Dark Nights

We have officially entered that time of year where the days are woefully short. ☹

The end of Daylight Saving Time and the early nights of Fall and Winter are hard on everyone, but when you have little kids at home this season presents, shall we say, UNIQUE challenges.

We already seem to be a world away from the heaven of summertime, when long days outdoors make for sleepy and sun-kissed kids who fall into bed at night dreaming of starting it all again the next morning. Long gone are the lingering rays of daylight that make for 6:30pm bike rides and nights of playing ball right up until bath time. Instead this time of year finds us Moms huddled in basements or playrooms at 4:45pm staring at the clock and bemoaning the fact that there are still THREE HOURS left until the kids go to bed.

I have three very young and very energetic kiddos and the fact is that there is only so much the train table can do for us. So we take to the sidewalks around the neighborhood in the early evening hours on foot or by bike—my children’s blonde hair gleaming in the streetlights as they race through the gloom.

When we return home we pick our way towards the backyard swings, from which my kids’ boot-clad feet occasionally nail me in the abdomen as they fly forth from the darkness.

And it isn’t just the early nights that make this season a challenge—especially when you’re potty training.

I trained my older son in July and August. When he was getting started we went with what we loosely termed the “nudie butt” approach. Basically we allowed him to romp around in the backyard pants-free, then whenever anything liquid or solid emerged from his little body we’d whisk him over to the potty with great fanfare and cheering.

Using this simple method our son quickly caught on to the concept that, “I use the potty I get praise! And sometimes even M&Ms!” Soon I was able to move him into big boy underwear with elastic waist pants that he could easily get on and off by himself and before long he was using the potty like a boss.

I’m having no such luck with our second son.

Instead of the ease of elastic waist shorts I find myself trying to explain to a three-year-old the intricacies of undoing the clasp on heavy corduroy pants. My son’s cries of “I think something is coming out!” are met with a frantic peeling away of layers on harried trips to the bathroom and when we finally do get there the potty seat is unwelcomingly cold - all of which makes the whole undertaking just that much harder.

So lately I’ve been improvising. Starting at around 5pm I’ve been turning up the heat in order to revisit the tried-and-true “nudie butt” system. I let my son play inside pants-less—unfettered by bulky winter wear. We do puzzles and art projects in the playroom until he’s ready to try to use the potty and he’s having a much easier time. During the day he uses his Pampers Easy Ups. If he can manage to get undressed and make it to the bathroom, then great. If not, there’s always nighttime when we get to try it again the easy way.

This system is working much better and a hidden upside is that it is given us something to do with our long, dark evenings.

But I’ve still decided that when it comes time to train my baby girl—I’m not starting until Springtime.