Can we potty train 18 month old before our twins come ?

[greyby25]

Hi ! I'm currently 17 weeks with twins and my daughter is two at the end of August. My twins are due Oct 3rd but that's my 40 week due date. My consultant has said they will be induced around the beginning on September. My last scan is 3rd September and I have scans every 2 weeks so I'm presuming they will be here within those 2 weeks if they don't come earlier of their own accord.

We wanted to start potty training my daughter when she turned 2 but as soon as she turns 2 we will be bringing our newborns home and I feel like the timing wouldn't be right for it, she is also starting nursery in September so I think it would be a good idea for her to be potty trained or on her way to being potty trained by then. Obviously if she can't get the hang of it we will continue, trying to potty train her won't stop when our twins are born but I wouldn't want to start potty training as soon as our twins are home, I've heard horror stories of things being smeared on walls, most of which i can cope with now but probably couldn't whilst introducing two babies into our house.

She is fairly noisy and understands most things, such as bring mummy your shoes, come and get this etc, simple instructions but she isn't yet talking properly, we have a few words and we have had a couple of phrases but they don't stick around ( I'm speaking to her doctor about her speech in a week or so at a GP app). So I'm wondering is it possible to potty train her when although she understands some phrases she wouldn't understand, do you need a wee etc. I would love for her to be potty trained as she is quite independent and every week she hates having her nappy changed a little bit more.

But to be honest I don't even know where to start ! Does anyone have any tips on how to start. We have a potty but I'm clueless as where to go from there, any advice would be appreciated!

TIA X

Read the Oh Crap book and see what you think. The author recommends training between 20 and 30 months, but she does have a short chapter about training from 18mo.

I trained my DD at 22mo and just trained DS at 2yr3mo (slightly later than I would have liked to be honest) and I've never had anything like smears on the wall so it really doesn't have to be horrific! We've only actually had one wee on the carpet with DS!

Nope don’t do it. It’s harder with a potty training/training than nappies. You will always be mid feed or something when dd says I need a wee wee. Also I’ve heard that a lot of toddlers regress when new baby arrives.

@teaandbiscuitsforme I'll give it a read whilst I still have some spare time aha ! X

@Byebyefriend yes I have been thinking and i do think it will be best to leave her until she's a bit older and understanding things properly. I did read somewhere that they can regress and obviously we don't want that ! X

I think there might not be any point doing it so early. even if she gets the hang of it, she may well regress when the babies come home. Wait until she’s older, more secure, and ready and it will be really easy

I'm in the same situation I'm going to leave it incase he does regress don't want to go through it twice

If i were you i would be looking at Easter 2020 to potty train, twins will be older and in a routine and you should crack potty training in a week tops.

Some 18 month olds are ready to be potty trained, but most aren't.

Clues to look for to see if she's ready include:

Going off somewhere private to poo (behind the curtain/under the table etc)

Letting you know she needs changing (this doesn't need to be verbal, pointing/bringing a clean nappy etc)

Having a dry nappy for a couple of hours at a time.

Trying to pull up her trousers/dress herself/generally help with self care.

If she's ready you can potty train, but I echo a pp in that actually having her in nappies will be a lot easier than being in pants. She won't be able to toilet completely independently at 18 months so you'll be up to the loo to help her with clothes/climbing up/wiping/washing her hands etc. and that will be harder with two babies than just changing her nappy!

Nursery won't expect a just turned two year old to be potty trained. Give it a year, let her settle into nursery and being a big sister and then train when she's 2.5.

With potty training I think the best results are when you follow your child's lead. Start it before they are ready and you will have constant accidents. Both mine were 2.5 and they had just one accident because they ready for it. Its such a big skill to learn! xx