My Twin Toddlers Will Not Keep Their Diapers On!
In the battle between Motherhood and raising the Twin Toddlers, I have been had one daily battle in particular that has caused me so much frustration. Ever since that day long ago, when they had their infamous Poo Fight, this frustrating and repulsive event has unfortunately happened many times. It never fails, the minute they go for their nap or to bed at night, off come the clothes – and their diapers.
Once in a while, curious to the more-joyous-than-usual giggles coming from their room, I catch them just in time to avoid a disastrous mess. Sometimes, it’s only one that messes their bed, yet other times both. Regardless of one or the other {or both}, it’s so maddening to constantly find them buck naked and defecating all over the house! By the way, the saying is so true: monkey see, monkey do. With the Twins, what one does, the other always follows. As a SAHM, I have a few job responsibilities that I am not particularly fond of, and one of them is cleaning poo out of the carpet {and beyond}!
So, in desperate attempts to make the Twins keep their clothes on, I have tried many things:
- Onesies – they get those off in no time.
- Onesies with tight pants over top – Ha, not even a challenge.
- Overalls – no match for the Twins!
- Diapers on backwards – that was an easy one for them to figure out.
- Duct Tape – yes I did. And they just tore away at the diapers leaving a new trend in belts, and diaper crystals scattered everywhere.
So, I know what you are thinking, “Tammi, maybe they are ready to be potty trained!!”
Which very well may be the case, if they took it seriously. Apparently it’s just so much fun for multiple children to strip and throw soiled diapers at each other.
This is something my oldest daughter never did {bless her heart, I realize now how easy parenting was with her}, so I have no experience with this.
So, Did your kiddo go through this phase?
Besides the obvious of starting toilet training, how can I convince them to stay clothed at night and when playing outdoors {I just wonder what the neighbors think when they hear me yelling, “Keep your clothes on!!”}
*sigh*
~
UPDATE: I have found a solution, and my Twins now keep their diapers and clothes on!
~
OMG I remember going through a phase with my DD. I have never had to clean so much poo from walls in my life. My son was great. My daughter was a Poop Artist! I ended up taping mittens on her hands at nap time and bed time so she couldn’t get at her diaper!
I wish you God Speed my friend~
Joaness
*sigh*
My 2 year old does the same thing!
And I’m not sure she is ready to potty-train. ‘Cause when i ask her if she wants to be a big girl and sit on the potty she says, “No, I’m a baby!” “i wear diapers!”
But clearly she does not cause she can take them off…
Grrr…
I have found though when I put bottoms on her, preferably ones that are harder to take off–jeans with snaps, zippers she doesn’t take the diaper off as much.
She has kinda grown out of it by now. (It’s a good thing too cause she will be 3 next month!) And she WILL be potty trained soon.
Good luck Tami! I hope this helps!
Ha! Never thought of that!!
I swear I wash their bed sheets and blankets 2-3 times per day
{that’s 4-6 changes with the two of them}.
Getting so tired of it, and all that laundry!!!!
How old are your twins? They just may be showing signs of the transition between diapers and potty training. Obviously they are not liking the diapers anymore, although part of their behavior might be because they want to see Mommy losing her marbles. They may be getting a good laugh out of it. But I would sit them down and tell them that since they don’t seem to want to wear the baby diapers anymore, and pottying all over the house is bad behavior, you think they are trying to let you know they want to be big girls and use the big girl potty. And since you have two, it may be easier for you to train them both. I’m not sure what your weather is like but if it’s currently warm, you may want to let the girls just run around the house bottomless and see if that gets them to use the potty more often. I honestly potty trained my 17 year old daughter, when she was 2, that way. She got to the point where if she was wearing a diaper, panties or pull ups, she would go in her pants but if she was not wearing anything on her bottom, she would run to the potty because she didn’t want to potty on herself. It sounds like you may have more of a challenge but a sit down talk with your twins sounds like it’s in order and I truly think they are preparing for potty training. Good luck hun!
Hi Dee!
My Twins are almost 2 now. I have tried to explain things, but they seem too young to understand, they just look at me blankly and then laugh. Then, they do it again. Once in a while they will tell me when they need a diaper change, but they still aren’t telling me enough that I think they ‘know’. And, when I sit them on the potty, they sit for 3 seconds, then run. And, they pee without even thinking or stopping – like I said, just no idea.
Anyway, I will start training and hope for a smooth transition.
But, like I said, there are times when they need to stay clothed.
{and, it’s pretty cold here lately, not really naked-weather, even indoors}.
Oh dear….I feel your pain. When my oldest was 2, he would remove his diaper at nap time and fling his poop all over his room! So…..we used packing tape. We wrapped packing tape around and around and around and around that diaper! He couldn’t get it off! However, it sounds like your twins may have figured that one out…..
One day though, I threatened a cold shower if he took his diaper off! Well, he ended up taking it off so into the cold shower he went. He HATED it. He never took it off again. I know that sounds mean, but I only had to do it once, thank goodness!
Oh Jen, I am laughing at your story….I can just imagine his shock! I remember once I didn’t want to take off my party dress to have a bath. I would NOT and argued with Mom so much. Well, my brother picked me up and threw me in the water, party dress and all. It ruined my poor dress, but – I never did it again!
My daughter did that all the time. I actually put her sleeper on backwards. They have to be zippers ones as she could get out of the button ones more easily. Depending on make of sleep sack you can also put those on backwards as well. Hope this helps. Good luck.
Hi Tracey, I have found they are almost too mobile for sleepsacks. They used to sleep in them, yet kept getting all tangled and always fell. And I thought of zippered sleepers, but I have yet to see them over size 24 months – anyone know where I can find them?
I knew a lady with 6 kids – the last two were twin boys and did EXACTLY this….in addition to pulling out EVERY piece of clothing from the dressers EVERY nap time. Luckily she found that the duck tape worked….though I’m pretty sure she nearly wrapped them in it. LOL
You could try getting those plastic cloth diaper covers…here’s what I’m thinking: Diaper, onesie, plastic cloth diaper cover duck taped to the onesie around and around and around….it may just work…at this point I imagine anything is worth one try. It is also something that one isn’t likely to be able to help the other undo so you should be safe.
Hope you figure out something. Do they do it for babysitters too? You could always see about getting someone in for the 30 minutes before nap time to put them down for you to see if that combats it?? Here’s to never having to clean up their poop again. hugs
Hmmm, interesting idea…
And yes, they do it to everyone, and they can’t imagine me doing it so many times a day.
Hmmm, interesting idea…
And yes, they do it to everyone, and they can’t imagine me doing it so many times a day.
btw, 6 kids and the last being Twins. I’m thinking that’s why they were the last, but what a way to go out with a bang! LOL
Did you try a one piece pj? I know Children’s Place sells them. The zippers on those are hard for even me to get down. Then sell them for older kids too. I’m just not sure for this time of year if they have them.
Ahh, someone just said Children’s place – I’ll be going there in the next week – I’m looking!!
go now….they are having a huge sale…50% off the last ticketed price so TONS of stuff (shoes too) for $7 and less!!!
I am also a mom of 3 and my 22 month old girls have done the same thing. I have the best suggestion that has worked like a charm. My girls have always worn grombags (sleep sacks) and still do. But now I put it on them backwards and they can not unzip the zipper on their back. Works like a charm. Try it and let me know how it works. I got cotton ones at babies r us in xl and they never complain about them and a pieve of mind for me.
Tanya
looking at Toys R US too then.
So, looks like Ihave to hunt doen these one pieces, just to save my sanity at bedtime.
Side note, I JUST got out of the Twins’ room. I put them down, and sure enough, 1/2 hr in and I have to change the sheets…*sigh*
My friends twins did the same thing repeatedly. She ended up having to cut the feet out of their one piece sleepers so she could put them on backwards and pin a diaper pin under the zipper (otherwise they could unzip each others jammies.) She and her husband figured they would just have to replace the carpeting in their bedroom when they were toilet trained–they had cleaned it so many times. Twins make for lots of good stories, though!
With my 3.5 year we did the bare bottom, with a t-shirt and baby legs for three days and then she wanted to wear the panties she got for Christmas (Dora)….the way we got her to go without messing her panties, was “don’t get Dora’s face wet”…and it worked! She was 27 months at the time. My two year old is showing some signs of readiness, but we are going to wait just a little bit longer….try the same thing and see what happens. I loved the zipper jammies from TCP! They are awesome! Good luck!
Try duct taping the diaper all the way around the top, twice! I did it to my daughter and it worked great, you can’t get it off! Don’t duct tape it to them though, my sil did that and I don’t recomend it lol. But all the way around the top should be great. Warning though, you do need scissors to get it off lol Good luck!!!
I am so sorry! One thing I have heard is to use zip up sleepers with feet put on backwards. I saw some super cute light cotton knit ones on clearance at TCP recently and had to buy some for my toddler, I bet that would work.
I have four kids, and fortunately never went through this myself. My oldest (he’s 20 now) did try it one time, but I was at work and hubby had to deal with it, lol. Maybe that’s why Son never did it again! Good luck hun, I hope you find a solution!
My daughter changed her own poopy diaper when she was 2 ish. She did a great job too — except for the poo that got on her hands as she wiped herself. That poo spread onto the change table, the window sill, the side of the change table, the basket the diapers were in, the drawer for her change of clothes… everywhere! It seemed like she was ready to be potty trained, but it was still nearly a year before she was officially potty trained.
Have you tried duct taping 100% of the diaper so that there isn’t anything rip-able at all?
I hope you find a solution!!!
Umm….so what was the solution to your update???? Hello?!!
I started putting their zippered onesies on backwards! 🙂