Potty Training While Bed Transitioning

If anything, they would probably get excited for big girl beds. I find it much easier with my three year old. He just getting the hang of potty training, and where he sleeps doesn't seem to make a difference. He either remembers and tells me he needs to go, or he forgets ands pees his pants. He has been in his own bed since about 18 or 19 months.

I agree with Christina - pick one are of transition. Otherwise, it's going to be a lot. At their age, chances are they may not be able to stay dry over night (you may be one of the lucky ones who doesn't have those issues). So, I'd try to master the daytime potty training and use pull-ups/diapers overnight until they're consistently dry. Then, I'd work on transitioning them into a bed vs. the crib.

Good luck. I can't imagine doing it with twins.

I think changing beds would be fine and may be a help. If big girls are supposed to use the potty, shouldn't big girls also be sleeping in big girl beds. My son took the better part of a year to potty train, but once he was day time trained, he was pretty much night time trained. I think you would be sending mixed signals by telling them to go potty when they feel the need, then not giving them that opportunity through the night.

It might have been better to have made the move to toddler beds before trying to start potty training... but that's not an issue at this point. I think I would begin talking with them about making that move to the toddler beds and get them excited about it as doing a "big girl" thing, maybe even connect it to the potty training... "since you are such big girls learning to go potty now, wouldn't you like to sleep in 'big girl' beds too?" Give it a week or so for them to get used to the idea, then make the move. It might actually cause some regression in the potty training, but I think it's worth the effort. My personal opinion... just for what its worth... is that once a child can climb out of the crib, they should be in a toddler or even a regular bed. I may be biased, having been left in my crib for far too long (I was seven before my parents moved me, and only then because my sister was due to be born!) but I think it's much safer to have a child in a bed without rails once they can get out on their own. I don't even like the safety rails that people sometimes put on a bed, because a child can crawl over those and that would create a worse fall than if they simply roll off the bed. Instead, I'd put some sort of soft landing next to the bed so the child won't get hurt.

I transitioned my daughter while potty training --4 weeks before I had a baby too! She was in a diaper at night for 3 months, and just recently started wearing undies at night. I don't think it interfered at all. She's only 23 months and fully trained. She even came running out of her room this morning saying," mommy potty!" She had a few drops of pee in her undies, but held on and got herself to the potty.

One caveat: while they are potty learning, some toddlers will explore their bodies, and this includes taking off their clothes and painting with poop. I highly recommend sleepers with zippers in the back --just in case ;-)

I kept her in diapers during naps and bedtime until she was able to go 5 days/night with no accidents. We had a bunch of regressions, as she was dry at night and during naps two months ago, but it was only recently that it truly "clicked."

Good luck, and hang in there. It is a process and they will get there!

i'm in the same situation. my twin girls started climbing out of the cribs last month during potty training. we decided to convert the crib into toddler beds and they adjusted instantly to it. we basically removed a panel from the crib so it's still the same bed. we are still potty training but at least they are safe and not trapped in the crib. they stay in the bed and wait for us to go into the room before they climb out of the bed. we talked to them about not getting out of the bed during the night and they stay put. my girls are not morning people so this transition was smooth for us. it depends on the energy level of your girls. my girls will be 2.5 in april- so they are a bit younger than yours.

Potty training can take a LONG time - it took us a couple months so I wouldn't hold off because of that. If they are ready to move to toddler beds, I would move them. I actually think that potty training is a time when most people end up transitioning their children if they were able to hold off until that point. Being in the crib does slow down potty training because they cannot use the potty ALL the time. They may not want to use the potty during naps or at night and you shouldn't expect them too, but it sends the wrong message if they want to go and can't. I also have twins and we seriously had 5 potties (in addition to the big potties) - two in their rooms, two downstairs and one for taking in the car or going outside. I bought the foam floor blocks for under them to cut down on the carpet issues. My children will be 3 in April and I think I can finally say they are fully trained except for wearing pullups for nap and night. Consistency makes a big difference so it really helps to have them be able to get out of bed and sit on the potty themselves - mine usually yell for me while they are doing it so I was able to avert lots of possible mess by being there by the time they are done.

Also one key thing I learned when potty training was taking a while was that I needed to reward for dry pants, not for using the potty (maybe this was just because my boy could use both the potty and the daiper within minutes of each other). Once they understood how to use the potty they got random rewards when I checked to see if their undies were dry and they got rewarded when they used the bathroom only if they were dry at the time.

Traumatic? It's not like terrorists are taking over your house! Sorry if I seem a bit out of the loop, but children are very resiliant and open to change. When my baby got her first "big girl bed" she was soooo happy. She also came back to our bed for a few months, but not every night. She moved on in a timely manner and is now an Honor Student as a sophmore in High School.
Definetely get them big girl beds and rest assured you are a great mom!

If you are going to change to toddler beds, then wait about 2 weeks to start potty training again. This happened to my daughter. It was around the holidays and she got a toddler bed. There was a lot of stuff going on. So once things got settled and she loved her new bed, by week 2 she was wanting to potty in the toilet on her own. It was like she decided she was ready. So yes, changing beds will have an effect on the training, but it's short term, so make the move soon and then get back on the training a couple of weeks after the change. Also, while training, try not to have too many changes or stress going on in the house, less of all that helps with the training. Hope this helps.

BTW- I kept the crib in the room with her for a couple of days with the toddler bed. In her case, she was ready to move on and didn't want anything to do with the crib anymore.

Sounds like you are being very patient and sensitive to your little girls' needs. Will these same tents work on a foam mattress on the floor or on a low bed? I do not know of many children who find moving to a "big girl" bed a traumatic experience although some of them do get into unfortunate habits of getting up when you wish they would remain in bed...because they can. But if they have known how to get out of the cribs since they were 14 months old, that may not be a real problem. I guess this soution might be difficult unless you have exceptionally large room, but you could keep the cribs in the room while putting low beds or mats in the room and let them be involved in the process of moving the tents or getting new ones of their choices and see if they will let you remove the old cribs..

In one way, being mature enough to use the toilet rather than be in diapers and using a bed they can get in and out of are similar and very appropriate to do in tandem..

Have fun during this stage, and keep your sense of humor. It gets easier and then there are new challenges. I envy you, having twin girls. That was my dream but it never came true..

N.

It could be months or a year until they are night time trained. Leave them in the cribs. Get the daytime nailed down first. Then see their age and decide about bed when they are closer to 3.

You probably need to pick one transition for now. I say if you are already making at least some progress on potty training, just keep them "caged" until they are day trainied. Potty training really is 2 parts- first day and then night. My daughter was day trained at 2 1/2 but is now almost 4 and still wears a pull-up to bed. They say it's really not good to make 2 transitions at once so that is just my 2 cents.

Good luck!

They are still very young... night-time "dryness" is something that is not fully attained until even 7 years old. It is biological based development. So, they could still have night-time diapers on, for bed. Even Kindergarten kids still wear night-time diapers at night, for example. Normal.

You have just started potty training. It takes time. They will not attain peeing/pooping/AND night-time dryness and going to the toilet at night themselves all at the SAME time. It occurs in stages. Gradually.

So, you are still at the beginning of potty training. No rush. Yes, it is a slow process.

Them switching to a toddler bed, should have no bearing on their night-time dryness expectations or ability. If they wet at night, which is normal still... then just use waterproof bed-pads under them, to make clean up easier, if their diapers leak. That is what I do.

Mostly, do not "expect" a child, at this age... to just get up at night and go to the bathroom at will, perfectly and to not have accidents. Again, it takes even up until 7 years old, for night-time dryness to occur. But in the mean time their bodies and their ability will mature, and one day they will "master" it. So until then.... take the night-time potty expectations separately. They are still trying to daytime potty train and have not mastered that portion of it yet. So that is only the 1st stage of potty training.

Potty training occurs in 3 stages:
1) daytime peeing in toilet and ability
2) pooping ability in toilet and mastering it
3) night-time dryness and mastering it.

But keep in mind accidents will still occur. Normal.
My daughter was still wearing a night-time diaper until 5 years old. MANY kids do, even at this age. Per our Pediatrician, it is NORMAL.

Also as a side tip: a "car potty" is real useful for times a child needs to pee but you are in the car or on the road and no bathroom in in sight or you are stuck in traffic. We use one and it is a lifesaver. Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3...

All the best,
Susan

My son was SO proud to get his Big Boy furniture and slept fine. We had him in his crib converted to a toddler bed for a while mainly because Hubby broke the side rail. The Big Boy furniture came about 2 months after his 3rd birthday due to a manufacture's delay, potty training was still a work in progress and we put a side rail on his bed because it's a 4-poster and high off the ground.