Baby Squared

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• A Potty Training Saga

  Well, we did it. We survived our hardcore 3-day  potty training weekend. And we've got two little big girls in underpants to prove it. It was such an intense and dramatic event, I feel like I should be writing about it in epic poetry form. Or rhyming couplets or something. But I am a writer of prose, not poetry. And I guess potty training isn't quite on par with the Pelopennesian war. Almost, but not quite.   The important thing is that, we -- like the Spartans -- triumphed. To anyone out there who feels like they're not getting anywhere with the gradual approach to toilet training, whose little ones seem perfectly content in diapers and who (like us) haven't been particularly proactive or consistent about making the move to a diaper-free existence, I'd highly recommend this cold turkey training approach.    There are lots of books and websites -- not to mention recent commenters on this blog -- who sell books and eBooks on the subject. We followed the guidelines in one lent to us by a friend. But you don't necessarily have to drop $49.99 on some kind of Guaranteed As Seen on TV Top Secret Potty Training Method with FREE bonus DVD and -- if you order now -- Handheld Diaper Shredder, to do this. It's pretty simple.   Read More... Posted Oct 13 2009, 01:45 PM by Roper with | with 16 comment(s) Filed under: twins, diapers, twin toddlers, potty training twins, toilet training, toilet training twins, big girl beds, potty training readiness, Sparta

• Potty Boot Camp: Dispatch

  Potty boot camp began this morning at approximately 0900 hours. Elsa was (quote) very excited to be wearing underpants! (end quote). Clio, more reluctant. Sat half-naked on a pair of them for awhile before finally conceding to put on a pair. (Not the pair she'd been sitting on.)   Next maneuver: proceeded to pitch all remaining diapers into a trash bag (to be given to the first worthy size 5 toddler we can locate), pitch the changing pads and diaper pails onto the porch, and start pushing liquids. No action until approximately 1.5 hours later when frequent urination began.    Read More... Posted Oct 09 2009, 04:13 PM by Roper with | with 14 comment(s) Filed under: twins, twin toddlers, potty training, potty training twins, potty training readiness, boot camp

• The Girl Who Cried Potty

  Make that girls. And they don't actually cry, "Potty"; They cry "I'm makin' pee-pee now!" and "I'm makin' poo-poo now!" And (what a suprise) they do this most frequently at bedtime, typically right after I've put new diapers on them and changed them into their PJ's, or -- more nefariously -- right as I'm kissing them goodnight. Suddenly, they desperately need to sit on the potty or have their diaper changed again. And the law of twin physics applies here: if one of them wants something, the other one wants it too. So if I give in to one child's demands, I'd better be damned ready to do it in duplicate.   This is obviously a stalling technique, right? But the question of how to respond still stymies me. In the interest of potty training, we've been encouraging them to tell us when they need to go / are going / have gone, and I feel like ignoring their pleas just because it's bedtime sends the wrong message. Even if I suspect they don't really mean it. So, I usually give them a chance to sit on the potty, or I check their diaper to see if it's actually wet. (It almost never is, and they pretty much never actually do anything on the potty, except point out various things in the bathroom and ask for toilet paper.)   Read More... Posted Oct 06 2009, 04:33 PM by Roper with | with 15 comment(s) Filed under: twins, bedtime routine, twin toddlers, toilet training, potty training readiness, two-year-olds, underpants

• Back to School

  I know it's a little early to be thinking about back-to-school season, but, hey, retailers are doing it. So, I'm jumping on the proud American premature back-to-school promotion bandwagon.   In the Baby Squared household, we've got two very significant educational events on the horizon for September, both of which I'm looking forward to, mostly with excitement, but also with a touch of apprehension and sadness. (Isn't that always the case when it comes to going back to school?)  They are:   1. Potty Training. Not the sort of half-assed, stop and start, awareness-building potty training we've been doing up until this point. I'm talking the three-day intensive approach, which I've heard has gotten really good results for a number of people I know. (For their children, that is.) I've got a book, I've got the big girl underpants, and I'm ready to roll. The plan is to do it the weekend after we get back from our vacation in New Hampshire, in early September. (We fear that if we attempt it before that, they might backslide while we're on vacay. And also, frankly, we don't want to have to deal with trekking back and forth from our cabin -- or wherever we happen to be during the day -- to the public bathrooms.)     Read More... Posted Aug 14 2009, 09:24 AM by Roper with | with 18 comment(s) Filed under: twins, twin toddlers, potty training, potty training twins, preschool, potty training readiness, preschool readiness, spitting