We started potty training Jude in the middle of June. It is now, the middle of September and it sometimes still feels like we're at the very beginning of potty training.
We can go weeks without a wet pair of pants. When we're hanging around the house bare bottomed, he'll run into the bathroom, pee in his frog potty and proudly walk out with a huge grin on his face making a 'pssss' sound telling me " look mom! I peeded! I didn't even need you in there!". If we're out at a store, when he feels the urge he'll get a panicked look on his face (maybe because he let a little tinkle in his underoos) make his 'psss' sound and I know we need to find a place to go.
Then one day, out of no where he'll decide this whole potty training business just isn't for him. He'll run off to a corner of the house, pee on the hardwood floors and come running in to tell me what he's done. He'll fight me when I tell him it's time to try to tinkle if it's been a long time since he last went (usually because I'm pulling him away from something much more fun than the bathroom). Through out the course of one day he might pee in his pants 3 times - and anyone who's potty trained a kid knows that cleaning up a kid whom you otherwise thought was well on his way to be totally toilet trained 3+ times in one day is quite frustrating.
But we push through. While Jude went from wearing diapers all day to just NOT wearing diapers at all over the course of about 2-3 days, I knew that the entire process from start to finish would be much more challenging than that. I knew it was best not to get frustrated. I knew it was best to encourage him. I knew it was best to be patient, so I have been.
But then there's poop.
From the beginning, poop has been our challenge. When we were putting diapers on him at night, he'd wait until night time to poop. When we stopped putting diapers on him to avoid him holding it until the night time, he just held it. When he couldn't hold it any more, he'd wait until we had him bare bottomed at home and just poop on the floor. If I didn't give him the freedom to run naked.... well, he just shit in his pants. As I said above, having a kid whom you otherwise think if totally toilet trained pooping in his pants regularly can get rather frustrating.
But we pushed through. We didn't give in and put diapers on him. We didn't bribe him with treats and snacks (well, not all the time... but there was once or twice he got something yummy as a reward). We didn't yell and get angry. We were patient - knowing that one day, it would click.
Over the course of the last month - particularly the last couple of weeks - he's made mountains of progress. We still struggle from time to time, but as of right now, he's pooping on the toilet more than he's not - and considering where we were this time last month, that's something to write home about! Usually, he won't tell me, it's more of less something that happens to happen when he's peeing - but we take what we can get. And then came last week.
I was downstairs when I heard him saying 'no mommy'. Not sure what this groggy rambling was about I run upstairs to find a half awake/half asleep Jude with his butt in the air and wet britches. I scooped him up, took off his wet pants, cleaned up the area/him and tried to get him back to sleep. But he wouldn't. He'd doze off and then wake up suddenly saying 'no mommy' or just whimpering in a daze. My immediate thought was that he was having a bad dream. Something appeared to be bothering him, which of course bothered me in turn so I tried to comfort him. Then finally, as I'm laying there holding him he flashed his pleading eyes up to me, points to his little bum and says 'no, mommy'. Still confused by his words, I took the pointing to his butt the only way I knew and asked him if he needed to go potty. His response was much the same saying 'no mommy', but I asked him again (because, let's face it, sometimes this kid has been known to confuse a 'yes' with a 'no'). This time he looked at me, shook his head yes and said 'Yes'.
So, we go in the bathroom, he takes care of business and seconds later he's back asleep. Being that he rarely tells me he needs to poop, I considered it progress!
We've had poop in his underwear since that night... we've had poop on the potty since that night... but every little bit of progress is good. Considering what we came from with the whole pooping routine, I'd say we're on the right track.
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