He’s kind of a big deal…

Yep, it’s kind of a big deal around here when short people make steps closer to being diaper-free! With his siblings, Bethany and I there as witnesses, Blade successfully peed on the potty {at home} for the first time tonight! Can’t believe this sweet boy will be TWO on Saturday!!

Cox Quads meet Movie Theater: Wreck It Ralph

As you all know, Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin have been potty trained for a while now. We did the 3 day method, they caught on super quickly and have never regressed, thank goodness. I’m told some kids night train themselves naturally during the 3 day as well…ours not so much.

On any given morning 1-3 of them will be dry but never all four. We’ve opted not to waste our money on Pull-Ups for the longest time because they’re basically an expensive diaper. We recently started buying Pull-Ups since we are trying to be more aggressive at the night training thing. Knowing it hhaadd to be done sometime, we told the quads that if they needed to potty at night, they are allowed to get up and go and go back to bed. They hear “you are allowed to get out of your bed!” HOLY HEADACHE!

I’m not one to not allow them water after a certain time in the evening. I know how thirsty I often get during the night and they’ve been known to chug water during the night as well. I’m sure most parents deal with the train of excuses their kids make up to get out of bed “I need my other blanket” “I forgot a drink” “I need to give you a hug” “My toe hurts…the list goes on. Now added to that list is “I need to go potty!!!” The night time process is a drag lately. One get’s up to potty, what do ya know 2 or 3 more have to get up to potty. Before you know it there’s a party going on, sanitizer everywhere…etc. Ugh, where do you draw the line? If they neeeeed to go potty, we HAVE to let them, right? Especially if we want them to wake up dry… Like seriously people, I’m asking you. If you have (kind) advice, I’m all ears.

So anyways, Bret and I cut a deal with the quads a couple of weeks ago. The morning they ALL woke up dry we could call Daddy, he would leave work and we would go to Going Bonkers and have a day out together. We both assumed it would be a long time before they all woke up dry together. We remind them every night of our little deal and they try so hard. Several mornings I would go in only to find wet diapers on the floors where the pee-ers had ditched them and gotten a new one from the bathroom, thinking that it would count as “being dry”. Yeah, not so much, guys.

I went in Wednesday morning as usual and started checking pull-ups. Dry, dry, dry….and dry! I immediately started searching around for the soggy diapers they had ditched and found NOTHING, nada. They informed me that they all had gone potty by themselves and stayed dry all night. After searching dressers, drawers, trashcans & under the sinks with no wet Pull-Ups in sight, I let myself believe them and we gave Daddy a call and gave him the great news! This week happens to be spring break so we knew due to crowds and germs, Going Bonkers was off the table. There’s no doubt that place is packed like sardines and our four would get trampled. After discussing different outing we decided to treat our foursome to their very first movie!

Wreck it Ralph was one of the only kid movies playing at the dollar theater that day so that’s what we chose. Brody, B, Kylee & Korbin were SO excited to go to the movies even though they had never been. We dropped off Baby Blade with Nana & friend Sandy and headed to the theatre. We walked through the doors and they all stopped and stared…

If you know me, you know I have a fear of them choking (I blame it on the episodes they had while babies). I’m that mom who still cuts her kids grapes at the age of 4. It took some serious convincing but Bret talked me in to letting them have popcorn for the first time. He said, and I agreed, they need to have the full experience ;)

Kylee got folded up in her chair a few times and they said, I think for personal reassurance, “It’s not scary, Mommy. Yeah. It’s not scary…”. Once there for a few minutes they were settled in and excited!

I sat next to them and stared like a hawk for any choking while they giggled and talked too loud :)

Once the movie started they all sat pretty well, Kylee did the most talking (once her popcorn was gone) and did some seat rearranging and Brody was the only one who needed a potty break. I’m not sure they followed the point of the movie, but they enjoyed it nonetheless! At one point they all about had a nervous breakdown when the word “stupid” was said…. all four of them at once turned to Bret or myself “MOMMY, THEY SAID A BAD WORD, WE DON’T SAY STUPID, THAT WAS BAD! THEY SAID A BAD WORD!” lol!

As we were leaving the theater, I noticed these ABCD signs at the ends of these lines. We HAD to stop an have a picture, of course! They don’t understand that that’s what they used to be called so this picture made no sense to them, but it was special to us. In birth order Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin… our little ABCD. *Fun Fact: In utero Kylee was “D” and Korbin was “C”. During delivery, Kylee slipped down and was delivered first technically making her “C” and Korbin “D”.

Congrats, my little people, for waking up dry! Let’s try to make this a habit, ehh?!

Toddler Transitions: Update!

We’ve made two major transitions over the past 2 months; Potty Training and Toddler Beds. I thought I’d fill you in on how they’re going and how the quads are adjusting.

We went with the 3 day method on potty training and had great results. Here we are 2 months out and they are still doing great! They regressed a little the first few days we went to toddler beds but quickly picked back up what they had learned. We’re still doing diapers at night and pull ups during “nap time” (and I use that term loosely. ugh.) but strictly big girl panties and big boy undies during the waking hours and all outings. I actually can’t remember the last pee accident anyone has had (it’s been a few weeks-knock on wood). They still prefer to poop in their diaper at night/nap and have only gone on the potty a few times each. We’ll tackle night training soon enough, for now, I know they’re not ready. I will say, unlike most moms say, my BOYS have been easier overall than my girls throughout the whole process. We still don’t dare leave the house without a potty or two and make frequent breaks when out and about but it’s working! I no longer fear them not being able to hold it until we reach our destination, they’ve just continued to amaze me!

Toddler Beds. Toddler beds have by far been the hardest transition yet since bringing these 4 crazies home. We made the switch just days before Christmas and Ay Yi Yi! My other mom friends have always been super jealous of me and my “perfect little sleepers”. I’ve grown used to babies sleeping a good 12-15 hours at night, every night, and the thought of my kids waking up by 7am on a daily basis is unfathomable.  I hear parents talk about their littles being up at 6am ready to start their day and think I could never do it…everrr. If there’s one thing that’s gotten me through this journey of having quadruplets, it’s SLEEP. I’m lucky, I understand. Well, breathe a sigh of relief other moms, and silently laugh to yourself  as I tell you my perfect little sleepers are disappearing before my eyes.  Our 6:30pm bedtime has been more like 7:30 now days and our 9am wakings have been moved to 8am. We’re still not set on a specific schedule and may never be again. As a mom of preemies, and multiple preemies at that, our world has always revolved around a set schedule and it’s hard for me to let go and go with the flow as they get older.

Of course as they get older they need less sleep, that’s a given. I was just hoping a little older like the day before kindergarten ;) The toddler beds have given them a new found freedom that they enjoy far too much to sleep. I don’t mind the “stay up and play a while”  or “play until you crash” ideas but DUDE, mine don’t crash. It takes (especially the boys) hours. Talking turns into laughing, laughing turns into rough housing, rough housing turns into crying and before you know it it’s 11pm and I’ve got 2 year olds with more energy than I’ve had in the past 5 years combined. It’s gotten to the point where I’ve turned the boys beds back around, against the wall, so they’re basically in a crib again. After a few days we turned them back and the chaos continues. I cannot get them to stay in their beds for anything and I don’t have enough spare rooms to separate them (yet..heehee) which I think could do the trick.

Some people have mentioned that it may be time for them to give up naps altogether. I tried it and it was no bueno. I don’t mind if they stay in their rooms and jack around the entire time, not napping at all, IF their attitudes were fine the rest of the day. When I tried that method with the boys, pulling them out of their room after a few hours with no sleep, they went DOWN HILL by5pm. They were a mess and clearly couldn’t take an entire day with no down time. When they did hit their beds that night, they were out cold in a matter of minutes. 

One of the sweet moments…

One of the not so sweet moments… had a little talk with Korbin about “fairness” this particular night…

I assume they tried to barricade me out of their room on this night by placing every object they could get to in front of their bedroom door. I went to check on them and their silence and could barely push my way through!

   

The good part to all of this nap/night time chaos is that they are bonding. I mentioned that Korbin and Baxlyn are super close and this new craziness is bring the boys a little closer together as well as the girls.  For now it’s a transition we’ll continue to work on.

I guess they can’t all go so smoothly, ehh?! 

Double (Naked) Trouble

Lately, everyday is an adventure when it comes to night and nap time with the boys. I put them in their room and never know what I will come back to. The biggest challenge lately has been keeping them dressed while in their cribs. They were dubbed the Duct Tape Duo a little while back and I thought that phase was over. Boy, was I wrong. It’s been 2 weeks now of constant stripping and getting into nap time trouble in general. I haven’t been duct taping them in a while because, like I said, I thought that phase was over. If you are easily grossed out this is your warning. This post has some pretty detailed happenings in it so you may find it better to come visit in a few days when we’ve moved on to the next subject…

They’re still doing great with potty training and go number 2 on the potty almost daily. I do put them in pull ups/diapers for nap and night. The other week I could smell toxic fumes coming from their room so I went in and found both boys naked with their pull ups laying next to them in their cribs. Korbins was clean but Brody’s was not and he was surrounded by little smeared brown footprints…eww. So I get the mess cleaned up, give them a good talking to, duct tape them and put them back down. The days go on and their room continues to smell like a hamster cage – no joke.  It always stinks but it’s just been wayy worse than normal. I’ve cleaned it from top to bottom. The cribs, sheets, blankets, lovies, floors all of it was cleaned and I just couldn’t figure it out. I eventually go to change the boys sheets AGAIN thinking maybe someone peed again without me realizing. I lift Korbin’s mattress to change the sheet and there in the corner of his crib between the mattress and railing I see something that resembles charcoaled road kill. I thought it was his monkey or another small stuffed animal. After squinting and moving his crib away from the wall to get a good look, I realized I had just discovered the mysterious deadly stench. All this cleaning I had been doing and I totally missed the dried, God only knows how old, crusty turd in the corner of his crib. Although a little disturbed knowing my kid had been sleeping inches away from this thing for days, I was glad I finally found it, hopefully meaning their room would smell better soon. Sheesh.

Needless to say that night I was going to make sure there was no nakedness going on. Below you’ll see they are diaper duct taped, wearing backwards footed sleepers (they can unzip them from the front) which are duct taped at the zipper, AND halo sleep sacks that are also duct taped at the zipper. They did well that night but wow, that’s a lot of work and duct/gorilla tape gets expensive after a while… it worked but wasn’t ideal.

This is a few days before the above mentioned poop party. I was cleaning house and heard the boys’ lullaby monitor/project thingy getting louder then softer, louder then softer, then twinkle twinkle little star followed by the sound of heartbeats. Someone had there hands on it and I was prepared to catch them in the act. With camera in hand I swung open the door and to my surprise saw Brody on top of his dresser having a ball…

I know what you’re thinking. Heather, look at how close the dresser is to the crib, of course he’ll climb up there… But for those of you who know Brody, know that this is quite a huge task for him. He still struggles to get up onto the couch on his own, I still have NO clue how he managed to climb over and on top of the dresser. As mad as I was I’ll admit I was kinda proud of him… this is a serious accomplishment for this dude! That being said it was still a problem. You’ll see in the first picture his crib was then turned around so the tall back side was facing outward making it impossible (err.. I think) for him to climb out.

 OK, back to the nakedness. I still needed a sure way these crazies were not going to get naked and an easier way at that. Layers and layers and boat loads of duct tape worked but was a lot of work and took a good 10mins to do properly…multiply that times two (or more) and it’s a true pain. I had read when the quads were itty bitty about Little Sleeper Keepers but had totally forgotten about them until another quad mom mentioned them again. Not only did she remind me of them, she had some that she was no longer using and sent them to me – thanks again Amy! Little Keeper Sleepers are snug fitting sleepers and have a zipper up the back and have a total of three snaps at the non-stretch neckline. We put them in their, what they call “suits”, and have had no escapees so far!         

We made the switch to toddler beds this week (details to come on following post) and the quads have been on a new high since their new found freedom. Yesterday I made the mistake of putting the boys “down for nap” without the Little Sleeper Keepers. I told myself they would be fine and would be too busy causing other kinds of trouble rather than naked trouble. They’ll be having too much fun jumping from bed to bed to even think about getting naked…. wrong again. After two hours of hearing their giggly fun I stepped in to check on them and to what I swear must have been Poop Fest 2011. Both boys were both out of their beds butt naked, surrounded by (lucky for me) firm turd balls. Absolutely disgusting. I can only thank God it’s only two of them rather than all four. There was poop everywhere. On their beds, in their beds, under their beds, under their fingernails, on the window sill, it was smeared into the blinds…etc. NOT FUN and all because I had faith that they wouldn’t get into “that kind” of trouble. You can bet your rear they will not be left alone again in the near future without being in those new sleepers.

I am confident we have finally found the solution to the toddler nakedness in our house and totally recommend the Little Sleeper Keepers to other moms out there dealing with their own little Houdini!

"Potty like a Rock, Potty like a Rock Star..."

Rock Stars, that's what they are. Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin have continued to do GREAT at potty training! It's been just over a week now since we did our 3(4) Day Potty Training and wow, I'm still amazed at how...dare I say... easy it's been. Between them all, we have one accident every 2 days or so...not too shabby!

We went out for their Mamaw's birthday last week, our first time at a restaurant, I was nervous to say the least. I called the restaurant ahead of time to see if they took reservations, of course, they didn't. I explained our situation to them as well as our STRONG need to be sat as close to the restroom as possible. Thankfully they accommodated us and our table was just feet from the bathroom door. I arrived with the babies a bit early (we were meeting Daddy & Mamaw there) so we could all get familiar with and use the potty. It was our first public restroom experience and eww. The restroom itself was "clean" and well kept for an adult who ya know, DOESN'T grip the toilet seat and practically stick their head IN the toilet to say bye bye to the pee as it's flushed down the toilet and lay on the bathroom floor to peek under the wall of the stall next to us. Although I would feel ok using that potty, having four two year olds in there was not exactly this germ-a-phobic momma's dream. It was a little chaotic to say the least but they all went and we eventually made it to our table. Between the jammin' music that Brody was into (good gosh it felt like we were in a night club as loud as the bathroom music was) and Kylee's slight addiction to flushing the toilet repeatedly I was so afraid they would think the bathroom was way cool and would "need to go" every 5 minutes. To my surprise, they all sat the entire dinner not one gave a thought to the potty again. At the end of the meal we paraded (with our little potty seat in hand) back into the restroom for one last "go" before we left for home. Zero accidents, again, leaving me a proud proud Mommy!

Friday morning we, along with the rest of the family, headed to the Gaylord Texan Ice Sculptures. I was so excited to go see the beautiful scenes made out of ice but was super anxious about the quads being in panties and underwear. It was a bit of a drive and I, having never been there, didn't know what to expect when we got there. I had no clue how big this place was, how crowded it would be, how many bathrooms they had or where they were located. Bret and I decided we would put them in Pull Ups for this trip knowing it would likely be a challenge to get them all to a potty if needed. The kids are great at treating their Pull Ups like panites and know that they are not supposed to pee in them. We got to the Gaylord around 9am and enjoyed walking around the inside of the building that was BEAUTIFULLY decorated for Christmas. We headed over to the Ice Sculptures at 10am and at this point nobody had asked to go potty. To be honest, Bret and I didn't even ask them if they needed to go, assuming they would just go in their Pull Up after too long. I so don't want to be a parent that says "Oh, just go in your Pull Up" if their kids asks to go potty...even though that's what I would have wanted to say. This place was BIG and it would have been a long walk to find a potty for a toddler who gives you about a 9 second warning before needing to pee. We all kept our mouths shut and enjoyed the awesome sculptures.

This place was gorgeous. If you're local and haven't been, GO!

Korbin & I checkin' out one of the many trains!

...and the HUGE Christmas tree!

Lot's of Mommy pics today huh?! Thanks again John & Darrell for being in charge of the pics! Below, would have been great if lil' Miss B would have joined us...what you don't see is her insisting on looking over the opposite side of the bridge...oh that girl, gotta be different.

All bundled up ready to see the Ice... or "eyes" as the babies thought we were gonna see. Notice the onlookers behind me as we wait for our escort...
Just one of the pics from inside the exhibit. Hard to see but here's Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin with Shrek, Fiona and their triplets! All of that you see is ICE... so amazing!What's this....a family photo on Shrek's front porch?!? We rarely get a picture of the 6 of us together and I'm pretty sure all of the onlookers thought I was nuts after celebrating the fact we got it! Thanks John for taking it :) Bret was able to talk Baxlyn into cooperating by offering her the best seat in the house, his neck. I can't help but wonder what she's thinking as she check out his nearly hairless head lol.
After leaving the Gaylord, we all drove to a nearby restaurant for lunch. Bret and I planned on taking them potty and were assuming they would all be wet. Totally wrong, NOT ONE had gone potty in their Pull Up....are you kidding me?!!?! SWEET! They went from 8ish am until noon and didn't potty once, I was shocked and again so so proud! Once again they PROVED to me they CAN do this!

We've had several more outings since then...Papaw's house, church, friend's house and this morning, Chuck E Cheese, all trips were successful with no accidents. Simply amazing! For those of you who read the previous post, Potting Training: The Scoop!, you'll be happy to know there has been a great increase in Sucker consumption as well as BIG stickers to the sticker charts! The girls still prefer to "go" at night/nap but the boys are serious about the number 2 business and go in the toilet! I can only pray this successful diaper-free (daytime at least) life continues to go so well!

Potty Training: The Scoop!

Ahhh potty training quadruplets, what a job! Don't get me wrong, I won't brave to say they are completely potty trained 100% but our 3(4) day weekend extravaganza was overall a HUGE success and we have said adios to daytime diapers! Brody, Baxlyn, Kylee & Korbin are now 33 months old (30 if you want to adjust) and I think that has been a big part of our success. My biggest fear was starting too soon only to find they were not ready, going back to diapers, leaving them confused. I am super duper lucky in having a TON of quad moms across the US at my fingertips via the internet who have been there done that when it comes to anything quadruplets. Sleeping through the night, night feedings, transportation, developmental issues and even potty training, they've got tons of advice on and for that I am so grateful. Since having the quads I've heard a ton about the "3 Day Potty Training Method". There's a book out there with specific instructions on how to potty train toddlers in 3 days. I personally know a handful of moms who have used this method and it has been successful 99% of the time. Not to say there are NO accidents from there on out, but for the most part they've got it. I don't have the book myself but my quad mommas have given me the "important info" so I took it and ran with it. Basically you stay HOME for 3 days and do nothing but focus on the potty while downplaying accidents and celebrating any little drip of pee that hits their porcelain plastic throne.

To prepare, Bret and I (with donations from Mamaw, Nana, Chris & Bethany!) stocked up on our cleaning supplies you'll see in the pic below as well as plenty of goodies to use as rewards. We transformed our cute little entryway into a "community bathroom", if you will. Tile floor was a must and the bathroom was a bit too small for all 4 potties so the entryway it was. In a small house, ya do what ya gotta do, right?! We also laid down plastic tarps from wall to wall to protect our white carpets. With 4 naked babies and just 2 adults things could easily get out of hand and we wanted to be prepared!

It's a no brainer that potty training multiple toddlers at a time can take a toll on you mentally therefore there was NO WAY I was going to do this alone. Day 1 Bret stayed home from work to help out. We woke up early ready to take on our first official day of potty training. Although people told me to just have Bret and I alone, realistically that wasn't going to happen with our busy schedules. Just 1 hour into our potty training experience we were expecting 3 therapists at the door. In all fairness the therapists were warned ahead of time about the adventure we were embarking upon that weekend and still agreed to come! They were greeted with our "Welcome to Potty City" sign that was hanging on our door!

We woke the quads up and brought them out and told them "Today we're wearing big girl/boy panties/undies! Wahooo!" We let each of them pick out a pair of undies and the pottying began.... all but Brody that is. They all sat, peed and were rewarded with their sticker and choice of an M&M or a Skittle. Before ya know the therapists were there and began their sessions with Brody & Kylee. As each minute passed we repeated phrases like "Be sure you go potty on the potty, not in your panties!" "Tell us if you need to go potty, ok?" "Brody, do you need to go potty?" Every once in a while someone would go but Brody continued to hold it making me a nervous wreck. The dude held it in for several hours and then FINALLY went! Whew!

The rest of the day went fairly well, to my surprise it wasn't too stressful and went smoothly. We did put them in Pull Ups during nap as I am not expecting them to be able to hold it in their sleep. Two were dry when they woke up, whoop whoop! Night time, by the way, we are still doing diapers, only because Pull Ups won't hold a night time's amount of pee. Not sure when we'll do night training but it won't be in our near future. OK back to business, Day 1 we had a total of 4, only 4 accidents! One from Korbin and surprisingly 3 from Baxlyn. The two I thought we'd have the biggest issues with, no problemo whatsoever! Although it was a great start, nobody pooped all day. My babies have NEVER been "frequent poopers" so I wasn't surprised but was left hoping for a number two or two the next day so we could practice conquering that part of potty training as well.

Bret has been super busy working on a big project lately (EEK!) and was not able to be with me the rest of the weekend so one of my BFFs Bethany came over Friday night to be there when the quads woke up Saturday morning and stayed the ENTIRE weekend, God love her. She and I, I swear, are one in the same. We work very well together and can tackle just about anything thrown at us. Bethany, thank you so so SO SOO much girl! Everyone who has been through the Three Day Method, and I mean EVERYONE, warned me that Day 2 was the worst. I was told to expect them to wake up and completely forget what they had learned Day 1 and prepare to start all over again. Every mom I have talked to said that their level of stress was pushed to the limit on Day 2 so naturally, I was expecting the same.
Day 2 went the TOTAL opposite of what we were expecting. We were in a bind with our photographer and were forced to do our Christmas pics that morning at 11am. After a great few hours at home and no accidents we put them in pull ups and headed down the road to Papaws house for our photo shoot. We were back home in just over an hour and only Kylee had barely wet her Pull Up, everyone else - completely DRY! Below is a fair representation of mine and Bethany's posture throughout the weekend. By the end of Day 2 my back was throbbing from the constant bending over. Pulling up panties, emptying potty seats, pulling down undies, emptying more potty seats, and helping pull up more panties is ALL WE DID. It honestly felt like we were running in circles the entire time. By the time we would empty one potty seat, two others had gone and so on. Not to mention it was our goal to reward each successful pee as quickly as possible with a candy and a sticker to put on their sticker chart. The rest of the early afternoon had gone so well, again having a couple even wake up dry after nap, so we thought we would venture across the street to attend lil' Sammy's 1st birthday party. It was a gamble of course but we figured if one had to go, we would just run them back home (literally across the street), let them go and get back to the party. That was our plan and that's what we did. Kylee made several trips across and Korbin once or twice. Brody & Baxlyn, despite our pressure to get them to try to go potty, insisted they were fine and wanted to play with the other kids giving us a look of "Go away, I'm busy and I don't need to pee, Mom!" We ended up staying about 2 hours and had ZERO accidents the entire time! When we got home, they all sat and peed like pros! We celebrated, and I mean celebrated every drop of pee. Here's Baxlyn and I admiring her fine work...Baxlyn and her prize, a sack of fruit, for coming in 1st Place in Pin The Nose On Elmo at the party!! Lol Go B!Mr. Broman came in 2nd and won a ginormous bag of cotton candy!!Here's a shot of their potty seats along with their sticker charts. You'll notice Baxlyn & Brody have quite a few stickers and then look closer, you'll see Kylee & Korbin have about 3 times the stickers. Sure Brody has proven he can hold his pee for record breaking time meaning less stickers but Kylee and Korbin quickly learned each and every drop of pee gets a reward. Those two would sit, let out a drop or two, celebrate, eat their candy, stick their sticker and go sit down for round two....then three.... then four... all within 40 seconds. Although this is VERY frustrating to deal with when you are the candy/sticker hander outer, and the toilet bowl dumper-wiper, I was reassured by other moms it was normal and to stick with the frequent rewards.We ended day 2 with just the ONE accident. I remember telling Bethany it CAN'T be this easy, it just can't be, Day 2 was supposed to be horrrrrible and yet we had an awesome day. As awesome as it was we still had no practice in the poop department. A couple had gone number two, but during nap, in their pull up. Besides an aching back we were pumped and good to go and ready to take on day 3! Below, sweet boys oh so proud of their sticker charts!Originally our plan was to reward any successful poops with a BIG sticker, a tattoo and a piece of candy. Because nobody had pooped thus far, we upped the ante to a BIG sticker, a tattoo, a piece of candy AND this huge sucker seen below. They all kept their eye on the prize and tried but still...nothing. Day 3: Sunday,"a day of rest"... right? We'll that's apparently what the quads thought. OK, it wasn't horrible but we did have a total of 7 accidents. Honestly, I think the "newness" of their new potty life wore off a little bit and they got a little lazy. We spent some time outside, with their potties nearby of course...I sat from my lawn chair and yelled every few minutes "Don't forget to pee in the potty guys!" "Tell Mommy if you need to go potty!" "Korbin, don't pee in your panties!" It was a gorgeous day, we had the windows open and I'm sure the neighbors did too all while hearing me remind the babies to remember to release their bodily functions in the toilet where they belong. Day 4. We had four consecutive days at home so I kept close notes on all 4 to share with you. Bethany left Sunday night to recuperate from the busy weekend and prepare to head back to work Monday morning. After having our "rough" day three, I called my mom to see if she would come out for a while day 4, just in case they take a wrong turn, take advantage of my lack of help, and send me to an early grave. My mom then informed me that she and Collette, our pastor's wife, were going to be there bright and early in the morning to relieve me. I was required to leave the house for a few hours to do whatever I wanted. Are you kidding me?!?!?! I'll take it!!!!!! So, Monday morning they show up at the door and I'm OUT! What did I do with my precious time away, you ask? I got in my quiet car, drove to Target, parked, rolled down my windows, reclined my seat and sat there. After an hour of me myself and I, Bret met me and we had a LONG OVER DUE lunch date at Chili's where I ate my weight in unhealthy food. During lunch we discussed how nice it was for it to just be the two of us in a small booth that we don't get to enjoy when surrounded by highchairs. After a few hours of toddler-free bliss I headed back home, just after they went down for their naps, perfect timing ;) Day 4 ended with a total of 4 accidents, not perfect but better than day 3.

Day 5: The next step...leaving the house in undies. We had an appointment this morning with Dr. Brister, the quad's dentist. I've been nervous at the thought of this appointment for days now. So many thoughts ran through my head as we came closer and closer... I CAN'T put them in diapers, I refuse. Do I put them in Pull Ups? Do I put them in panties? If I put them in panties, what if they pee in the car....omg what if they POOP in the car...eww?! Maybe I can put them in Pull Ups in the car and then change them into panties once we get there... What if I put them in Pull Ups and they stay dry, they COULD have worn panties? I can put them in panties, they've proved they can do it, right? Ugh, can they? If I put them in panties, I have to take a ton of extra panties AND clothes just in case!

I called my girlfriend and fellow quad mom, Suz, for a little pep talk. I explained my thoughts and she quickly replied "No, Heather, no Pull Ups" She told me to put them in panties/undies, make them pee right before we left, get to the doc's office and have them pee upon arriving. Worst case scenerio, some of them pee and I have to change them when we get there. After talking to her I was geared up and ready to go! (Again I LOVE the support I get from my mamas!) As I packed the diaper bag, I felt like I was packing for newborn infants once again, making sure not to forget any essential item. I packed what seemed like 20 extra pairs of panties/undies, wipes, clorox wipes, plastic bags, clothes, a potty seat and I'll admit it, Pull Ups, just in case. I also brought along 2 potties for the back of the van and covered their car seats with these little absorbant pads by munchkin in case anyone sprung a leak. I have always been a little obsessed with keeping their car seats clean and protecting them from pee and poop is high on my agenda...ugh, can you imagine the mess?
I dressed all the babies and sat them on their potties just before we left the house, all of them peed but Mr.-I-can-hold-my-pee-for-hours-to-freak-mom-out-Brody. Dr. Brister's office is about 25 mintues away and I was sooo nervous the whole drive. Again my fears set in... Do I constantly remind them NOT to potty in their panties as we drive? Do I not mention it at all in hopes to keep their minds off of peeing altogether? OMG (looking in my rearveiw mirror) is that one straining to poop right now or am I just imagining it? Why is this drive taking so long? Oh stop light please don't turn yellow, don't turn yellow, don't turn yellow...crap it turned yellow, I have to stop....OMG babies, please don't pee, your outfits are so cute and coordinating - DONT PEEEEE!

Despite my thoughts of terror, I managed to stay calm. As I pulled up to Dr. Brister's office I jumped out, opened their door and began unloading. My first to unstrap was Korbin, DRY Korbin! A sigh of relief and my heart is pounding as I make my way towards the next one, dry. Then to the back seat 3rd and 4th, dry. REALLY?! YOU ARE ALL DRY?! NOBODY PEED?! WOOOHOOO! As badly as I wanted to celebrate, I knew my luck could run out at any second. I scurry to get them all up the curb, swing the door open (potty seat in hand) and exclaim to the smiling staff "We're on Day 5, where is your bathroom?!?!?!" I herded them all towards the bathroom and one by one and let each of them try to go, which they did with the exception of Brody, of course. It was at that moment, I KNEW they would be fine. Sure we'll have an accident here and there but it was then that I felt a sense of accomplishment. We had done it, they proved they can do it, and my little bitty babies are now big panty and undie wearin' big kids!

The rest of the time at the doctor's office went great. They always do great at the denistry part but they also did great potty-wise. Mom met me there to help out and between the 2 of us we kept them contained between our exam room, the bathroom (which we owned while we were there by the way) and the waiting room. We were there about an hour and a half and before heading out I had them each go potty one last time. Even after this potty trip, Brody STILL hadn't gone... While the others picked a seat in the car, I opened the back door of the van hoping that maybe a little familiar seat would do the trick for Mr. Big Bladder. It took a minute, but Brody finalllly let out a lil' pee. Not a ton but enough to make me less frantic as we drove home!

Sure enough we made it home and nobody had peed in the car! This afternoon, day 5, while Nana was babysitting, Brody finally pooped on the potty and earned the big sucker that was taped on the wall! He walked up to her and said "I poop I poop! I NEED a hug!" Clearly, I am SO pleased with how our potty training experience went and look forward to the $$ we'll be saving in diapers! To sit back and watch them walk to the potty on their own, struggle to pull down their lil' panties and go potty all by themselves is crazy to see and I love it and it makes me SO proud! A SUPER DUPER special thanks to all of you for the encouragement and those special peeps who helped me (us) get through the weekend. There's NO WAY I could have done it alone!

A few quick tips if you're getting ready to take the plunge with your little one(s):

- Commit to staying home for *at least 3 consecutive* days.
- Bring in reinforcements, DO NOT attempt to do it alone, especially if you have multiples!
- Introduce them to the potty a few weeks before so they're a little familiar with it.
- Stock up on cleaning supplies & small rewards you know they'll enjoy.
- Don't stress the small accidents and CELEBRATE every drop of pee that hits the potty!
- As in everything, consistency is key, don't give up. As a mom of quads I LIVE by this.
- When traveling, pack the "just in case" necessities as well as a portable potty.

- My only other words of wisdom would be wait until they're older. All of the moms I know who have done this method has waited until their babies are closer to three years old. Not saying your 20month old can't use this particular method, just sayin' the success I've seen has been with older toddlers.

- Remember when things get tough, at least you are not potty training 4 at a time ;)

If there's something I didn't cover that you are still curious about, please, feel free to ask and I'd be happy to share. Good luck on your potty training and I'll keep ya posted on how ours continue to do over the next few weeks!