Every time Twain tinkled, Finn distributed marshmallow treats to all members of the house(even to mommy and daddy). John and I dutifully accepted our little treats. Hey, this was hard work! This continued all morning and most of the afternoon.
The tally for that second day was 3 accidents total. Not bad.
The next day 2 accidents. And the day after that, just one accident. Our trainee was showing lost of promise.
And my saving grace was his older brothers, scurrying Twain off to the potty whenever he needed assistance. I could not have done this without Finn and Calvin.
And just when I was ready to declare Twain potty-trained, things took a drastic turn for the worse. Accidents right and left. Three poopy accidents in the chonies(IN ONE DAY) and daddy was ready to call it quits all over again.
John and I just sat there, completely bewildered and humbled by this unexpected relapse. Even the mere mention of the potty made our tweetle burst into tears.
It was sad. "Baby is tared(scared) of the potty" he would whimper. Kind of broke my heart. We did not want to shame and lecture our sweet little boy if he could not help these accidents. We just wanted our happy little boy back.
Late that night we called it quits. We still had no diapers in the house, so we put the plastic pants on for one last night.
The next morning Twain got up early and I heard Finn helping him on the little potty.
What???
Confusion city!
I did not know what to think. But all day he was completely accident-free. I was cautiously optimistic.
Day after day, Twain proceeded to initiate the potty process. Days turned into weeks.
It's been 2 weeks and he still needs some assistance, but overall is doing very well.
We even graduated him to the big potty and this mama could not be happier. I was most thrilled to finally ditch that stinky little pot that needed to be rinsed after each use--that thing is almost as bad as changing a diaper.
While we are here, I may as well give you a little tour of the boys' new bathroom. It's small, so don't blink or you will miss it!
Wood shelf($3), white vase($1) and chalkboard($1) were all from the Goodwill. Frames were from around the house and I just printed out free clip-art of the deer and whale pictures. Mustard/gold towels were totally free, thanks to Kohls $10 gift card in the mail, and 'buy on get one free' promotion. Every time I get a Kohls gift card in the mail I buy more towels.
My sister Jessica helped pick the wall color. It's called moonshine(25% darker). Can't tell from the pictures but it's a lovely shade that is the perfect grey, without turning blue or purple!
Shower curtain was around $14 from Target and I love it. It hangs nicely without wrinkles. I had to consult Ellie on that purchase, since she always does an AMAZING job of picking things that are more gender neutral...which I needed, since this was both the boys' bathroom and guest bathroom.
