Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Conversations In Potty Training with Hardheaded Three Year Old Boy

I actually typed this out a few weeks ago for some friends and family. Most people think that we are just not trying hard enough to get our little precious pookie boy to use the potty. I welcome any and all suggestions, except for Dr. Phil's Potty Training in 10 Minutes or Less. (Dr. Phil - You may know relationships, but you don't know poo about potty training. I bet Mrs. Dr. Phil took care of all of that while you were out... doing whatever it is you did 20 years ago.)I told my friend Misty that I would share it here for you all. Enjoy. (Laughter at my expense is always welcome. *sigh*)

Conversation 1:
A few weeks ago, I hit a sale on big boy underwear at the Gap. (How cute are Gap drawers for boys???) One of the pairs in the pack featured a rocket that looked like the rocket on Little Einstein's. (A regular feature attraction around here... He has some Little Einstein's pj's that he INSISTS on wearing pretty much every night.) I bring them home and show them to Colby and he seems so excited. He carries them around for half the night, anyway. After his bath, I decide to try them on him, because the only size they had on sale was 2-3 years. Colby is lying on the floor, I slip the underwear on him and help him stand up... He looks down, grabs his boy-package and starts screaming:
Colby: GET DEM OFF OB MEEEEEEEE!!! NO NO NO NO!!! NO BIG BOY UNNERWEER!! NO NO!!
Me: Colby!! Calm down and let me look! Awwww!! Look how cute you are!!
Colby RIPS at the underwear like a Chippendale in training. His face is blood red and tears are literally spurting out of his eyes.
C: OFFFFF OFFF OFFFFF!! NOT COOT!! I WAN DEM OFFFFF!! I WAN MY CLUE CLUE DIAPER!!(Luvs brand diapers have Blue from Blue's Clues on the front.) WAN MY DIIIIIIAAAAAPPPPPERRRRRRR!!!
M: Ok!! Calm down! Just a second!!
C: NOW!! GET DEM OFFFFFF NNNOOOOOWWWWWWWWW!!!!
He starts to hyperventilate. I get the underwear off, and get the diaper on. He stops crying, picks up his new underwear and throws them in the kitchen trash.
C: (Smiling) bye bye big boy unnerweer!! Bye bye!!

Conversation 2:
We decide that treats might work. We buy M&M's. When we got home that night, I called a meeting with Marty and Elizabeth while Colby was busy playing. I told them that for that night, anytime ANYONE needed to use the potty, we would ALL watch and make a big deal and that person would get M&M's. Elizabeth immediately decided she needed to pee. We all traipse into the bathroom and call Colby in, too.
M: Oh! Look at Beth!! She is pee-peeing in the potty like a big girl!! Lets all look at her pee!! It is so pretty and yellow!! Lets flush!! Bye Bye Pee! Elizabeth, you get three M&M's for going pee pee!! YAY!!
(Hands her three M&M's)
C: I wan emmy mem's!!
M: Then hop up on the potty!!
C: NO! No potty! Wan emmy mem's!
Dad: If you want an M&M you have to sit on the potty. One M&M for sitting on the potty, three for peepee, and FIVE for pooping on the potty!!
C: No!! No potty! Wan emmy mem!!
M: Then sit on the potty.
C: NO!!
M: Then no M&M.
Colby stands there for a moment, thinking.
C: I go eat banana.

Conversation 3:
That next Saturday, we were getting ready to go to my friend Jennifer's. I ran the kids bath water and called them into the bathroom to get naked. As I took off Colby's diaper, he started crying.
C: NO!! Put my diaper back!! I nee my diaper!
M: No Colby, it is bathtime. We can't wear diapers in the bathtub!
C: (holding his butt) I nee go poo poo!! I nee my diaper!!
M: OHHHH NO!!! If you need to poo poo, then go sit on the potty.
C: (still holding butt, starts screaming) I NEE POOP!! I NEE GO POOP IN MY DIAPER!!
M: NO!! Go sit on the potty!!
(I try to lift him on the potty and he clings to me like it is full of snakes and starts screaming hysterically. I put him down. He runs to his room, holding his butt and comes back with a clean diaper.)
M: NO! If you need to poop, then you sit on the potty! We ARE NOT putting on a clean diaper so that you can go poop!! Not!!
C: (Screaming) I. WAN. MY. DIAPER!! I. NEE. GO. POOP!!!!
M: Bud, you can poop in the potty or on the floor, but you are NOT getting a diaper.
Colby screams for another good 5 minutes, gives up and gets in the tub. Then he was constipated the rest of the night.

Conversation 4:
The day before his birthday, we were driving to school. I am feeling sad and nostalgic because it is the last day I will be taking my two-year-old to daycare.

M: Colby, tomorrow is your birthday!
C: My birt-day?
M: Yep!! You are going to be three years old!!
C: I free?
M: Yep, you are going to be three!! You are getting to be SUCH a big boy!!
C: (laughs) Nooooo! I not gone go potty!! I da baby!! (laughs again)

I am fully prepared to take him to kindergarten in Depends.

4 comments:

Kylee said...

I SO hear you. Caleb & Meghan are no where near potty trained. Meghan acts like the potty is lined with barbed wire. I feel your pain. Sigh.

Kristen Gill, Marketing Manager said...

He and Elena and Caleb and Meghan can all hang out together in their diapers and not feel humilated together. I just said to Elena, "Laney, you're going to be three this weekend. Are you getting ready to potty train?"

"No Mommy...not yet...not yet..."


not yet........




not yet........

~Shelia said...

Hang in there sister!!! We have been there with 2 of our three, and here is the advice... Back off. The stronger we pushed to get the deal done, the stronger both of my now-trained kids pushed back. But we did eventually find leverage in the form of a popsicle. You know the kind... unfancy, in the plastic sleeve... Little poops in the potty earned a little popsicle (you know I was in the kitchen with a cutting board and knife to match the reward to the deed!) Greedy little buggers, they eventually wanted bigger popsicles... see where I'm going?!?

I do know just how frustrating it can be. With my daughter she loved the Princesses on the pull ups and preferred paper over the porcelain. WE made that unpleasant. Back to the no name, no princess, side tabbed "baby" diapers. No more fancy princess pull-ups, along with popsicles helped (after many long months of fighting, begging, pleading, cajoling....) Maddie turn the corner to big girl p*nties and full time potty. But we were well into our 3's FYI.

Hang in there, it WILL happen.

Julie Chulys said...

Hi Natalie,

I have this really neat opportunity to work with LUVS' new Bear Hug Stretch diapers, and I wanted to tell you more about it.

I couldn't find your email address here, so I thought I would try to reach you this way.

Please let me know via email if this is something you want to hear more about. Thank you so much!

Andrea
andrea@rocketxl.com