Yep, you read that right. We are talking about poop. What has
this blog come to? :) Trevor rocked potty training back in early
September but that's all it was. Pee pee in the potty.
Trevor has always been a nighttime pooper, even when he was a baby. He
didn't go a lot during the day. Strange but everyone is different!
So after he learned to pee pee in the potty he wore pull-ups at night (or as we
called them, 'special cars underwear') and he would often do his poopy business
in them at night. Of course he didn't like it because he'd always come
get us to change him right away. Well we didn't do a lot with this
behavior for whatever reason - baby coming, trying to soak up fun time and sleep
time, then baby here and had other focus, whatever it may be. But, the
time was here. Call it Mother's intuition.
Lately he had been holding it in. Dancing around, crying, squeezing
those butt cheeks so hard because he was afraid the poopies would hurt.
We felt so bad. We read books like 'Everyone poops' so that he knew it
was a normal activity for boys and girls, he watched us go, we made a new poopy
chart, we bribed with candy to sit on the potty and wait for the poopies to
come - which he obliged to until the timer went off. Finally he was so
constipated and his tummy was so distended that Sara brought him to the doctor
to see if he had a blockage or something. Well when Sara told her about
Trevor's situation - holding it all day then dancing around and saying he
wanted to go to bed (so that he could get his 'special cars underwear on'), she
said we needed to go backwards. Meaning don't talk about it. Just
let him wear his cars underwears all the time and when he had to poop just to
go in them. Do that for a few weeks then say to go in the cars underwears
but he had to do so while in the bathroom. Do that for a few weeks and
then say he had to be sitting on the potty while going poop in his cars
underwears. Do that for a few weeks then cut a hole in his cars
underwears and remind him tat he had to go poop on the toilet while wearing his
cars underwears but the poopies would go in the toilet where they belong.
Once comfortable with that switch to real big boy underwears full-time!
Oh and load him up with a daily dose of Miralax to help clear it out!
Sounded good in theory. We we were on-board and excited. Mommy
remembers Nana Jeanne asking Trevor what the doctor said about his poopies and
Trevor said 'go in my cars underwears.' So that weekend Trevor did just
that. It was just a little at first but at least he was going! Sara
and Brian sent him to school (Petsmart daycare) on Monday in his cars
underwears and from what we hear the teacher saw him digging around in his backpack.
He pulled out a pair of his special cars underwear and headed for the
bathroom. Well she intercepted him and said 'no Trevor you have to go on
the potty' and he just burst out crying :( Brian got a call saying that
he could wear the pull-ups but would have to go back to the 2 year old
classroom because the 3 year old room didn't have the facilities to clean up
pull-ups or he could wear underwear and stay in his classroom. The
teacher did take him to the other room to clean up this one but then we put
Trevor in underwear the rest of the time. Can you imagine how confused Trevor
was? He's like wait the doctor said for me to go in my cars
underwears. Ugh.
Moving on to Tuesday. Sara brought him to preschool in his cars
underwear and told the teacher. She got a concerned look on her face and
said we don't really allow those here, the kids need to use the potty (same
reason as Petsmart - no where or no one to clean it up). The teacher said it would be fine this time and Sara said he
probably wouldn't go anyway but to call if he did and she’d be there in less
than 10 minutes.
Luckily he didn’t go
but we seriously needed to rethink our strategy.
The doctor’s way of doing it wasn’t going to
work in the real world.
It was time.
We went back to what
worked for the first potty training. We talked about the fact it was time to be
done with his special cars underwear.
We
picked a date.
We talked about the
party
we were going to have.
We made another new poopy chart.
We
were ready!
So we woke up on Friday morning and Trevor was so excited!
We had put up decorations, he got cake for
breakfast.
Santa had written him a note
telling him how proud he was of him for starting to go poopy on the potty and
that he left some special presents for each time he went.
(Trevor still talks about Christmas and Santa
and what presents he wants next year).
He went with Daddy to throw away all his cars underwears and he said he
was ready.
All day off and on he sat on
the potty and waited for the poops to come.
Nothing.
After dinner he was
doing his dance but wouldn’t sit on the potty so we tried our financial advisor’s
trick that he did with his son.
Daddy
took him up to the bathroom and they had a standoff at the potty.
Trevor wasn’t allowed to get up until he
went.
Three long hours later he did go a
little.
His trick?
Shutting the door and going in peace.
Success!
We celebrated even the little amount!
He did go a little in his underwear at night that night but
whatever.
The next day there were a few
more standoffs at the potty but he did go each time.
Same thing on Sunday.
The standoffs got shorter and shorter and
Trevor was prouder and prouder.
Being able to put stickers on his chart and the
presents didn’t hurt either.
Oh, and the
fact that if he got this poopy training thing down we said we could go to Mickey’s
house again!
By Sunday night he was a
pooping pro!
He still wanted us to go
with him (or at least outside the door) and then to wipe his butt but whatever!
No more night pooping – woo hoo!!!!
Way to go Trevor!!
