Our Nighttime Potty Problem & Pull-Ups

We have a 4.5 year old and a 3 year old (almost).  They are both "potty trained" - mostly.  You see, Manasseh has been in underwear during the day for over 2 years, but cannot quite get the sleep time problem under control.  Cassius has been in underwear during the day since August 1 (my birthday present to myself), but also can't get the sleep pottying figured out.  We have been through a number of solutions.  The stores offer quite a selection of options.

Pull - Ups

We tried waking Manasseh in the night before we went to bed so he could use the restroom.  This worked sometimes.  We tried letting them sleep in their "day time underwear" in hopes that wetting would wake them and they would learn to get up before that happened.  We tried cloth training pants, but did not have enough to get through more than 1 or 2 nights.

Pull-Ups

Cassius loves the designs on Pull-Ups training pants.  Both of the boys love the wetness indicators.  Each morning when they wake up, they check to see if they have wet.  I love that they can see their success immediately, and that because Pull-Ups wick the wetness away from the body, they usually sleep through the night.

 

Because Manasseh is a slim guy, both boys can wear the same size training pants.  He loves the "Mater" prints, Cash loves "Lightening McQueen" because he is red.  As we are teaching our boys to be independent, it is helpful to have training pants that they can put on themselves.  We found that it is easiest to keep them on a shelf in their bedroom so that as they dress for nap and bed, they can grab the print of their choice to snuggle up in.  

 

We love that we can buy them at Walmart with their "rollback" prices (online and in the store).  We bought just over 100 training pants for about $40.  That is almost 2 months worth of sleep times with 2 boys!  

While it is not the "greenest" solution for our family, Pull-Ups seem to work best for our boy's at this point.  We gladly continue to use them as our boys increase in independence and ability!

Tips about potty training.

A potty training story.

Check out Pull-Ups on Facebook and Twitter.

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The Truth about Teaching Toileting

I don't know about you, but I've seen tons of advice online and in books about how to best toilet train a child, when is the best time, how long it should take... the list goes on.  I'm working on helping my second boy finish toilet training and here's what I know so far to be the truth and the myths of training.

Myth #1: "You can toilet train your child in...."  a week, a day, an afternoon.  Everyone seems to have a formula about how to quickly toilet train your child.

Truth: Toilet training starts in infancy and continues until your child is using the toilet 100% of the time.  It starts when you talk with baby about their diaper being wet.  You are making him aware of the sensation of being wet.  It continues when she sees you on the toilet and begins to notice that this strange chair is something you sit on often.  It goes on when you begin sitting your child on the toilet - at 6 days, 5 months, a year, 3.. whatever method you have chosen. This is a long process.

Myth #2: "Toilet training does not have to be messy."

Truth: Come on now, you're dealing with bodily excrement.  That is messy no matter what method you choose for training.

Manasseh displaying "Super Undies" brand cloth training pants.

Myth #3: "Disposable training pants are the best method for toilet learning."

Truth:  That's true.  For some people.  Some people don't use diapers - EVER.  Those babies learn quickly when they need to use the toilet and they learn quickly to communicate the need.  Some people use cloth training pants that are much like cloth diapers to help children learn to eliminate without the same mess as underpants.  Some people prefer to go straight into underpants when they feel they are ready for teaching toileting.

Myth #4: Your child is ready to start potty training when he meets this list of criteria...."

Truth:  Your child does not need to be able to speak in order to let you know he needs to eliminate.  She may not be able to pull her pants down yet.  You can start toilet training a newborn simply by talking to him about what he's doing in his diaper. Some people even put very young babies on the toilet when they are using the restroom.

Underwear and boots, what more does a boy need?

Myth #5:  "Girls are easier than boys."

Truth:  Some girls are easier than some boys.  Some boys are easier than some girls.  It's really about personality, desire, and parenting.  Rumor has it, some children choose to "train" themselves, while others need a lot of extra encouragement.

Myth #6:  "Elimination Communication or Early Potty Training is just training parents".

Truth:  When teaching infants to use the toilet parents must be highly attentive and involved.  However, infants learn at a very young age to recognize their bodily function and are taught methods of communicating their needs with a caregiver.

Myth #7:  "Most children are not ready to be fully toilet trained until 2.5 years old or older."

Truth:  Before the dominance of disposable diapers, which wick wetness away from the skin, The average age children were fully toilet trained was 18 months.  The disposable diaper industry has changed the way families deal with toilet training and fortunately for the disposable industry, pushed toilet training back for an entire year or more in some families.

Azariah wears a mixture of cloth and disposable - we are working on getting him back fully into cloth.

Myth #8: "Disposable diapers are better for children who are not yet toilet trained because they keep the skin from getting too moist under the diaper."

Truth:  Cloth diapers often allow moisture to be near baby's body.  However, new materials in diapers actually help baby to feel dryer than previous generations of diapers.  Cloth does require more attention because they do not always hold as much urine as disposables.  It is better for baby to be changed before the diaper is soaked any how.  They also require more attention because they have to be washed well.  The good news?  Cloth can be cheaper and children who wear cloth diapers tend to be toilet trained more quickly than those in disposables.  Also with cloth diapers there is little fear about chemical reactions in the "gel".

Manasseh sleeps in a pull up when we are at camp so he doesn't wet the camp's mattress.

Myth #9:  "Children should be able to sleep without wetting before they are allowed to sleep without diapers."

Truth:  Some children are very slow to learn night time toileting.  This can be do to a physical problem or a genetic disposition.  Do not fret if your child is slow to learn night time toileting.  Some children don't mind training diapers at night, others feel embarrassed if they need diapers over night.  If you don't mind cleaning up the mess, let your child sleep in underpants.  She'll learn to wake up when she's wet and eventually before an accident happens.  It is not abnormal for children to still have accidents at 7 or 8 years old while sleeping.

Myth #10:  "There are too many changes going on for my child to learn toileting right now."

Truth: While it is good to limit the number of changes with your children, toilet training happens with parent consistency.  When you are ready to work consistently with your child, he will be ready to learn.  You can even begin simply by choosing 1 time  of day to put your child on the toilet every day.

What myths have you heard about toilet learning?  What truths do you know?

Potty Training is...

Messy.

(Felicity, don't read this post).

I love this little boy:

Because I love him, I want him to learn how to be independent.  I want him to wear underwear.  In fact, I've finally made the decision that I'm done with diapers on Cassius, just done.  Other than nap and bed time - we'll get to those after we get day time figured out.

Today was day #2 fully in underwear - no excuses for reverting to the diaper.  Yesterday was great - mostly.  He had 1 accident and that was in the evening...

Today was mostly good.  He went all morning without an accident - until we got home from shopping and I sent him to the restroom.  He stopped in the middle of the hall, turned to me and said, "I peed on the floor".

Whatever, mess happens when you're 2 and in underpants.

Tonight we went to dinner and made sure to take him to the restroom SEVERAL times (twice at the library, 3 times at dinner...).

Note: Always have supplies for toddlers in your purse... AND remember to take your purse to the restroom.  Mama left the purse on the bench.  I got a surprise.  I pulled his pants down to use the restroom and well, it was messy.  I ended up leaving his underpants in the trash because I didn't have anything to put them in...
Also - ALWAYS make sure the stall you choose has toilet paper.  Ugh.  Messy.

So I decided that since he had already emptied himself, we were pretty good to go.  He could continue to wear his shorts and just walk around "free" underneath.

Bad choice.
Bad choice.

Don't do that.

We went to Barnes & Noble (Felicity, this is the part I don't want you to read) because the boys wanted to play with the train set and read books.  Also I was hoping to see Felicity, who had a rough day yesterday and could certainly use a hug.

Well, they played.. until.. my boy stopped playing.  He said, "I pooped."

Daddy.. oh daddy... he checked (remember the boys is free, no underpants to contain mess) - as soon as daddy pulled out the shorts to check... **PLOP**

Fortunately, I had napkins in my purse.  I quickly cleaned up the floor at the bookstore.  Handed daddy a shopping bag to put under dear Cassius in order to contain any seeping or further messing.  Daddy scooped him up and carried him outside.

Admit it. Have you ever done a parking lot change?  We're pretty good at making those work - usually we can find a little grassy area close to the van to lay the boys on so it's a bit more cozy.. not today though.

I figured we would clean him up, change his pants, and head back in to finish our shopping.  BUT... well, sometimes things are messy.  He has this bizarre poo sometimes that just won't wipe off.  It crumbles - he HAD to have a bath, it was all over his leg.. and wouldn't wipe off.  SO.. I put him in a pair of pants I just bought for his 7 year old cousin.  I figured that would contain the mess so that it didn't get on his car seat while we drove home.

And then ... I remembered something we needed at the hardware store.  So we decided to stop over there.  Mr. Crum suggested we not take this boy inside because the pants were too big to stay up.  Mama.. yes, mamas are creative and brilliant at times... pulled out a pair of shorts to put over the pants that were too big and quite lovely, might I add.

Messy.  I love my boys.  I even like the potty training phase with all the strange situations that it can cause.  Tomorrow I'll remember to take my purse with me to the bathroom.

Do you have a potty training story to share?

Super Undies: Review & Giveaway

Super Undies are top of the line training pants!

 Monkey feels comfortable in Super Undies, even though he generally wears "regular" undies.  He does not seem to notice these are thicker.

Crackers is uninhibited by Super Undies.  They help him rise to new feats!  He's still got a full range of motion and the legs and waist stay snug enough while he moves to keep spills off of my floor.

Do you want to know more? Watch this video.

Crackers tries them out for the first time...

Mommy Lesson #8: Don't ask

Moral: Don't ask why...

Okay, I worked in a residential facility with abused young boys for several years.  One thing my boss told us again and again was this: DON'T ASK WHY.  His main reason?  It's nearly impossible to satisfactorily answer the question "why".  For instance, "Why did you hit Jimmy in the face?"  "Well.. see, he was looking at me mean..." Right, there's not a GOOD answer to the question "Why".

I know this, I promise.. I really do.

Tonight while we were at church one of the "pretty girls" came to tell me that Monkey had "an accident".  (We don't use that phrase at home, but that's okay, I knew what she meant - he had wet his pants).  I made my way slowly to the room where the kids were playing (I go everywhere slowly right now).  

Monkey was waiting for me in the bathroom with wet pants.  He wasn't anxious about this, he doesn't get in trouble for it - he's 3.. he's still learning and I figure if I don't make a real big deal about it, it won't be a behavior issue later (ie, I'm mad at you so I'm going to pee my pants in this public place to embarrass you).  This is a lesson I learned from a former foster son.

As I got down on the floor to change Monkey's pants, I asked him the unanswerable question...

"Why did you wet your pants?"

"Ummm... "

"Why did you go potty in your pants?"

"Pretty girl say I have to".

There you have it - my son wet his pants because the pretty girl (babysitter) said he had to do it.  LOL.  I am certain they did not tell him that... I've got to remind myself not to ask dumb questions!

Underpants

 Ah the wonderful world of toddler underpants.  We've struggled our way into this world for at least a year now.  Monkey started wearing them around 1 1/2, some of the time.  I had him wearing them during the day, when our older kids were in school.  Then came summer time - we had 1 foster child and he was home all day, so Monkey didn't wear underpants.  I may be weird, but I don't really like cleaning 5 pair of pants and underwear every day and we just don't have enough to wait a few days between washing!  So this summer, we stopped. 

Then we started again in September, after our foster children had both moved to other places.  Monkey did really well with underpants, he even pooped in the potty several times.  Late that month he got sick and had diarrhea for over a month straight, I wish I was exaggerating.  I did not want to deal with THAT mess, so he wore diapers.  Once he was healthy again it was really easy for me to be lazy and only put him in his underpants when I felt like dealing with the mess. 

Now in January I got really serious, my boy is 2 1/2 and I think he looks silly in a diaper.  He wears underpants every day, and he wants to wear them when he's sleeping!  I sometimes let him, but I still don't like the mess, so he usually sleeps in a diaper.  After his ridiculous run of diarrhea, he did not want to poop in the potty any more.  Oh that made me crazy.

Suddenly, this week - my boy sat on the potty at bed time and pooped.  He looked up and grinned at us and told us "Na-ee make poop!"
Hooray for the magic of toddler underpants!!!