Potty Training - Take 3.

It's official. We have a potty trained 2 year old! It's taken a while to get here but John is now officially out of nappies - aside for at bedtime, although he's even starting to manage going dry then too. Last time I talked about Potty Training, we were having some success but poops still weren't happening. For a while there, I thought it was a lost cause, that John would always ask for a nappy when it came to pooping, or just hold it in for days on end until I became so paranoid about him becoming constipated that I'd put a nappy on him just to get him to go.

After doing a bit of research, it seems that this is a common obstacle in the world of potty training. There's various theories as to why, including some kids liking the feel of poop in their nappies (erm...lovely...) but as John was always so keen to have his bum changed after a poop, even bringing us a nappy & lying himself down on his change mat, it wasn't as straight forward as that. When it came to poops, John had the fear. For whatever reason, the idea of pooping anywhere other than a nappy was frightening to him. We tried various forms of encouragement & even bribery but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Strange, considering he's a typical boy and fascinated by the stuff... For a good few weeks we'd simply let him use a nappy and then once he's gone poop, we'd sit him on the toilet and drop the poop in behind him - fiddly, yes, but at least he could see where it was meant to go.

In the end, it was chance that got him pooping on the toilet. One day I caught him starting to poop whilst still in his pants; I grabbed him, put him on the loo and before he could gather his thoughts, he'd pooped on the toilet. Cue rounds of applause from both him & I, cuddles, kisses, stickers, sweeties & phone calls to Granny to share the news! It was the light bulb moment. Instead of being something scary, pooping on the toilet meant attention...& sweeties!

Of course, accidents did follow & they occasionally still do but now he'll happily tell us when he needs a poop. And he still waits for the gasps & praise that follows! It does mean we're often caught short out & about, as being an opportunist, John always likes the opportunity to have an alfresco pee. Then there was that one time on the beach where he pooped and a dog ate it (but we'll not go into that...). But otherwise, it seems we've cracked it! Never in a million years did I think I'd have a potty trained 2 year old.

Have you been through potty training with a wee one? How did you find it?

Happy pooping!

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