Documenting the various milestones of our two little girls was one of the primary reasons we started Letterfolk. So when we saw Tori capturing that eventful moment of toddlerhood called "potty training" with her two girls, we were relating on all kinds of levels. Her answers did not disappoint, and we were relieved to find out that we weren't the only ones to come out of potty training two girls with some great stories.
To start off, tell us the story behind this photo.
Potty training is a huge step towards our daughter moving from a baby to becoming a "big girl," as she calls it. I wanted to commemorate and celebrate our two-year-old's potty training journey in pictures as much as possible.
Did you have any failures when you started potty training your girls?
Yes! I'll put it this way: our two-year-old has great bladder control. But once she finally agreed to sit on the potty and go for the first time, she rocked it from then on.
Ultimately, what was the eventual method of success?
For both of my girls, I only needed to use one method: 3 Day Potty Training, by Lora Jensen. It's a VERY intense three days of 100% commitment to the training, but so worth it. Unbelievably, both our daughters were trained in less than three days!
How did potty training one child compare to the other? Was one easier than the other?
When our second child was born I thought "She's a girl just like our first, and she looks just like our first; of course she is going to be a smaller clone of our first." Boy, was I wrong! She is extraordinarily independent, whereas our first loves to have our help. That being said, it was no surprise our second was harder to train in the very beginning, but once she gave up a bit of control and made up her mind to be "all in," there was no stopping her. Although as I think about it now, she probably realized this is another thing she can have complete control over!!
What is the best potty training story you will tell your kids years from now when they are adults?
First off, for those that are reading this that aren't parents, I have to apologize; I never thought I would be writing about poop; but when you become a parent, it seems nothing is off limits. So while this is not a potty training story, it fits in the category. When my eldest daughter was 16 months or so, while visiting my parents at their beach house, she got a really bad case of diaper rash. So we were letting her run around naked in the house. All of the sudden, my daughter gave me a weird look and I knew, I knew she was going to poop. I literally had one second to think. My thought was, "Oh no, my parent's new floor." So I cupped my hands under that cute little bottom. Immediately following, I was so flustered and grossed out I was running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off saying, "What do I do with it, so gross, what do I do with it?" My mom looked at me with tears rolling down her face from laughter: "Put it in the toilet where it belongs!" When the ordeal was all over, she looked at me and said, "Welcome to motherhood, isn't it glamorous?"
Are your kids masters on the toilet at this point or is it still a work in progress?
Ha ha, I don't know about masters; but our four-year-old is as close as they come, even at night. Our two-year-old has yet to have an accident during the day. At night, she wears pull-ups and I'm glad of it! The book would disagree with the pull-ups at night, but one thing I have learned as a mom is that nothing is an exact science; you gotta do what works for you.
Lastly, we always like to ask: what is currently up on your letter board?
One of my favorite ways to use my letter boards is to document moments for our family in pictures, things I want to remember. Currently, my girls are trying to understand the concept of time. Saying we will be there in "10 minutes" means nothing to them; but saying we will be there in "1 Daniel Tiger" does. We don't have a TV in the car, but they can understand how long their favorite show lasts. Our other, more stationary, letter board reads "She has fire in her soul and grace in her heart." It reminds me of the Christ follower, wife, mother, and friend I want to be.
