How do you define chaos? Potty training at our house.
It's time. I put it off as long as possible because the Bean was barely turning 2 years old when I was about 25 months pregnant with the twins. Okay, so maybe it wasn't 25 months, but when you have 2 people in your belly, your belly is 48 inches in circumference and you add 55 pounds, it is much more challenging to do -- well, ANYTHING -- let alone bend over and help with potty training. Once the babies arrived, I was having a good day if everyone was fed, changed and still breathing. It's THAT hard. Seriously. But it's finally slowed down from a daily sprint that requires every ounce of everything I have to give. Now it's more a paced run.
Our little Bean is 3 years old. The twins are 9 months old and things have finally settled into a routine (yet a ridiculously busy and still-difficult-at-times routine). Since Bean is out of preschool for the summer, we're going hard core with potty training. That means big girl underwear all day -- except diapers overnight. Last Wednesday was the first real day of the new master plan (really just a half day, since she had preschool graduation in the morning). That first day there were some small successes and lots and lots and LOTS of messy floors, wet underwear, trips to the potty, and even some tears mixed with a few cheers.
Multitasking to A Whole New Level
Day 1: In the afternoon while I was breastfeeding Baby A, the Bean had a potty accident and peed on the floor. I rushed her to the bathroom while still nursing the baby. As I was cleaning the Bean up, Baby B wanted to know what we were doing and crawled through the pee pee puddle to find us! Awesome. More cleaning for me. Our new front loading washer and dryer were certainly put to the test yesterday. As was my patience.
DAY 1: The Bean did actually pee and poop in the potty once. Small victories in a day filled with messes and crying babies and one STRESSED out mom.
WEEK 1: She now understands to go to the potty and gets to the potty pretty much every time. Yesterday she had a GREAT day with only 1 minor accident. Today she has peed in her underwear (while sitting on the potty) about 10 times.
I want to bang my head against a wall, but I understand that with potty training it really is one step forward, two steps back. So I'm hoping this phase passes quickly. My patience and my sanity my not make it if I spend all summer doing this.
