Wonderful Wednesday; RAK, Bedtime, & Diaper Free

Wonderful Wednesday Series

We NEED more positive in this world. It does not have to be elaborate, though that is always welcome, and can be a simple picture or a short few sentences of something, someone, anything, that you think is wonderful. If you feel inclined to do the same, be sure to leave a link to your Wonderful Wednesday in the comment section so others may enjoy it as well!

Wonderful #1; Random Acts of Kindness

Monday after Speech Therapy, I needed to grab a few groceries. The boys have not been the best behaved while shopping recently so I gave them a pep talk before heading into target. I let them know we were there for groceries only & we would not be looking at or going anywhere near the toys, or book, or bedding (they are obsessed with blankets but will only sleep with the quilts they've had since infancy)

So everyone promised no crying or screaming & we headed straight towards the grocery dept. I grabbed what we needed as quick as I could & headed to checkout. While I manage to fit everything on the rack under the shopping cart while shopping it never seems to fit under there once bagged. Since my cart was full of boys I grabbed another cart to put the now bagged groceries in & dragged it behind me with one hand while I pushed the boys in front of me. Just as we reached Starbucks near the exit a woman coming in asked if she could push my cart out for me. YES, PLEASE!!! :)

When the boys were babies & I was pushing the limo of all strollers I used to get offered help by store employees all the time, It made getting groceries so easy & honestly was nice to have an adult (usually) to talk to for a half hour or so. That hasn't happened for a while now so it was a really, REALLY nice gesture for this random woman to push my cart for me & obviously also very helpful :)

Wonderful #2; Bedtime

Yesterday we woke up to gloomy skies once again. We've had more rainy days than not over the past couple of weeks & they are usually several consecutive days of rain. The boys had been cooped up in the apartment  & were probably going to explode if they didn't get to run of some energy soon. So I double checked that they were indeed open first & then announced we were going to the bounce house place. The boys were super excited & a bit confused. They call the place we went while visiting grandma "the BIG bounce house" & their cousin Chandler has a bounce house at home, so they thought we were going to see grandma or chandler at first. We haven't been to the one here often because it is only open two days a week for 3 hours first thing in the morning.

Garren jumping through an obstacle

Kellan climbing over & Caden coming through another obstacle

Garren going the wrong way

Kellan & Caden getting ready to slide down

Kellan swinging on a kid sized swing

Caden having a blast!!!

Caden & Garren getting in a little Air Hockey action

The boys had an awesome time, running & jumping & diving through the obstacle courses & sliding down the slides. They bounced non stop for 2 hours before deciding they were "done." They proclaimed their hunger so I called Donna to see if she wanted some lunch & we picked up some food & headed to her station to eat with her. The boys love 'working' at her station, I'm sure they just mix things up but they move boxed from cart to cart & push them around the office. 

When we left Donna's station the boys asked to go to the playground. I thought they had to be tired but they apparently still had energy to burn so I obliged & we headed to the nearest playground. They ran & climbed & slid some more before we finally headed home, 5 hours after we left that morning. When Donna got home after work she mentioned wanting to shower before the boys went to bed & I told her she should go ahead & go then because I didn't think they would make it until 8. While she was showing one by one, they put themselves to bed, lol... Donna came out & asked where everyone was, in bed & passed out by 7:30. What could be more WONDERFUL?!? 

Wonderful #3; Diaper Free at Last

We are officially diaper free!!! We ran out of diapers last week & despite 2 boys who still only wanted to poop in a diaper I decided we weren't buying anymore & hoped that they would go on the potty & not constipated themselves. Well, it worked! When they asked for a diaper I told them we were all out. They asked to go to the store to get more & I said we couldn't, I told them they were big boys & could sit on the potty. I offered the reward of a sucker when they went which I had been doing for Caden since he had been going, hoping the other 2 would want in on the action. 

Running out also meant no more night time diapers. I was fairly certain that G was just being lazy by peeing in his nighttime diaper & was fairly confident that without the convenience of a diaper he would be able to go all night. C & K had been waking dry since they originally potty trained so I didn't foresee any issues there. I was right about G, no nighttime accidents. None for C either. Surprisingly K has had a few so we are going to work on liming drinks even earlier (I already stop drinks 2 hours prior to bed) or limiting the amount he gets at dinner.

WOOHOO!!! No more diapers!!!

If you are participating in the Wonderful Wednesday series, don't forget to leave a link to your post in the comments :)

Summer Bucket List; POTTY TRAIN CADEN!!!

This is what I have been the most anxious about to get checked off our Summer Bucket List!!!

I really thought it would be the hardest thing on the list to accomplish.

I had hoped that Caden would follow his brothers leads & just decide he was done with diapers one day, but he didn't. I thought I was going to have to get all hard core & go with the 3 Day Potty Training method to get him to use the potty but I didn't have to do that either. I simply took his diaper off & kept an eye on him until I thought he had to go... He peed on the floor without me catching him the first time. The second time I caught him mid steam & got him to the toilet in time for him to finish there. Since he got some in the potty I praised him & gave him a couple 'nummies.' (Nummies are whatever little treat we have on hand at the moment, ie mini m&m's, fruit/gummy snacks, Reece's pieces, even yogurt covered raises work, lol...) This seemed to do the trick for Caden & he's been peeing in the potty every since :) We are even already venturing out of the house in just underwear (no pull-ups) & doing great so far.

 

I'm loving that all 3 boys are now using the toilet, for peeing anyways. Number 2 is another story for Kellan & Garren but I'm sure just something we need to stand firm on to get them over the hump. They both ask for a diaper when they have to poop, they don't have accidents but absolutely refuse to go #2 on the potty. Any tips or advise would be greatly appreciated! Caden has asked for a diaper but will go on the potty once told to. He is of course still figuring that feeling out. 

I still put the boys in a diaper at night. Kellan always wakes up dry, he has since he first potty trained but I like my sleep too much & really don't want to be stripping sheets in the middle of the night if someone were o have an accident. Lazy I know but sleep is oh so precious around here these days!

It's that time again... well actually its for a new website this time...
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 Thanks in advance!

Potty Training Triplets & Avoiding Public Restrooms

I don't know about other triplet families or families with multiple children period, but potty time in this house is chaos! One of the boys will decided they have to potty & all 3 head to the bathroom. One will decide between the toilet or the potty chair, meanwhile one is already flushing the toilet while the third is either running the water in the sink or the bath tub. All the while I am trying to get to the bathroom in time to make sure the one who actually had to pee is aiming correctly & not peeing all over the toilet or the floor.

With this much chaos at home I shutter at the thought of taking the boys into a public bathroom! I was actually adventurous enough to take them all into the restroom at the speech therapists office & I'm pretty sure not only did everyone in the waiting area hear us but the entire office heard me hollering at the boys to "get out of the trash," "turn off the water," "leave the toilet paper alone," & my favorite "get your hand out of the toilet while your brother is peeing!"

I've kept a potty chair in the van since Garren started potty training a few months ago because he wasn't saying when he had to go when we were out, so I just had to have him try in between stops. Kellan has always been great about telling us when he has to go, but to avoid taking 3 kids into a public bathroom by myself I have each of the boys potty before we head into wherever we are, especially the playground! It never fails that one of the boys is always at the very top of the playground when another announces he has to go potty :-/

So that's my solution to avoiding dirty public restrooms & public restroom chaos, a potty chair in the van. Also a surplus of restaurant napkins/paper towels/baby wipes to wipe out the potty chair after emptying it (I park near a grassy median & dump the urine there) & some hand sanitizer to keep the good hygiene going. :)

Happy potty training to everyone else out there who's going through it right now! :)

It's Easy...When They're Ready!

Very wise words from a fellow blogger with 4 boys (& a girl) of her own!

When they're ready, potty training is easy.

Kellan woke up Monday morning & decided he did not want to wear a diaper, he wanted to 'pee pee on potty' & that is exactly what he has been doing! 

Garren wanted to run around in the buff while potty training & it worked out well for him so that is what I'm doing with Kellan also. Kellan is more interested in underwear though & wanted to wear a pair yesterday. We gave it a try in the morning but he couldn't get them off fast enough & had an accident (his only one) standing next to the potty chair. He was so upset about it even though I reassured him it was ok. He went without undies the rest of the day but when he's ready to try wearing them again I'll have him go shirtless so it's easier for him to pull his underwear down. 

He's been very independent & hasn't needed any reminders from me. He also tries to go when I ask him to before nap time, bed time or if we are going out. 

While Garren decided on his own & was pretty easy to potty train also, he's had his quirks. I'm kind of in disbelief how easy it has been so far with our usually quirky Kellan! :)

A couple weeks ago Kellan decided he had to have a hat on when we went out, no matter what the weather was & it's been in the upper 70's & 80's recently. Here are a few pics of his 'hat of the day' 

If you're on Instagram you can see more by finding me, springtrips or #kellanshatoftheday 

And It Begins...

After chatting friday with my good friend Jennifer about how potty training was going I decided it was time to really start getting these boys potty trained. We've been kind of nonchalant about it, the potty chairs are out & around the house. The boys sit on them, play with them, wear them as hats... But no one had actually peed in one of them.

Saturday, Day 1

Garren has been wearing underwear at home for a couple months now without having accidents. The only thing was that he would ask for a diaper when he had to go & WOULD NOT go in a potty chair or in the toilet. I tried candy (gummy vitamins really) & stickers but none of it was incentive enough to get him to go.

He always makes a big deal when we run out of something or they eat the last of something. He carries the empty package around to his brothers saying "all done" & showing them the empty package. So I decided that this morning I would tell him the diapers are all gone. He did go to the cabinet to verify. He held his bladder most of the morning boycotting even sitting on the potty & finally after about 3 hours he announced he had to pee pee & sat on the potty chair. He still resisted going & kept asking me for my scissors. (We had started making Christmas ornaments & I was cutting out paper shapes.) Garren kept insisting on holding my scissors & I remembered that I had picked up some safety scissors from the dollar spot for stocking stuffers. I grabbed a pair & told Garren if he peed in the potty he could have his very own pair of scissors. He got quiet & stared off at the tv then suddenly announced "all done!" I didn't hear anything so looked to see if he had peed & HE DID! For a pair of scissors, lol!!!

About an hour later Garren walked over & kind of leaned forward over the potty chair like he was going to pee standing up, he ended up sitting backwards on the chair & went again. He got excited about carrying the potty to dump it & since the boys are all obsessed with washing their hands, he got to do that too. It became a game at that point & he went 2 more times, one without me asking & then right before nap time when I did ask him to go again.

After naps he was a bit reluctant to give up his pull up but I took it anyways. It was a little while before he peed again but he did go in the potty chair & went several more times throughout the afternoon/evening. The only accident he had was when he spilled the potty while carrying it to dump it.

Right before bed time I asked him to go one more time & he refused so I broke out the bribery treats this time & offered him some "nummies" if he peed one more time & he did. I gave him 2 smarties for going.

Garren didn't poop today but I think he did have to. I heard him say "no no poop" a couple times while holding his butt. I tried to reassure him that he could poop in the potty too & offered a sucker/lollipop if he did. He never did but tomorrow is another day!

Sunday, Day 2

Garren resisted giving up his pull up again this morning but got over it quickly & used the potty first thing this morning :)

The morning was a little rough though. He tried really hard to not poop, he's not ready to poop in the potty chair so he's just trying to hold it. I've been encouraging him & trying to let him know its ok, i even tried offering a bigger reward, a tootsie pop! I don't have anymore craft supplies to offer right now, lol... The poop eventually came out despite his best efforts & didn't make it into the potty :( no big deal was made though, we just picked it up with some toilet paper & flushed it. 

He also had a pee accident this morning, I don't know why? After the boys took their bath he kept grabbing himself & whimpering a bit, he had to go but for some reason didn't want to sit on the potty & eventually just couldn't hold it anymore. After this I decided incentives & rewards were in order to keep up with using the potty chair. After naps everything went back to normal (our new normal since yesterday) He used the potty chair, sometimes with a reminder & sometimes on his own. I offered an incentive if it had been a while & a reward when he went, if I forgot he was quick to remind me & even cheered for himself.

We had a bit more poop drama this evening & just missed getting on the potty in time :-/

I'm really not sure what to do to make him feel comfortable pooping in the potty??? 

Overall I think Garren is doing great! I need to start with Caden & Kellan but I'm honestly very afraid of how that is going to go!

Monday, Day 3

Garren continued to do great today!

He still protests when I take his pull up off in the morning & after naps.

I had to do some grocery shopping today so I put a pull up on him when we went out.

We're having to remind him to sit on the potty especially if he really gets into whatever he is doing/playing. He had an accident while watching Cars this afternoon but I think he was just distracted.

Tuesday, Day 4

Today was another good day but I remembered Garren didn't poop yesterday so I was on the lookout all day...

He had one accident, it just seems to happen when he is into something & probably doesn't want to stop. I need to set a timer or stay closer maybe to see signs or remind him to sit on the potty.

He never did poop.

Wednesday, Day 5

Garren is still resisting having his pull up taken off after sleeping. Sometimes I feel really bad & like maybe I'm forcing him to potty train when he's not ready??? He protested wearing diapers during the day before we started this adventure, so I think maybe he just likes to protest?

We had more poop drama today & still haven't made it to the potty chair in time, everyone says we just have to wait it out & eventually he will poop in the potty. He also had 2 accidents today, but he peed on the potty no less than 30 times today. It's a game when he wants a smartie & he will push out even just a couple drops to get the reward, lol...

Caden & Kellan have paid no mind to Garren using the potty, even though we cheer & clap our hands when he goes & I announce loudly that he's getting a nummy for peeing on the potty.

I'm going to assume they just aren't ready & I'm not going to push it right this minute. It will give me time to just focus on Garren & I will revisit the idea with them after Christmas. Maybe by then they will have taken notice of Garren & his rewards?