The "Poop" on Little Man's Adventures in Potty Training

Now over the  years, I've sporadically blogged about my only child's development and various random thoughts. And then I go months without writing. I'm not sure why, since I quite enjoy blogging and writing. But there you go. Now it's a new year--albeit several weeks into it--and I want to be more accountable to myself. I won't promise a post a day, but I am making a concerted effort to blog weekly. I'll go from there. I have a few friends who are really eloquent and I am going to get ideas from their blogs. So, ladies (finally Mom, Aitchie J and Peeper) I'm going to be blog stalking. OK?

But back to the topic I gave this post.  Here's the POOP on Little Man's Potty Training.

Just before he turned 3, this past Summer, he seemed very interested in the potty. So we were  having success having him pee in it and, for 4 days in a row, he pooped in the potty and earned a shiny new Bucky Pirate Ship from Jake and the Neverland Pirates. After he got the toy, he stopped pooping in the potty. And then began flat out REFUSING to pee in it.

My husband and I were very frustrated. He even went as far to say that Little Man would NEVER be potty trained. I didn't agree, but I was becoming too involved and upset, so we took a step backwards and just let him be--happily in diapers. We planned to do the 3 Day  Potting training boot camp deal over Thanksgiving weekend, but both of my sisters-in-law talked me out of it. So I let it go. Then I started my new job the first week of December and Little Man started daycare full-time (he'd gone 3 mornings per week previously). And he started peeing in the potty. His teacher actually told me, after a few weeks, that his diaper was frequently dry. I guess peer pressure isn't always a bad thing. It also helped him feed himself, which he often refused to do at home.

I need to remember that my child is developing at his own pace. He is a typical child with some sensory issues (hypersensitivity to certain stimulus) and some proprioceptive dysfunction where his brain doesn't always process the input from his muscles and joints about body position, weight, pressure, movement and position in space. It's why he often stumbles or actively seeks to press against me. He's seeking input. It doesn't mean anything is wrong with him, but I have to take that into account. So I figured I shouldn't push for potty training and that's a good thing. He finally seems to be ready.

For the last week or so, he's been peeing in the toilet regularly. He occasionally asks to go. Sometimes he's too busy playing with his toys. So my husband and I have set timers on our iPhones to remind him. And the big one... he's been pooping in the toilet too! He's had some accidents. And a few times he's just gone in his pull-up (we aren't in underwear quite yet). But for the most part, he seems willing to use the toilet. Last week was huge. We were at a doctor and he had to go and actually pooped in their restroom. No potty seat, with me balancing him so he wouldn't fall in! Then again at my husband's aunt's apartment. He actually went into her bathroom and said he had to poop. And did! And, in fact, last night he asked for PRIVACY to do his business. It worked. He was struggling to go when we were in the bathroom with him. But the minute I left, he pooped.

So I think we'll move him to underwear the 1st week of February. We'll keep with the Huggies Pull-Ups for the next week during the day. But then it will be underwear and several changes of clothes for daycare. I think that now, at almost 3-1/2, Little Man is ready to be potty trained.  We'll tackle night training after. Mostly because he still wakes up with a super wet diaper and I want to wean him off drinks of water before bedtime. But we're moving along and I'm hopeful that we'll be done with Pull-Ups soon.