The Potty Training Quadruplets Video Diaries: Part II
I’d planned on blogging our progress on potty training as it unfolded, but by the end of the day I’ve been completely “wiped out”. Teaching 4 BOYS to use the potty has been no small task. This transition has tested our patience and worn us out in a way that we haven’t experienced since the newborn stage.
All that considered we’re over a week in now and making really great progress. #1 is Done! And #2 is getting there…(naps and 1st thing in the morning are the only thing keeping us from getting it completely).
I know there are a lot of you who have toddlers approaching the potty training stage and might be looking for the perfect plan to conquer this milestone. I wish I had more to offer. I looked to my quad mama friend, Gen, LOTS, as someone who has been through this with four already (3 girls and 1 boy). However, just as no two kids are alike, neither are 2 sets of quads. It sounds cliché, but every child truly is different and there’s not a magic formula for any child, unfortunately.
However, I’m all about sharing our own personal experience and offering what has worked/failed for us. The greatest thing I’ve learned so far, is ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. Stress, impatience, frustration are all extremely contagious to your entire family. Likewise a positive attitude can have a huge impact on your progress. Celebrate every little success. Jump up and Down. Sing a Song. Scream and Yell. Do the Potty Dance. Make an absolute fool out of yourself. (See video>) I think encouragement holds more motivational power than any tricket, sticker, or piece of candy.
Here’s how it’s all went down so far:
Pre-Booty Camp
A few days before we went all out on Booty Camp ‘10, we got the potty chairs out. Talked up the “big boy” theory. Had them try first thing in the morning and before bed, and other times if they showed interest. They were able to pick out their own underwear at the store.
Day 1
Goodbye to Diapers during the day. They wore underwear around the house all day. If they had 2 accidents they had to go back to diapers until they kept them dry for a stretch of time. We hunkered down, watched a couple of movies (including Elmo’s Potty Time) and everyone tried to use the potty every 20-30 minutes. Talk about an exhausting day! We introduced M&Ms; or Starburst Jelly Beans for successful attempts along with noisy exaggerated celebrations. We made it to 11:30 am without an accident. There were a handful of messes throughout the day, but we were encouraged to get started and have some success on the first day.
Here’s some of the video footage (non-graphic) from our first day of “Booty Camp”:
That’s about all the “potty talk” I have in me for the day…
Thanks for your encouragement, prayers, and well wishes during this major milestone!
You go girl! I can't imagine potty training one child, much less four boys! Your future in laws will enjoy watching this video before the wedding! LOL! Hang in there because I think when they get it, they'll get it! Then you can take a long rest!
My little boy Spencer is in the beginning stages of potty training (he's almost 3) and he loved watching this video. Thanks for the encouragement.
do you leave the potty seats out there in the hall on the carpet while they are training??
No advice, simply wanted to cheer you on, send positive vibes, and dance a jig all in the name of attitude!! Take Care!!
andrea in mn
http://www.thomberg.blogspot.com
You can do it..you can do it!
(The poo took a while here, too!)
Just wanted to say I've been thinking about you and am cheering you on!!! How exciting it will be when they have all mastered it!! 🙂
Hang in there!!
Emily H 🙂
Your song is super awesome!
Hang in there! I used a lot of Gen's advice and many bags of MM's later they are always dry except sleep times. I am not overly concered about that yet but we do cut out all liquids at 7pm and the last thing we do before bed is potty. Good Luck and keep that attitude:)
One of the 'lightbulb moments' I had when training number 5 (I'm a little slow…) is that rewarding DRY is much more effective than rewarding going in the potty! If the goal is to learn to stay dry, then rewarding success, sometimes with surprise checks, sometimes at predictable times, was far more motivating. Once they made the connection between staying dry and earning rewards…watch out world! 🙂
Relax. Have fun. And remember that this too shall be a distant memory some day. (When they're 15 and learning to drive, you might find that you prefer potty training!!)
Sounds like things are going great!! #2 took a long time here for both of mine (like a month or more when they had #1 within a few days). L had problems at night for a LONG time. Some kids just can't stay dry at night until their brain develops more…it's a lack of a chemical output that tells their body to stop producing pee. One the other hand B was dry at night almost right from the get go.
Good luck!! Sounds like you're almost there!
Stacey
I totally cannot imagine potty training 4 at a time.
I'm pathetic at training one! LOL
I love the setup of the potties with the underwear next to them. So smart.
Speechless. 🙂
Godspeed with the potty.
Thankfully we are DONE! Just linked to this on twitter as a resource for others. So glad it’s behind us!