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Having three young children means tripling a lot of things ― triple the fun, triple the love and ― oh yes ― triple the diapers. On average, I'd say we go through about 30 diapers a day.
For those not familiar with the world of diapers, 30 diapers may not seem like so much when they're new, but when these diapers get peed and pooped on, they suddenly take on a whole new weight and shape. You don't want to go near too many. They're heavy and they stink.
After a little over a month with my newborn Baby C in the house, I realized the only way to save myself from drowning in diapers is to potty train the twins.
My girls are a little shy of 19 months now so it may be a bit too early in today's standards. I have plenty of friends whose kids are almost three years old and still rely on diapers, so when I floated the idea of potty training, many of them doubted that the twins are even ready.
Naturally, I went online and did some research. I found a potty training readiness checklist, which asks whether your child can walk and run, dislikes the feeling of wearing a dirty diaper, shows interest in the toilet, indicates she's having a bowel movement and demonstrates a desire for independence.
Considering my girls answer yes to most of the questions, I figured why not give it a try?
Deciding that we're ready was the easy part, the tough part is figuring out how to go about this huge endeavor. Once accomplished, potty training ― in my opinion ― will definitely be one of the biggest milestones for the girls.
I don't know why I never even thought of Googling the word ''potty training.'' Just a quick search and it's like I've opened up an entirely new world of parenting ― more than 10 million search results on everything I ever need to know about teaching my children how to use the potty.
There are top five most common methods parents go with: Train in a day, timer method, the naked and $75 technique, child-centered training, and potty training boot camp.
Interesting names.
Each of these methods slightly vary in approach, but ultimately, it's after one common goal. After reviewing each of the techniques, I leaned towards the train-in-a-day method. I don't know, let's just say, I like the name. Anything that's done in a day, I'm all for it.
The most important premise of this method is to go ''cold-turkey'' with diapers right off the bat.
Mom and dad announce one morning that there will be no more diapers. The child is left diaperless for a set amount of time while they learn how to use the toilet. Throughout the process, the child may or may not successfully go in the potty. If, God willing, they do, that's when parents need to go totally ballistic with praise and rewards.
OK, so I have it down theoretically.
How will theory play out in the real world? That's the big question.
I first need to have all the right tools ready.
A proper potty training seat is a must first and foremost so I checked out what's available. Of course, not surprisingly, there are way too many related products to choose from.
Will my child want to entertain herself with Pororo while trying to pee or a Disney princess while she poops? I decided to do what I usually do ― go with the most popular item.
I ordered one without much hesitation, but further research tells me that I need two separate seats for two separate children. I wasn't convinced that the twins will each need one, but experienced parents say the last thing a child needs during potty training is to have to wait and hold while the other one goes.
Sounds pretty reasonable, so I guess I'll have to buy another.
Besides the seat, I'll also need to purchase pull-up pants, toilet footsteps and a bunch of stickers to use as part of my rewards system.
I'm sure back in the day, potty training wasn't this elaborate. I know I sure didn't get any stickers for using the potty. But apparently, this is how things are done today.
I haven't decided exactly when I'll break out the news to my girls, but it will be in the next week or so. Not sure how they will handle saying goodbye to their beloved diapers.
The whole experience can turn out to be a nightmare or a dream come true. Let's see what happens.
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