Potty Training Conundrum!
WARNING: Do not read any further if you do not want to hear about potty training type information. This post includes poop, pee, and frustration.
My dear 2 year old is going to drive me off the deep end with this venture. We started with the typical 3 day training plan. I stared at his crotch for hours, and we ran to the potty all day for 3 days. That worked for a bit he would run screaming to the potty after awhile, and there was no mess to clean for a few days. He began to falter so we added M&M rewards for pee, and little toys like a new matchbox car for a poop success. Our poop success ratio was very low. I mean this kid must love pooping in his pants. We finally got to about 2 weeks with an excellent potty record. I for one am overjoyed.
This triumph was however short lived. I have tried everything I can think of to get him back to where he was. Now days he just sits where ever he is and tells us after he pees that he "Pee bed" or whatever may be the case. Friday and today have me climbing the walls with frustration. For the first time in 2 1/2 years he has decided to play in his poop, and put it on the wall. So as to not encourage the behavior by getting upset I remained calm, and placed him in the shower to contain the poop. Now add to the factor that my nearly 11 month old is every where and into every thing. Now I have to catch and contain the little man before I can even begin cleaning the poop.
So now I am asking for advice. What do I do? I am terribly tempted to just put him back in diapers, and throw my hands in the air. This has been over a 2 month battle already. Am I just rushing the process? I knew when we started that even when he was doing really well we would still have occasional accidents. Should I just take a few weeks off, and start all over? Help I am grasping to the last threads of my sanity here.
I have received some suggestions from mom friends, but they do not really fit our military life style. My husband is gone at least twice a week for around 40 hours at a time. I do not have the ability to just hand him the baby and devote multiple days to potty training. Our first attempt at the 3 day method was over a holiday weekend when my husband had a rare 3 days off. Now I know there are plenty of families that have similar situations that are not in the military. So please give me all of your tips!! I will try anything once in this case. Thank you for reading this much of my insanity.
October 2, 2011 at 11:43 PM
My best advice is wait a few months and try again. Wait until he can talk in sentences and explain things like why he doesn't want to go on the potty. I did this and my daughter explained that she wanted a Dora potty seat and then she would go on the big girl toilet. I was like.... Random much? But we got one, and it worked. It's a lot easier when they're just a bit older. So I didn't win the potty training race... Oh well. Check out some diaper coupons if saving money is one of the major factors to wanting to train now. I JUST discovered coupons and it saves a ton of money on diapers. Wish I had known about that for the past 2 and a half years, but I'll make use of them with our next little one, I'm sure. =) Good luck!!
October 3, 2011 at 12:25 PM
Thanks for the info Camilleta. I already use all the coupons I can find for my mini man. So I will grab a few more for the big guy if we go back to diapers.
October 4, 2011 at 12:14 AM
I had a similar problem with my second daughter. Camilleta gave you excellent advice though, take a little break and then try again. It (kind of) worked for me. She's still reluctant to go poop on the potty, so I have to watch for when she is making the poop face and then place her on the potty myself. My great aunt once told me "Don't worry about it. They will be potty trained before they go to college." Haha, not exactly what you want to hear, but she's right, when they are ready it will happen. It just may be a little later than you had envisioned. :)
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Lacey
Little Miss Nerd Girl