Plan P

I had one of those days where I looked around and thought, "OMG, is this seriously my life right now??" It was sparked when Luccio decided last night to be done with diapers and wear Big Boy underwear. All fine and dandy except for the small fact that he is completely un-potty trained and hasn't had a dry diaper in his life! With that said, I jumped at the opportunity to have him start to train and put the underwear on and sent him to bed for the night, Oh boy! It went ok. He slept all night and woke up in a puddle of pee. But, he seemed unfazed and even changed his own sheet. I was impressed. 5 pairs of underwear and 2 sets of sheets later... Let's just say it was a long morning!

At one point he realized he had to poop. He knew he shouldn't go in his underwear and he wasn't going to be given a pull-up so a fiasco ensued. He was sitting on the toilet screaming and crying and wanting me to help him. I tried reasoning with him and rubbing his back to no avail. The baby was screaming her head off needing to be fed and angry to be left out of the excitement happening in the bathroom. And Cenzo was beside himself because his brother was getting so much attention, so he decided he needed the potty immediately!!! So Luccio screamed louder, Isabella continued crying and Cenzo started in on the yelling raising his voice over the commotion and trying to pry his brother off the toilet.

I thought for a moment that crying myself would be a good option, but I was honestly afraid once I started I might not be able to stop. So I came up with Plan B or Plan P(oop).

I thought of what my mother-in-law has said about "finding the right currency." Apparently, according to Dr. Phil you just have to find the right motivation for the kid and then the pooping on the potty follows. So, I showed Luccio a GIANT lollipop that I had gotten over the weekend at a toy store in NYC! I told him it was a "Poop Pop" and that if he could be brave and make poop happen in the potty he could have it. Then, I decided to go out to the car to get the portable little potty and bring it into the bathroom. Luccio liked that one and and Cenzo was happy to get the "big" toilet. I put Isabella in her carseat and set her in the bathroom doorway with a toy and a pacifier. I sat on a stool in between the potties and read books to the poopers. Thank God for Prudence!! She is the star of the Once Upon A Potty Book. And let me tell you she is one determined little girl. So the boys love hearing about how Prudence sat and sat and sat...until finally...she pooped!! Luccio had me reading that story again and again. And then finally...he pooped!!! OMG!!! Such excitement. Cenzo was congratulating him and then we made a big ceremony of flushing the poop. After hand were washed and he was dressed he wanted his Poop Pop. Cenzo got one too for being such an amazing and supportive brother! Both boys were surprised that the pops "don't taste like poop, only pee." Ughh!! I had to explain that they are not actually poop flavored they are regular lollipops to celebrate the poop milestone. Yeah, whatever Mama.

Several phone calls were made with the big announcement to all of the grandparents and Daddy. Luccio was very unhappy that we reached all voice mails and no one was talking back. Luckily, Stregga happened to have seen the message on her cell and called back within a few minutes. He invited her to his Poop Party!! He doesn't forget a thing. I had told him back in the early spring that if he pooped on the potty he could have a party. And so he held me to my word. Stregga and Aunt Grace showed up with cupcakes and presents!! He got 25 pairs of new underwear and a water squirter. Does it get better???

I have no idea how tomorrow will go and frankly I am nervous about just how many pairs of underwear I may have to wash (or throw away.) And we are venturing out to meet friends at the park which could turn into a total nightmare situation. But, I have to think could it get any crazier than spending 2 hours of my morning sitting in the tiniest bathroom in the world with all 3 of my children crammed in reading books?? I have never in my life wanted a house with 5 bathrooms and a maid to clean them more than I did today!! But, I made it through, the kids made it through. And the bathroom seemed to have survived. Although with 2 toddler boys using it I had to spray it down with some heavy duty cleaners at the end of the day. But, it's all good. And the fun part is I get to do it all again tomorrow...and the next day...

Pee break, who's gotta go??

So today we ventured out in the snow to go to Toddler Gym Class. Not smart, but a better alternative to staying home all day with two busy boys who needed to burn off energy!
It was an interesting day...

It started with trying to get out the front door, literally. The walkway wasn't shoveled and Cenzo was worried that it was "too slippy" to walk on. So he refused! And Luccio followed suit. We were in the middle of a stand off with me at the bottom of the stairs trying to coax them down and the boys at the top of the stairs shouting "NO, too slippy!" Luckily, our neighbor Liz took pity on us. She came running over with her shovel and cleared the walkway and then carried Cenzo to the car for me. What a Saint that woman is!! She always shows up at just the right moment.

So we made it to the car and off our street and the roads were fine. Apparently the plow trucks only skip our road. We arrived safely to Gym Class. It was my first time in weeks taking the boys there alone. Usually I beg my mom to come or the boys Physical Therapist comes with us (basically because she gets paid too.)

I was just a smidge smug about the fact that we made it from the car into the building and up the stairs without incident. I was ALMOST feeling relaxed and in control. And then I walked into the gym and found Cenzo at the top of the climbing station peeing a stream down onto the floor. It was spraying like a fountain!!

I didn't know what to do first. There was a crowd of moms and kids standing around, great! I didn't want to scare Cenzo by screaming "STOP!!!!." So instead I picked him up, soaking wet pants and all and moved him to a safer spot. Then I attempted to soak up the puddle with tissues, which obviously wasn't effective. Thankfully, the teacher came over and assisted me. She said to get Cenz into the bathroom and change him and she would clean the mess. She even had spare pants. She is such a professional!!

So within minutes a Pull-Up and clean pants were on Cenzo and he was back to playing and Ms Colleen had cleaned and sanitized the play area and life was good again! I was mortified and apologizing profusely to Cenzo and Ms. Colleen, but neither was fazed my the incident. Wisely, Ms. Colleen informed me this isn't the first accident of its kind and surely won't be the last.

So, lessons learned:
1.) Do NOT put a newly training 2 year old in underwear for gym class- use a Pull-Up
2.) ALWAYS carry spare pants!!!
3.) Do not overreact, it's only pee!
4.) The other moms do not care if pee has gotten onto the toys and mats, they just want to know how to get their kids interested in potty training and wearing underwear too!

Gym Class has been such a learning experience for the boys and I. It is a wonderful group of moms and kids. The boys are able to safely explore. And I am able to be comfortable enough to learn life lessons without feeling like the World's Dumbest Mama.

Potty Time Ponderings

I kept hearing stories of how hard it is to Potty Train boys. So many books I read said boys train later than girls and that starting too early could set them back, etc. As my boys second birthday approached I started hearing advice and stories about potty training from everyone. My mom, aka Stregga, said I should start introducing the potty around 18 months . So we bought a little one that looks like a real toilet and has its own fake toilet paper and flusher. It even plays music. The boys thought it was great, they sat on it and played music and danced to the tune that we call "The Poop Song." No one wanted to pee or poop on it though.

Over the summer a couple months before their 2nd birthday I was going to put in effort to train them. But, my mother in law, aka Grandma, said it was too soon. She taught preschool for 27 years and had 3 sons of her own. She said they need to understand being wet and dry etc. And she reminded me that once they were training I would have to find every public restroom out there in the world. UGH!! That didn't sound like fun. So I happily put it off. Even SuperNanny Jo Frost said in her book that 2 1/2 is optimal, I had plenty of time.

So I had a plan that in January after the holidays I would start the training/teaching of The Potty. For Christmas I bought a new plain potty chair without music, underwear, and books. Once the hussle of and bussle of holiday craziness was over I would beging the process.

Well Cenzo had other ideas. His plan was to start training himself 3 days before Christmas. So in the middle of holiday shopping, wrapping and last minute baking Cenzo thought the bathroom seemed like a fun place to spend most of the day!


The first day the poor little guy was so constipated (a first for him) and for some reason this sparked his mind to think of the toilet. He had himself convinced that he must all of a sudden use the potty. So for hours he ran back and forth to bathroom. But, try as he did nothing came of it. He was screaming and crying and pushing but to no avail. I kept giving him fruit juice and was (not so secretly) hoping he would just go in his diaper.

The next day he woke up and exclaimed "Potty now!" And so it began all over again. Luckily Godfather showed up mid-morning with an early Christmas gift-a power wheel car they could drive! So we took a break form the excruciating scen in the bathroom to play with the new car. That must have relaxed Cenzo's mind as well as other things because he ran to the bathroom and sat on his potty and exclaimed "a giant poopy Mama!" There was rejoicing like nobody's business. We screamed and clapped and carried on. And then we flushed that giant poop down the toilet and bid it farewell. He ran off to play with his new car and has been potty training ever since.

We carried the potty with us through the holidays to all of the Christmas parties. When Cenzo took off to the bathroom during Christmas Eve dinner at Grandma's everyone in the dining room was close enough to hear him crying and fighting to get out more poop. And when he met with success the family cheered and Uncle Richie sang a beautiful rendition of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." It was a beautiful holiday!

As we have moved into the New Year, potty training has progressed. Since we made some calls to Santa from Cenzo's imaginary cellphone, he knew to deliver underpants with Mickey Mouse and Cars on them. So Cenzo has been proudly wearing those underpants for most of the day with very few accidents. And the pooping has gotten much easier (thanks to laxative, fruit juice and a round of antibiotics for an ear infection!)

So, in spite of my apathy and laziness, my two year old has potty trained himself and he is now working on training his twin brother. His brother by the way is his best audience during potty time. Cenzo always makes sure to call out "Luccio listen" right before lets out any toots or pee!! And of course, Luccio listens and claps, overjoyed at his Cenzo's magical powers!!!