I have tried to potty trained my little boy since I do not remember when. It had been hard with little progress and great frustrations. I would like to recall on all those events.
The first time I tried to potty train my Boy was when he was 6 months and not even crawling. I was back home visiting my family and in laws. My Mother in law-ever so diligent in telling me how to raise her first grandson (making him her little “husband” since he was named after her husband) bought a potty for him. She said that it was never too early for him to learn about the potty. I found it hilarious but what was I supposed to do. I put the boy on the potty and he liked it. It was also a way to make him learn how to sit down. I started to make him sit on the potty regularly. But as you would expect no poop was coming out.
After we returned to the States, I brought the potty back with me. I have to admit that I did not use it as often as I should. Baby Boy eventually learned how to crawl and walk but for him the potty was just another place to sit and nothing else. Meanwhile, he kind of enjoyed pooping on his diaper. He would stop whatever he was doing, bend his knees a bit and make this oomph sound while doing his business standing up. He kind of enjoyed it. I was wondering how I was ever going to make him poop in his potty now that he got the habit of pooping in his diaper standing up.
When Baby Boy turned 1 year and a half, my husband gave me a challenge: if I successfully make Baby boy use the potty before his second birthday I would receive a 100 dollars worth of jewelry from him. It was a way for him to motivate me to make Baby boy use the potty; which I have to admit I was not for whatever reasons (probably laziness on my part). I tried, not so hard but I tried. Turns out that even past his second birthday, Baby Boy was still not using the potty. I do not know but jewelry was not doing it for me.
What my husband and I did not understand was that we could not force Baby Boy into using the potty if he was not ready to use it. We would get mad at him for pooping in his diapers after repeatedly telling him where to poop. I would get frustrated when younger kids at his daycare were obviously using the potty without any issue and he could not. But all our emotions and anticipations did not matter as long as Little Prince was not ready. It was a bad tactic to force him or yell at him because Baby Boy did not have the maturity to understand what was a potty and how to use it.
As the months passed, we did make some progress on the pee side. By some miraculous way, Baby boy was sitting on his potty and peeing without a problem. He was two years and 11 months now. Then we went home for the holidays. And for whatever reason, he started to want to pee standing up like adults. He must have seen his father or his young cousin doing it and wanted to try it for himself. He made it a game because many times he asked me to take him to the bathroom but he did not do nothing. He just like the idea of going to the bathroom, pull down his pants and diapers, touching his penis and pretending to do the deed while he made a funny noise-that of the water coming out of his penis-. The first few times, I found it funny but after several false alarms I was getting annoyed. Nevertheless I kept on with his game because I did not want to take away his eagerness to use the adults’ toilets.
To my frustration, no progress was being made on the pooping side. He would sit on the potty for hours sometimes but nothing would come out. And as soon as I put a diaper on him, he would poop it fully. I was on the verge on giving up and letting his teacher at daycare do all the dirty work. I know! What kind of a Mommy was I? But to be honest, I was just at wit ends. My husband was having the same feeling although he did not express it at loud. On January 2009, Baby Boy’s teacher started the potty training with him, also recommending me to do the same at home. By that time, Baby Boy was already going to pee by himself, pulling his pants down, and washing himself with the tissue papers all by himself. Sometimes, he did not even want me to help. He would stop play and tell me: “Mommy! I will be right back!” I would respond: “ Need some help?” And he would answer nonchalantly: “No!” I was really proud of him but my pride was tainted because he was still not pooping in his potty.
Two weeks after he started the potty training at school, his teacher took me aside when I was picking him up at daycare. She informed me that Little Prince was not using the potty at all. And he did not even inform them when he wanted to pee. I found it very surprising considering the fact that at home, he tells me every time he wants to pee. I was not sure what the problem was. I was thinking that maybe he was not comfortable using the potty at school. Since he enrolled at the school, they changed the location. Beginning from January, he was in a brand-new school with new rooms, new toys. His classmates and he were so excited about the new school that for a week, they could not go on naptime. They would lie awake, sometimes making noises or just wanting to go play. So I figure that I needed to make Baby Boy comfortable about his new potty but making him use it. What happened was a catastrophe. Baby Boy categorically refused to use it and started to cry. While he was wailing he told me he wanted to go play with his friends who were enjoying story time with their teacher. Then, it hit me: Baby Boy did not want to use the potty because he was not used to it; he did not want to use it because he did not want to miss out on all the fun at school. So what were we to do? I have to say that it was the least of my concerns. I explained to the teacher what I believed were his apprehensions and then let her deal with it. After all, I was paying her a good deal of money to do it. As for me, I would keep on the work at home. Hey, let us face I could not be at two places at one time.
So I kept on leading Baby Boy to the potty. When he woke up in the morning, I would tell him to go pee. He would oblige, then after his breakfast, he would offer to go potty before his shower. But then nothing would happen. I was always disappointed but I kept on with the talk. I was worried but not too much; after all some kids do not completely master the arts of potty before they hit 3. I was thinking, if I just keep up and be consistent one day he would do it.
Then, the big day happened: today at 8 something in the morning, Baby Boy did a big dump in the adults’ toilets. I was so happy I hugged him, then called his dad who was on his way to work to tell him the good news. Well, it happened when I was expecting it the least. I just thought I would put him on the toilet instead of the potty because eventually he would need to use it and they use a toilet at school. He sat there singing and making funny faces for about 8 minutes. Then I heard him moan. The next thing I know I checked the bowl and saw this huge adult poop in it. I was so happy. That was a big dump. I do not know what made him do it there. One of my girlfriends used to say that she could take a dump easier when she was crouching than sitting. I always found the idea funny but not today. Who knows? Maybe the fact that Baby boy had his butt hanging in the air on the big toilet giving him the effect of crouching forced him to poop.
I know this was the first time. There is no assurance that he would repeat it next time he wants to poop, he would do it in the toilet. He may even keep doing it in his diapers. So I am maybe overreacting. Because that is the deal with children, they can take a big step and the next thing you know, they regress. Baby Boy did it several times: he would start to sleep all alone, then after a while he would want to have him in the bed. Or he would be able to eat by himself, then all of the sudden he would want me to feed him. I guess, part of it was my fault because I was not consistent. Nevertheless, this is a big step and I just have to keep on going. And one day we will get there: no more diapers.
Check this funny youtube video about baby poop.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRsPGLwvwXk&feature=PlayList&p=77157099F9EFC844&index=8
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