Is It Really Easier to Have Your Kids Potty Trained?

On May 25th, Jackson, Olivia and Levi turned three, which means it’s time to start potty training them! Luckily, we had the experience of potty training Emily at first, so we know a little bit more now than we did at the beginning, but it still doesn’t take away the challenge of trying to potty train three toddlers at once.

With that said and now having Emily fully potty trained, I find myself asking this question…”is it really easier having your kids potty trained opposed to being in diapers?”

Before we begin on our journey with the triplets, we need to rewind to the beginning with Emily to share what we have learned and to where my question has come from. Originally, I said I would start potty training Emily at 18 months. Half truthfully and half-jokingly, but when the triplets were born, Emily was 17 months and there was no way I could have taken on the challenge of potty training her with three newborn babies. We waited just over a year and started potty training when Emily was two years eight months old. We actually partnered with Pampers back then too, to help share the Pampers Easy Ups Training Underwear.

Dan and I were both very excited and Emily was too. Emily would go on the potty when we would remind her and we would also have her sit on the potty every now and then to see if she had to go and would understand what to do. We loved that the Pampers Easy Ups looked and felt like real underwear and fit like real underwear too. Emily was a fan of the Hello Kitty prints and would always ask to wear her kitty underwear.

Potty training was going great, but I found that we, mostly myself since I was home with Emily during the day, didn’t stay as consistent as we needed to be. We would have days that we were on top of it, making sure we had Emily on the potty every hour and then there were days we forgot to remind her or ask her if she needed to go. I also felt that Emily would have days where she was excited and interested in learning and then days where she wanted nothing to do with potty training. It made it difficult to stay focused and after a few weeks, we said we would stop and wait a little bit then try again.

Fast forward to February 2017, when we registered Emily for school and then it really hit us, Emily needed to be potty trained in order to go to school. Emily was now three years two months old and we were determined to get it done this time. Emily was six months older and could communicate more with us, understand more and just all around more aware of what potty training was and what she needed to do.

We had Emily using the Pampers Easy Ups from the time we started to potty train in August 2016 to when we tried again in February 2017. We decided to keep using them even though we weren’t consistent with potty training because we thought it would help to get her adjusted to not wearing diapers anymore. Pampers Easy Ups are super soft and feel just like cotton underwear and Emily was able to help pull them up when she needed to put on a new one. Of course, she would still wet the trainers and need a change, which was very easy to do with the easy-tear sides. One of my biggest worries when potty training was how to change a Pampers Easy Up when your child has a poop! I was scared to try to tear the Easy Ups without spilling any of its contents, but with the easy-tear sides, changing them was easy and clean!

I focused and made a commitment to get Emily potty trained the second time around and after a solid week, she was fully potty trained! I couldn’t believe it to be honest! I was so nervous to potty train because it’s not something you can be taught and each child is so different. You can receive all the tips and advice you want, but it comes down to you, your child and the right time. It was such a different experience the second time around and a much simpler one as well.

Now that Emily has been fully potty trained for just over a year, it’s a whole new experience. I think back to when she was in diapers and compare Emily being potty trained to the triplets in diapers and wonder which one is easier. Of course, I have one less bum to change each day, but your duties as a parent don’t stop when they are out of diapers. You still have to make sure they wipe properly and everything is clean; there is the potential mess when trying to get them to the bathroom in time and not to mention the urgent need to find a washroom when out in public. When in a diaper, you have to change them, but it’s not going to end in disaster if you have to wait a minute or two. Then when you do change them it’s in a controlled environment where hopefully they are laying still and everything is cleaned away.

Once the triplets are potty trained I can only imagine the chaos when we have four kids lining up to use the bathroom and I know that time will come! If it isn’t bad enough trying to find a bathroom when Emily has to go so badly she is going to pee her pants or driving with all the kids by myself and Emily tells me she needs to go, imagine what it will be like when all four have to go!

As we begin our new journey potting training Jackson, Olivia and Levi, we know it’s going to be a challenging one, but with our experience with Emily, we are one step ahead. Knowing what it was like to train Emily when she was two years eight months compared to three years two months, we knew we would start potty training the triplets when they turned three, hoping it would be easier. I think they are ready and each one of them has given little hints that they are ready. It has also helped to have them watch Emily and want to copy what she does.

We will be using Pampers Easy Ups with the triplets, just as we did with Emily. I think it will be fun to have the triplets use Pampers Easy Ups and have them feel like they are wearing big kid underwear and I know Jackson and Levi will be so excited to wear the Thomas the Train designs. As parents, we all hope potty training will be easy, but we all know it will come with accidents and they won’t always tell you when they have to go. Luckily Pampers Easy Ups have Dual Leak-Guard Barriers, which help to prevent leaks around the legs and also provide protection against leaks anytime of the day with their Extra Absorb Channels! From a parent’s point of view, this is great and it’s nice to know they are getting the feeling of wearing underwear, but the protection needed to prevent messes.

I know when the triplets are potty trained I will really be asking myself if it’s easier to have all four kids potty trained or all four in diapers. Potty training is inevitable and it’s something everyone has to go through, so I know I’m not the only one who is going to struggle with this. Dan and I are really excited to get the triplets pumped up with their potty training experience and we want to make sure they know they are accomplishing a big milestone and giving them a sense of purpose. We are not experts when it comes to potty training, although we may be close by the time we are done with the triplets, but with the help of Pampers Easy Ups and staying positive and consistent then we know we can make it work!

Thank you to Pampers for sponsoring this post and helping us share our potty training experience with Emily and our newly started journey with the triplets! While this is a sponsored post, all of the thoughts and opinions shared throughout are our own and we only work with brands who we have used and loved prior to being contacted.