I guess I had been told (or read and heard) so many disaster stories of potty training that in my mind, that’s all I had imagined the entire experience being. I mean I DREADED it. But no one ever tells you it can actually be a fun experience.

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Potty Training Twins in 3 Days – What I Learned

I waited until our twin girls were 3 years and 3 months old to “officially potty train” them. And by that I mean, taking away their diapers and pull-ups all together during the day and taking advice from the Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki. (Amazing, straight-forward advice btw!) Click here to get your copy.

I cleared my calendar and took off work, and kept them home from daycare starting on a Thursday. We did the no pants thing for a day and a half to get them used to what was happening. (they were clueless in the beginning as to what pee even was. In the middle of a no pants accident, my daughter said, “Where’s that water coming from Mommy?!”)

But once they had a couple of naked accidents under their belt, they started getting better. Then we added pants into the mix halfway through the next day (Friday). By Saturday and Sunday we were just practicing. Not without an occasional mishap, but it was definitely going pretty well.

But I think what shocked me the most was my ability to keep calm and go with the flow (sometimes literally). This definitely stemmed from me clearing my calendar and taking off work.

Knowing the only purpose in my life those 3 days was to just spend time with my girls and focus on them. Period. It was like a breath of fresh air. Like a giant weight had been lifted and I could just focus on the important things. (what a profound realization right? Face palm…duh.)

But, I’ve always been ambitious and antsy. It was refreshing to see that for me, personally, it could actually be possible to enjoy staying home with my kids and not be as stressed out over their emotions or things that would normally trigger me when I had other things on my mind from work. I really enjoyed being “just mom” during those days.

I bought the girls Melissa and Doug stickers, and they had a blast putting them literally everywhere…(p.s. these are great for road trips and airplane activities too)

My favorite part was watching their eyes light up when they got the hang of it. And seeing them so proud of themselves and yelling, “I did it, Mommy!”, or, “Daddy, I did it!” This was one of the greatest joys.

So, I guess with all that to say, don’t be afraid of potty training, it can actually be a lot of fun! And you might even find yourself enjoying spending that one-on-one time with your kids that is uninterrupted.

But don’t rush yourself into it, don’t compare it to other parents. If you just don’t have the energy, the right mindset, or the capability of mustering yourself to do it, get some help and find a time that’s right for all of you.

Elimination Communication Thoughts

I wanted to do elimination communication like many of my singleton mom friends had. And sometimes I really wish I had been able to find it in me to do it at the time when the girls were around 6 months old. But, I just couldn’t.

I still remember how I felt. One foot in front of the other, and one day at a time, was all I could handle back then.

And that’s okay if you’re in that boat right now too. Do only what you can handle.

And if you need help–emotionally, physically and/or mentally–please reach out to another twin mom, join our facebook group, surround yourself with others going through what you’re going through. Hire a doula. Ask a family member or a close friend to help you. Or visit our page on Emotional Support Resources.

To be honest, looking back now, I’m okay with the way that it turned out.

I don’t care that we’ve been spending money buying diapers and pull-ups for the past 3+ years. And I don’t care that so-and-so on instagram or Facebook had their babies potty trained by 2 years old.

They’re not me. And you shouldn’t care about them either. My girls at the age of three were showing signs of being ready, and at this age they can understand and communicate to me what they need.

They understand what the potty is and what the purpose of sitting on it is now.

I faced my fear of potty training, got my mind and energy in a place where I was prepared to handle it, and then we went for it. And now, just 6 days later as I’m writing this, we’re already over the hump. I’m so relieved.

If you’re in a place right now where potty training is looming on the horizon, here are the exact things we used in order to assist us in potty training our girls. Hopefully they will help you be prepared too!

Potty Training Supply List

1. 1. Oh Crap! Potty Training by Jamie Glowacki
2. 2. BabyBjörn Potty Chairs (2)
3. 3. Ikea BOLMEN Step Stool
4. 4. BlueSnail Waterproof Crib Sheets (2)
5. 5. Puppy Pads
6. 6. Hiccapop toddler rail bed conversion for any crib (2) (see picture, below)
7. 7. Furniture anchors to secure dressers and bookshelves to the wall
8. 8. Childproof Doorknob Covers
9. 9. Child Potty Seat for Toilet

Steps We Took to Prep for Potty Training Twins in 3 Days

• Waited until they were 3 years and 3 months old (I just felt the timing was right)
• Read the Oh Crap Potty Training Method by Jamie Glowacki
• Cleared my calendar beginning on a Thursday, and kept them home from daycare through the weekend just to focus on potty training. We did not attempt any outings during this time.
• Potty-proofed our house with waterproof couch cushion covers, puppy pads for on top of chairs and couches, and an extra layer under bed sheets, as well as on top of the carseat cushions
• Purchased 2 little BabyBjörn potties that could be moved around the house to the room we were hanging out in and be left in their bedrooms overnight
• Converted their cribs to toddler beds using the universal Hiccapop toddler rail conversion kit (picture below)
• Purchased the same step stool and potty seat for the big potty that our daycare uses so that they would become accustomed and comfortable to using it in both places
• Made sure to mount their clothes dresser to the wall and any other furniture that needed to be further toddler proofed in our home, now that they could get in and out of bed by themselves
• Purchased child proof door knob protectors

Potty Training Day: Play-By-Play

When the girls woke up that morning I told them that today they were going to be big girls and they would no longer need pull-ups. (I had actually been casually mentioning that we would be getting rid of the pull-ups soon, probably at least a week or so leading up to the main event) The last thing you want to do is shock a toddler with a major change.

So they were excited to put the pull-ups into an empty trash bag I had ready and I tossed it into the closet. (I didn’t actually throw them away, because they would still need to wear them at night). It was just to drive home the concept.

So without pull-ups and no pants on (but wearing shirts), we headed to the kitchen for breakfast where they sat on puppy pads on top of their chairs. Neither twin had a fit or was concerned about sitting on the puppy pad or the fact that they weren’t wearing pants. It was fun to be big girls, so far.

I didn’t give them a ton of extra water and I didn’t do any juice, but you can evaluate your twins if they need to have the extra fluid or not that Jamie recommends in her book.

After breakfast, I had their playroom all prepared with new activities. Since it was almost Christmas time, we had a felt Christmas tree hanging up that they could decorate with ornaments. We had new coloring books and potty training themed shows waiting to be watched.

I placed their little pink potties in the playroom and made sure they knew that they were there. When the first accidents started happening, I quickly whisked them over to the potties and sat them down. Yes, there was a bit of a pee trail that we had to clean up. But this was actually crucial in helping them make the connection of what their bodies were doing.

Up until this point, they just thought if they sat on the potty, they were doing big girl things. (But they weren’t actually understanding the part about needing to go on the potty). Taking away pants for a day connected the dots.

We continued to play and do activities all day long while I monitored their behavior and prompted them to use the potty occasionally.

By the end of the first day, both girls were getting impressively better about making it to the potty before an accident occured. Although, there were still a couple here and there. But overall, progress had been made!

Admittedly, I made the mistake of letting them sleep the first night without any pull-ups on because I was confused about “night training.” I thought that you had to do day and night training simultaneously (especially at their age).

As it turns out, according to over 50+ moms who responded to my question in my twin mom group, night training is ridiculous and is something that will happen on its own (or typically should). Their bodies have to be able to regulate the ability to hold their bladder overnight. And there is a certain age where they’ll be able to do it.

So don’t stress yourself out about needing to night train and thinking you have to set alarms throughout the night to wake yourself and two sleepy toddlers up to go pee. It’s not necessary.

Allowing the girls to wear their pull-ups at night hasn’t seemed to derail the day training progress that we’ve made.

In fact, 90% of the time they’ve woken up each morning this first month after potty training, and their pull-ups have been dry. And sometimes they’ve even had to get themselves out of bed at night and use their little potties, which we still leave in their bedroom. I am actually impressed!

Incorporating DayCare Back Into the Mix

The following Monday after we started potty training on that Thursday, we made the decision to integrate daycare back into the routine.

The only thing I put on their bottoms to go to school were pants. No pull-ups. No panties. No training panties. Just commando. In pants.

If you read the book, you’ll know that any form of panties too soon can mimic the feeling of a pull-up or a diaper, and we don’t want that.

Luckily, our daycare is very encouraging of the potty training stage and they have a room set up for the kids going through this period. So they had no objections about going without pull-ups.

I carted their little pink potties with us to school (and still do one month later!). I take them home each night and clean them. They did have a couple of accidents here and there the first two weeks. But knock on wood….the last 2 weeks have been great!

We’ve now introduced them to big girl panties and they have been wearing them with no issues. We still wear pull-ups at night but have continued to wake up dry.

As I’m writing this, we’re just passing over the one month mark and have been able to run small errands and drive back and forth to Nonni and Neepa’s house (about a half hour trip) without any mishaps. If we are going somewhere though, I will put them in pull-ups beforehand and say that they are “just for in case”.

They haven’t had any issues about thinking that they shouldn’t still go to the potty while they are wearing them. If your kiddos wait to go potty until they have pull-ups on, you may not be able to do this. In that case, stick to panties or commando, and use puppy pads on top of the car seat when traveling.

Potty Training Twins in 3 Days Recap

I am really grateful for the potty training experience that I’ve been fortunate to have with my girls. It was a great bonding experience and I loved spending that precious time with them. And we did in fact, complete our potty training twins in 3 days just like I had hoped for after reading Jamie’s book.

My goal was to have them potty trained by Christmas. We started on November 30th. And much to my surprise, we achieved our goal.

Looking back now I can’t believe how terrified I was beforehand. I even called a local potty training expert and had her in my back pocket in case we decided that it was too much for me to handle on my own.

You know how sometimes kids can behave better for strangers than they will for their own parents? Yeah. That was my concern. But, it turned out to be a non-factor. A big ol’ nothing burger. I’m grateful that I just went for it!

I hope these tips and our story will help you. It might seem like a big mountain to climb before it gets here, especially if these are your first babies, like me. But, have faith in yourself and go for it! Hopefully you’ll surprise yourself with what you can do with your kiddos and it will be a happy experience for everyone. Good luck!

P.s. Don’t forget to grab our potty training essentials, here.