Toilet Learning Twins - Part 4 - Prepared Environment

Baby Bjorn Smart Potty from The EC Store

 

We have three potties and all of our potties are Baby Bjorn Smart Potties. Two in white and one red. The white potties are set up at the potty station. I have to admit the location as moved several times since the beginning our toilet learning adventures. The red one is for emergency catches.

The main reason I brought potties and included potty time as part of our routine was A. A has been waking most mornings dry since she was 10 months old. The only occasions she has been wet in the morning has been illness, teething, when she is unsettled, and a few day after she started walking. So our toilet learning has been lead by her.

Baby Bjorn Potty Chair from The EC Store

I really liked the Baby Bjorn Potty Chair, however my girls were too little to sit on this potty at 10 months, so the Baby Bjorn Smart Potty was a good option for us. Though I am considering, purchasing a pre-loved one if I see a listing on Ebay.

Both of these potties have an inset bowl, which makes emptying and cleaning the bowls easy. An additional feature is the rubber rim so the potty will not slip on the floor (great for tiled floors.) I felt this was important as A&G were only crawling when we first started toilet learning. My girls have tried to push their potties around the house (like a walker) only to discard it, because it required more effort to push; in comparison to their cube chairs.

We live in Brisbane and have lovely weather for 9 to 10 months of the year so nappy free time is fairly achievable.  When the potties arrived by mail it was towards the end of our Autumn and a few weeks later we were into winter. Rather than ramp up the potty regime I kept the potty routine to the morning after waking and the evening after dinner.

Over the winter we have had some successes and some failures, especially once they started walking. We are now into our Spring and our toileting routine has been expanded to included more nappy free time, more time in training pants, and more opportunities to sit on the potty.

The Family Toilet Seat

One weekend we went on a shopping trip and A was still wearing a pair of Imse Vimse training pants during our outing. When we arrived at our destination I thought, she will need to go for a wee. I had taken a potty (the red one), which was in the back of the car, but thought I would try the public toilets.

Much to my surprise the ladies bathroom had one toilet which had a family seat.

What is a family seat?

A family seat is a toilet seat which includes a seat for an adult and another one for a child. Basically it has a built in toddler seat, so no need for a toilet seat reducer.

I placed the smaller seat down, perched A on the toilet, crouched in front of her, so she would feel safe and secure. She looked around, smiled and relaxed enough to go for a wee. A very long wee!

So I decided we needed to have one those for home. The girls are too little at the moment to use it, but you never know when you are out and about what might need to use. I also like to have the option of practising at home (for fun) and eventually I could use this to transition them to the big toilet in the future.


A trip to our local hardwear store (Masters, for the Australian readers) and I was lucky enough to buy the very last Bemis Next Steps Family toilet seat (total cost $69.40) Later we will buy a step for them to use. Mostly likely one from Ikea, like the Molger step stool on the left.



So far  I've found that you can never have enough potties. Something I learnt very early in our adventures. An urgent need for a potty occures

• at nappy free time, or
• when they do the nudie run, or
• when you find out they have hidden the potty, or
• a mere minute after they have gotten off the potty and run down the hallway

When you need a potty quickly it is never close enough. I am not suggesting that you have a potty in each room, but if you are planning on starting toileting learning twins and only using one potty you will find yourself having to purchase at least another two potties eventually. A potty for each child and one for emergency catches. Should you have an child who is not ready or uninterested, you may find that they become interested and will want to sit on the potty as well, not necessarily to use the potty, but to copy their sibling. If you have very understanding patient twins who can take turns, by all means by all mean go with the one potty. I've found from time to time when I place one twin on the red potty (emergency potty time) the other twin want to sit on the potty as well, if I'm not quick enough to redirect or grab one of the other potties we end up with a push shove incident which ends in a climatic show of tears.

 

Potty Central

Potty Central Station

Our main potty station is set up outside the main toilet (we have two toilets, the other one is in the ensuite.) I tried several locations which were closer to the rooms we spend most of our time, but I have found this location work best for us for the following reasons,

• it is opposite the main toilet
• beside the main toilet is the laundry
• has the space to fit two potties
• to the left is the bathroom
• it is at the end of our hallway, this means less distractions



Main Potty Station

This is our main potty set up and these are the main items we have

• the two potties
• a bath mat
• a basket of books
• wipes

The bath mat designates the area allocated for the potty station, it is also comfortable under foot. The more comfortable the experience, the longer they sit. Ensure you buy several large bath mats, ones that are large enough for two potties. There will be accidents and you will need a replacement whilst it is in the wash. Trust me it's easier to throw a mat in the wash than it is to mop the floors, especially when you have twins. 

 

The basket of books is a must. They will spend time reading the books, or you will spend time reading to them whilst they are sitting on the potty. The longer they sit on the potty, the more likely they will go potty, and one step closer they will be to understanding how their body works and eventually where you would prefer them to go pee pee or poo poo.

 

I found I did not have enough books, so if you are reading this and researching I recommend buying additional books you think might be interesting reading at potty time. The books I have at the potty station are what I refer to as special books just for potty time, they are not books that are read to them as part of their midday reading or night time routine. If they bring me a book from the potty station basket I take that as a sign they need to go potty. We make out way to potty central for potty time and I the book to them whilst they are on the potty.

 

Wash Hands

 

If you are going to start potty learning, why not set up a wash hands station? Do your back a favour and set up a wash hands station at a high suitable for your twins. Rather than providing a step for them or lifting them up to the hand basin, I have created a wash hands station from a couple of plastic draws (I already had) and a plastic basin ($6). The draws contain our cloth wipes which they can access and use. I always have water in the basin, so if they ever want some water play they are free to come in here at any time to play.


G's first visit to the wash station.

The wash hands station is use a lot. Before eating, after eating, after potty time, after outside play an any other time they or I feel it their hands need washing. I say, "wash hands" and A&G wander off to the bathroom to wash their hands. I distribute the soap at the moment, however this will change in the next few months. Initially I would  talk them through the process of wash hands, now I only need to occasionally prompt them. Mostly I encourage them and sing our wash hands song.

You may be wondering if the basin has ever been tossed to the floor with the water in it? Yes it has. Once after one of the girls was frustrated with her sibling, it has never happened again. The mats are there to soak up any spills and the floor does have a drain as well.

My Musings

Anything new you bring into your home, will attract your twins attention. They will see it as the most wondrous new toy that you have acquired for them to play with. So expect that they will play with the potties, wash basins, towels and soap. They will turn it upside down, they will carry them, they will try to push them around (like a walker), they will do all sorts of things to the potties and any other item that catches their attention. They may even surprise you and just sit on the potties. They may also destroy your potty station is a nano second. It took my girls two months before they stopped "playing" with the potties. I am glad I purchased the potties when they were younger, so they could  adjust, explore and play with the potties. Now they have moved on from this phase. The potty station is just another item in our house, like the high chairs and their snack table, it serves a very important purpose for two very important people.

At Home with Montessori has a beautifully written piece on the importance of the Montessori environment here. If you also read my post titled, "Toilet Learning - Pre Reading" there is another link to an article specifically on toileting by At Home with Montessori. If you would like to read this article a link is here to my pre reading post.