Leaps and Bounds

The road to potty training has been well traveled in out house. When we potty trained Emma, it was a long, drawn out process. We had to learn what worked for her. And we couldn't push her the way I was sure all kids needed pushed.

In August, we started on that road again with Mason. With his inability to communicate, Shawn and I knew that this potty training thing with Mason, was really going to be us doing it. And it has been. Anytime he has made it to the potty has not been because he told us, rather, because we just take him. He wants to wear underwear. He want to use the toilet. He wants to be a big boy. He just isn't sure how to do it. We have been patient. Cleaned A LOT of poopy underwear. Danced a lot of Potty dances, and mostly we have seen a lot of growth in Mason's abilities. Since we started letting him wear underwear when he has an accident he hasn't seemed to noticed and is unaware that he soiled himself. That has by far been the most frustrating part of this. How do you help your child recognize is bodies functions?

As we have worked hard with Mason, and as we have talked to him a lot and reinforced where we go when we have to pee or poo, we saw little progress. That is, until about 2 weeks ago. He started coming to me and saying, "I poop". We would go to the bathroom and usually, he would just be wet. Just the idea that he recognized that he was wet and needed to be changed was GREAT! Then, he started coming and telling me even when he was in a pull up and not underwear. That meant that he was recognizing when he was peeing. Yesterday, we had a breakthrough. I am so excited! We have been pushing daily for Mason to poo on the toilet. It has taken him a while to get the idea that he can push it out while sitting, and as we have tried hard, and spent A LOT of time next to him as he sits and tries, he has pooed on the toilet several times. Last night, I was getting dinner ready, Shawn had just come home from work, and Mason came into the kitchen. "I poop" he says. I asked Shawn if he could go help him. Sure enough, he pooed, but only a little and Shawn set him on the toilet and he finished pooping! He was able to recognize that he was pooping in his underwear, stop, and make it to the bathroom. I can't tell you how happy, excited and successful I felt for Mason! HE DID IT! It gives me so much hope that he is going to get this. It took Emma FOREVER to get the idea of pooing in the toilet. Mason has seemed to get the idea and on top of everything else he deals with daily. What a great feeling!