Potty Chronicles Pt. IV

So last post, we left off with Brent going to bed Friday night in underwear.  At 11:45pm, he started crying and I went into his room to find him crumpled in a heap on the floor by his (closed) bathroom door.  He had peed and pooped in his underwear, but his bed was completely dry - which tells me he made the effort to get to the toilet.  I let him know we weren't mad and that was a huge accomplishment that he tried.  Once he calmed down, we discussed what we could do to make it easier for him to find the bathroom.  His night light has now been moved to the bathroom and that door stays open to his bedroom.

On Saturday, GeeMa (Matt's Mom) came and took over the "training" while Matt and I had a weekend away.  I felt bad leaving her to it, but at the same time, I felt more confident leaving him to her instead of myself because she has already potty-trained two boys...so as far as potty training experience goes, I think that's a pretty good record.

Today is Monday.  He changed underwear twice due to two "leaks" - where he loses a few drops but then makes it to the bathroom, and he pooped in his underwear once.  He has stayed completely dry at night and during nap.  So, basically, he is just fine-tuning his "I feel the pee coming" and pooping in the pot skills.  Totally worth the ten Hot Wheels cars it took over the weekend!

I have learned that if I ASK him if he needs to go, it takes him that much longer to actually go - so if I DON'T ask him, he is more likely to go...and he wants to do it all by himself - so we both do much better if I just leave him alone.  Kind of hard for a "germ a-phobe" like me, but it seems to be what works best for him.

My only regret is not doing this sooner.  As a teacher (and parent!) you are told NOT to punish your child for going the bathroom in their pants and to wait until they are ready.  However, Brent was past the point of having the ability to potty, he was just choosing not to and was quite content with his decision.  I had to win that power struggle in order for him to realize he did not have a choice.  It was hard, and I felt horrible, but I feel like it was necessary due to his personality to move forward.  Now that he is making the effort, I am not punishing him when/if he has an accident, but I don't have to, because he feels bad enough already.  Before, he was doing it out of spite.  That alone is a HUGE accomplishment!

Parenting is truly a learn-as-you-go experience.  My friends that have more than one child keep telling me that just because I "figure it out" with this one doesn't mean I won't have to start over with the next one!  Oye...