Mealtime & Potty Training

Meal time can be a very exhausting and stressful event in our house with three two-year-olds potty training. Some meals go smoother than others but generally I am running them to the restroom to do their business while trying to get the meal made. The meal is usually interrupted by multiple trips to the potty while we are eating; followed up by multiple trips to the potty while trying to clean up the other kids after meal time is over.

My experience today was a new one... I started making lunch and made several trips to the potty to assist in between. After all the pottying was done, I put them in their chairs and they all ate their meal with no mention of needing to potty. (I have refrained from reminding them constantly because it usually turns into an automatic "I need to potty" and then not pottying.) I did my usual of assisting them with getting certain foods on their spoon when they asked for help. I fetched more food when they requested more. Tyler finished first. I cleaned him up and got him down. Cleaned up some of the dishes, cups and bibs. Put him on the potty. Got him off the potty. Cleaned his area of the table. Got Hannah down from the table. Noticed she had an accident in her panties while sitting at the table (like she did yesterday). Took her to the potty. Changed her panties. Tyler is asking for his treat for going potty but has to wait. Cleaned up the booster seat. Got Hannah off the potty (no time to just sit in there and wait for her to finish). Cleaned up the chair where the pee had leaked thru the booster to the chair. Decided to check the other chairs too just to be safe. No pee but quite a bit of food that had collected (yuck). Cleaned under Tyler's chair. Disciplined Whitney for throwing food all over the floor. Cleaned up Hannah's area at the table. Cleaned some more of the dishes, cups & bibs. Put food away. Tyler had to go again except this one required more cleaning. Put Hannah on and took off the potty countless times during this cleaning-up event. Tyler is asking for his sticker and treat for going poop but he has to wait. Cleaned up Whitney's mess on the floor. Finally clean up Whitney. Get her down from her chair. Get her on and off the potty. Clean up Whitney's dishes, cup, bib. Oh and Tyler finally got his sticker and treat for going potty and poop.

Whew.... Tired yet? I am! :)

I have found myself starting to prepare meals (specifically dinner) throughout the day to avoid such a stressful evening trying to make dinner while tending to the potty training trio. It is such a difficult task to do by myself, as Craig is rarely home while I am cooking. Things are getting easier though - the potty novelty is wearing off, they are going less frequently and having less accidents.

Never a dull moment in this house. Maybe I will soon share my first outing with them by myself... a trip to the grocery store.