Jonathan pooped ON Ben's bedroom floor yesterday. I went upstairs to get Simon up for school, wandered in and lo and behold, there was Jonathan, naked, playing with Ben's basketball scoreboard, and sitting next to a pile of poop.
W.T.H.?
He's always apologetic.
"I don't know what happened. I just can't get to the potty… I'll never figure this out…."
It's getting kind of weird, honestly.
He DOES make it to the bathroom…. about 50% of the time. The other 50%, well… let's just say I am still doing my fair share of pants changing with my 4-1/2-year-old.
I should mention he is 100% good with "number one" and even wears underwear to bed. It's just the POOP we have trouble with.
I'm out of ideas. I've taken things away. He's earned things. I watch for cues. I put him on the toilet on a schedule.
Sometimes he'll go on the toilet and then turn around three hours later and go in his pants. It's like he is never out of poop.
I know the pediatrician will speculate that means his constipated, but I really don't think that's the case. (I feel like he always thinks they're constipated, even when the poop floweth abundantly and freely)
I just… ARGH! So frustrating.
This will end up being the kindergarten clincher! LOL. No way can I send a kid to kindergarten who poops his pants.
P.S. I just realized I have a whole category label for "poop". Yes… we have had our fair share of issues over the years, I suppose. Enough to warrant an entire category of posts, apparently. LOL! ;)
Showing posts with label potty training. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potty training. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Monday, July 28, 2014
All in Good Time.....
After months and months of painfully slow and steady progress on the potty training front, Jonathan is finally there.
He FINALLY tells us when he needs to pee pee and even when he's in the POOL, which I'm super impressed with!
Poop is an entirely different story (sigh), but we're working on it and he is motivated by his big reward of getting to camp out in Simon's room. I'm still hopeful we'll wrap the whole thing up by the time school starts, but even if he's still not quite 100%, I at least know he'll tell his teacher he needs to peepee, which is a huge step from last year where I had to rely on the teacher to remember to make him go and when things got busy, that didn't always happen.
Still needs a Pullup at night because that's hit or miss, especially when he sleeps in a little.
After this, it will be time to tackle the binky.... but one thing at a time!
He is a stubborn one!
He FINALLY tells us when he needs to pee pee and even when he's in the POOL, which I'm super impressed with!
Poop is an entirely different story (sigh), but we're working on it and he is motivated by his big reward of getting to camp out in Simon's room. I'm still hopeful we'll wrap the whole thing up by the time school starts, but even if he's still not quite 100%, I at least know he'll tell his teacher he needs to peepee, which is a huge step from last year where I had to rely on the teacher to remember to make him go and when things got busy, that didn't always happen.
Still needs a Pullup at night because that's hit or miss, especially when he sleeps in a little.
After this, it will be time to tackle the binky.... but one thing at a time!
He is a stubborn one!
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Update and a Half...
Where to start?
I guess Jonathan...
So he's basically given up his nap, except for the occasional car nap. It's kind of okay with me and makes things easier, though I'm not gonna lie, I miss the quiet time in the afternoon and he's not really the kind of kid who can be convinced to take "quiet time" in his room. I can, however, get him to lie on the couch with binky, ducky and Sesame Street or Super Why. So I guess I'll take it. He did fall asleep in the car on the way home from swimming today. I hope this is just ftom nap backlog and not that he's getting sick. :\
Potty training is still going. He's getting better about telling us. The weekends are hard because our routines are all different and Tom is not as on top of reminding him to go as I am, which kind of makes me crazy. He tends to let him wander off and get distracted and that's when he always forgets and wets his pants. Frustrating... but it will come eventually. I'm just so happy for any progress at all! He has FILLED his star chart, which I seriously never thought he would do when I put it up. Time to print a new one and work toward a new prize. Not sure what this time though.... hrm....
He still hasn't worn underwear to school. School is going better, but he still gets teary in the morning until I hand him off to the teacher and then he's fine. I feel like I should probably not rock the boat by throwing pee demands on him at school and risk stressing him out. His teacher has enough on her plate with him in her class to be dealing with that.
Simon....
We stumbled upon a solution to his sad school mornings. He now hides one of his loveys in his backpack and it seriously turned him completely around and he is back to loving going to school again. I think it give shim security just to know it's there. Whatever works!
I was called in for a conference by his teacher last week. She has some concerns about his fine motor skills and his attention. He also doesn't participate in class very readily and she hasn't been able to figure out a way to motivate him on any of those things. We're looking into getting both evaluated and in the meantime, she's developing a checklist for him for the classroom that we will reward at home with "Minecraft Minutes". He will also get tickets for Minecraft Minutes at home when he practices writing or does a nice job on his homework. His teacher and I are completely on the same page and it's really fantastic. I loved not having to be the one to email and say, "Hey! I think something's up.... " Do I wish he would just coast along without the need for any conferences at all? Yes... but it's just nice to have the teacher be right there with me as far as what issues she sees and what he needs.
Interestingly, on my way out of the conference, she mentioned that he had done a really good job presenting his scrapbook page. (they had to make a scrapbook page of baby pictures and vacation pictures to show the class) She said he completely lit up and just talked and talked about all the photos... like a totally different kid. I had a lightbulb moment and said, "You know... it's probably worth mentioning that he's a middle child and basically very stereotypically so... anytime something is all about him or special for him, he really gets excited." She sent me an email yesterday morning that on Thursday and Friday she had experimented with that and that I was COMPLETELY RIGHT that when he's in the spotlight, he performs better and is way more motivated. So she is going to use that in her strategies... gotta love birth order psychology!!!
Ben....
Ben has decided that he hates swimming at the new place. He's anxious about some of the strokes and says the water is too cold. (it actually really REALLY is...he emerges all blue and shaking every week after an hour in there... but I can't fix that!) He cries the entire time now. Last week, he wouldn't even get in. This SUCKS. Going to see if I can get a refund because it's kind of pointless. He is still all about doing swim team in the summer... so I guess I'll see if his swim teacher at our other place can just work with him on strokes. GAH.
School is going well, although we really seem to have hit a hiccup with math and this higher number multiplication. I may need to break my email silence and let the teacher know he needs some help. I have worked with him at home, but it sounds like he's not getting it in class...
Anyway so that's what's been going on! I have tons of pictures to share but they are trapped in my phone. It will no longer email pictures anywhere for some reason and they aren't showing up in my Photostream. Phone as camera is not working so well for me these days!!!
I guess Jonathan...
So he's basically given up his nap, except for the occasional car nap. It's kind of okay with me and makes things easier, though I'm not gonna lie, I miss the quiet time in the afternoon and he's not really the kind of kid who can be convinced to take "quiet time" in his room. I can, however, get him to lie on the couch with binky, ducky and Sesame Street or Super Why. So I guess I'll take it. He did fall asleep in the car on the way home from swimming today. I hope this is just ftom nap backlog and not that he's getting sick. :\
Potty training is still going. He's getting better about telling us. The weekends are hard because our routines are all different and Tom is not as on top of reminding him to go as I am, which kind of makes me crazy. He tends to let him wander off and get distracted and that's when he always forgets and wets his pants. Frustrating... but it will come eventually. I'm just so happy for any progress at all! He has FILLED his star chart, which I seriously never thought he would do when I put it up. Time to print a new one and work toward a new prize. Not sure what this time though.... hrm....
He still hasn't worn underwear to school. School is going better, but he still gets teary in the morning until I hand him off to the teacher and then he's fine. I feel like I should probably not rock the boat by throwing pee demands on him at school and risk stressing him out. His teacher has enough on her plate with him in her class to be dealing with that.
Simon....
We stumbled upon a solution to his sad school mornings. He now hides one of his loveys in his backpack and it seriously turned him completely around and he is back to loving going to school again. I think it give shim security just to know it's there. Whatever works!
I was called in for a conference by his teacher last week. She has some concerns about his fine motor skills and his attention. He also doesn't participate in class very readily and she hasn't been able to figure out a way to motivate him on any of those things. We're looking into getting both evaluated and in the meantime, she's developing a checklist for him for the classroom that we will reward at home with "Minecraft Minutes". He will also get tickets for Minecraft Minutes at home when he practices writing or does a nice job on his homework. His teacher and I are completely on the same page and it's really fantastic. I loved not having to be the one to email and say, "Hey! I think something's up.... " Do I wish he would just coast along without the need for any conferences at all? Yes... but it's just nice to have the teacher be right there with me as far as what issues she sees and what he needs.
Interestingly, on my way out of the conference, she mentioned that he had done a really good job presenting his scrapbook page. (they had to make a scrapbook page of baby pictures and vacation pictures to show the class) She said he completely lit up and just talked and talked about all the photos... like a totally different kid. I had a lightbulb moment and said, "You know... it's probably worth mentioning that he's a middle child and basically very stereotypically so... anytime something is all about him or special for him, he really gets excited." She sent me an email yesterday morning that on Thursday and Friday she had experimented with that and that I was COMPLETELY RIGHT that when he's in the spotlight, he performs better and is way more motivated. So she is going to use that in her strategies... gotta love birth order psychology!!!
Ben....
Ben has decided that he hates swimming at the new place. He's anxious about some of the strokes and says the water is too cold. (it actually really REALLY is...he emerges all blue and shaking every week after an hour in there... but I can't fix that!) He cries the entire time now. Last week, he wouldn't even get in. This SUCKS. Going to see if I can get a refund because it's kind of pointless. He is still all about doing swim team in the summer... so I guess I'll see if his swim teacher at our other place can just work with him on strokes. GAH.
School is going well, although we really seem to have hit a hiccup with math and this higher number multiplication. I may need to break my email silence and let the teacher know he needs some help. I have worked with him at home, but it sounds like he's not getting it in class...
Anyway so that's what's been going on! I have tons of pictures to share but they are trapped in my phone. It will no longer email pictures anywhere for some reason and they aren't showing up in my Photostream. Phone as camera is not working so well for me these days!!!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Where To Begin?
Sorry for break. I'd like to say I was busy doing whatever people do when they get a little free time from 100% of their children, but alas, that was not the case. Instead, I spent the last week:
- waiting for phone calls to see if I'd need to pick up Jonathan from preschool early
- devising ways to get him excited, or at least tolerant and not screaming, about school
- waiting for phone calls to see if I'd need to get Simon from school early (three-day tummy ache)
- devising ways to help him understand he needs to poop more often and also eat things that are green
- waiting around for Jonathan to pee
- devising ways to make Jonathan understand that peeing on the potty is worth his time
That about sums it up.
But, a week of good, solid, honest work has paid off. Jonathan went to school yesterday with ZERO tears and had a great day, much to everyone's relief. He also pee peed in the potty more times than he didn't and, for the first time ever, told me he needed to go and made it on time. Crossing my fingers to have this done in a couple weeks so he can start wearing underwear to school instead of a PullUp.
Simon worked things out on his end, though apparently spent some time laying down in the nurse's office on Tuesday. He was still irked to have to go to school yesterday because he had gym class and apparently he hates gym class now. He also had a substitute. Rough day for him! It's always something.
In other news, we've been faithfully plugging away at his reading at night and he is really, REALLY getting it. He's reading at a really good pace! Remembering words, sounding things out really well. I'm super proud of him. :)
Not much to say about Ben lately.... they always take turns with being challenging and its his month off. He's doing well in school, is really enjoying it, though complains that he never gets free time to talk to his friends. I need to get better about setting up playdates outside of school. :( It's hard when everyone has sports commitments! If only he liked soccer, he could see all of his friends every Saturday morning! LOL! He also reports they have ruined his parent pickup line time by assigning them spots next to their siblings, not with friends, and also making them sit "shoulder to wall" so they can't really talk. What can I say? Elementary school is a dictatorship. I feel sort of bad for him... he really did like that last bit of his day....
He did start fall swim team... we actually moved him down to pre-team where we thought he'd be more comfortable, plus, it's less of a family commitment (only an hour on Saturdays and no swim meets) so really much better for us right now. It took two weeks, but he's back to loving it. Tom has been taking him and said he's so fast, he caught up with a 13-year-old girl he was sharing a lane with the other day. The coach had to tell him to slow down. LOL.
Oh! And Jonathan started swim lessons Tuesday with a new teacher. Our previous teacher left the gym to do other things. (though she still babysits for us... so yay!) He took to "Miss Tara's friend" (that's what I called her so hopefully some of the love for Tara would transfer) quickly and had his first ever lesson all to himself. After it was over, she came over and told me he's such a little fish! She had him swimming a little less than halfway across the pool and working on his back float. Oh, and she tried to teach him to dive, which was pretty hilarious.... I love that he just went with it. ;)
I've been spending lots of time in the library at the elementary school. I love it there! I like to get the kids' books checked in and out and then get to work making the shelves look pretty. I get a little obsessive about it... my years of working retail are all coming back to me. Yesterday, I made it all the way from A-M in fiction. Personal best! I also located some misplaced 39 Clues and Narnia books and took great pleasure in getting them back where they belonged. Whew. Those poor books would have been misplaced for who knows how long if I hadn't found them! ;) LOL. I try not to think about the fact that four classes come in after I leave and mess it all up again. HA!
So that's what has been going on our world. Now that Jonathan is comfortable with school, I feel like I can start getting some things done on those mornings... I have some painting I want to do. And next week, I need to go get some fall flowers and clean up what's left of the vegetable garden. (Didn't have such a great year with that, but I learned a lot, so there's always next year! My herbs are still doing great though!) :)
- waiting for phone calls to see if I'd need to pick up Jonathan from preschool early
- devising ways to get him excited, or at least tolerant and not screaming, about school
- waiting for phone calls to see if I'd need to get Simon from school early (three-day tummy ache)
- devising ways to help him understand he needs to poop more often and also eat things that are green
- waiting around for Jonathan to pee
- devising ways to make Jonathan understand that peeing on the potty is worth his time
That about sums it up.
But, a week of good, solid, honest work has paid off. Jonathan went to school yesterday with ZERO tears and had a great day, much to everyone's relief. He also pee peed in the potty more times than he didn't and, for the first time ever, told me he needed to go and made it on time. Crossing my fingers to have this done in a couple weeks so he can start wearing underwear to school instead of a PullUp.
Simon worked things out on his end, though apparently spent some time laying down in the nurse's office on Tuesday. He was still irked to have to go to school yesterday because he had gym class and apparently he hates gym class now. He also had a substitute. Rough day for him! It's always something.
In other news, we've been faithfully plugging away at his reading at night and he is really, REALLY getting it. He's reading at a really good pace! Remembering words, sounding things out really well. I'm super proud of him. :)
Not much to say about Ben lately.... they always take turns with being challenging and its his month off. He's doing well in school, is really enjoying it, though complains that he never gets free time to talk to his friends. I need to get better about setting up playdates outside of school. :( It's hard when everyone has sports commitments! If only he liked soccer, he could see all of his friends every Saturday morning! LOL! He also reports they have ruined his parent pickup line time by assigning them spots next to their siblings, not with friends, and also making them sit "shoulder to wall" so they can't really talk. What can I say? Elementary school is a dictatorship. I feel sort of bad for him... he really did like that last bit of his day....
He did start fall swim team... we actually moved him down to pre-team where we thought he'd be more comfortable, plus, it's less of a family commitment (only an hour on Saturdays and no swim meets) so really much better for us right now. It took two weeks, but he's back to loving it. Tom has been taking him and said he's so fast, he caught up with a 13-year-old girl he was sharing a lane with the other day. The coach had to tell him to slow down. LOL.
Oh! And Jonathan started swim lessons Tuesday with a new teacher. Our previous teacher left the gym to do other things. (though she still babysits for us... so yay!) He took to "Miss Tara's friend" (that's what I called her so hopefully some of the love for Tara would transfer) quickly and had his first ever lesson all to himself. After it was over, she came over and told me he's such a little fish! She had him swimming a little less than halfway across the pool and working on his back float. Oh, and she tried to teach him to dive, which was pretty hilarious.... I love that he just went with it. ;)
I've been spending lots of time in the library at the elementary school. I love it there! I like to get the kids' books checked in and out and then get to work making the shelves look pretty. I get a little obsessive about it... my years of working retail are all coming back to me. Yesterday, I made it all the way from A-M in fiction. Personal best! I also located some misplaced 39 Clues and Narnia books and took great pleasure in getting them back where they belonged. Whew. Those poor books would have been misplaced for who knows how long if I hadn't found them! ;) LOL. I try not to think about the fact that four classes come in after I leave and mess it all up again. HA!
So that's what has been going on our world. Now that Jonathan is comfortable with school, I feel like I can start getting some things done on those mornings... I have some painting I want to do. And next week, I need to go get some fall flowers and clean up what's left of the vegetable garden. (Didn't have such a great year with that, but I learned a lot, so there's always next year! My herbs are still doing great though!) :)
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Potty Training Dropout....
Tried a last-ditch effort to get Jonathan potty-trained in time for school the second week of September. I realize I still have a couple weeks, but at this point, it's not looking good.
He's not mentally ready yet.... seriously, if you ask him "Don't you want to be a big boy like Ben and SImon?" his reply is, "No. I don't care."
What do I even DO with that response?!
So whatever. I'm happy to wait until he's ready. Diapers are easier anyway! I was giving it a go for the sake of his preschool teacher, but whatever. It's SO not worth the stress and tears (for both of us) that it's causing around here.
I'm 30 seconds away if he needs a change at school. I'm sorry in advance, Mrs. Poe. I tried. I really did!
I did realize a little while ago that Simon was JUST trained when he started 3s preschool. That means he was about three years, four months. He perfected the pee part around 3-1/2 and didn't really 100% get the #2 thing until closer to his fourth birthday. p.s. This late birthday thing is for the birds! Do NOT have a baby in August if you can avoid it! Just keep your legs crossed until 9/1 and then you won't need to worry about nonsense like this.
So it's time to take a deep breath, step back, and wave the white flag on this.
Also, I need a gift idea for my soon-to-be three-year-old. His birthday is Sunday and I seriously keep forgetting this. Poor third child.
He's not mentally ready yet.... seriously, if you ask him "Don't you want to be a big boy like Ben and SImon?" his reply is, "No. I don't care."
What do I even DO with that response?!
So whatever. I'm happy to wait until he's ready. Diapers are easier anyway! I was giving it a go for the sake of his preschool teacher, but whatever. It's SO not worth the stress and tears (for both of us) that it's causing around here.
I'm 30 seconds away if he needs a change at school. I'm sorry in advance, Mrs. Poe. I tried. I really did!
I did realize a little while ago that Simon was JUST trained when he started 3s preschool. That means he was about three years, four months. He perfected the pee part around 3-1/2 and didn't really 100% get the #2 thing until closer to his fourth birthday. p.s. This late birthday thing is for the birds! Do NOT have a baby in August if you can avoid it! Just keep your legs crossed until 9/1 and then you won't need to worry about nonsense like this.
So it's time to take a deep breath, step back, and wave the white flag on this.
Also, I need a gift idea for my soon-to-be three-year-old. His birthday is Sunday and I seriously keep forgetting this. Poor third child.
Monday, April 22, 2013
End of an Era....
So, without going into specifics, I'm informing you, my dear readers, that the Tom and Erin Graff Baby Boy Emporium has officially shut down production.
...annnnnnd... I'm good with that!
Time to focus on getting Jonathan out of diapers and end THAT era too.
Actually, on that topic, my initial goal was to start in July, but now I'm thinking I might really push it and wait until we get back from Disney in mid-August under the theory that the longer I wait, the faster it will go. Also under the theory, wait no, the FACT, that taking a potty-training child to Disney World is not the most enjoyable thing ever. It's not horrible, as I recall, but it adds an extra level of stress and urgency that I really don't need.
So... anyway since we have nothing new in development, it's onward to improving the quality of our currently existing products. ;)
...annnnnnd... I'm good with that!
Time to focus on getting Jonathan out of diapers and end THAT era too.
Actually, on that topic, my initial goal was to start in July, but now I'm thinking I might really push it and wait until we get back from Disney in mid-August under the theory that the longer I wait, the faster it will go. Also under the theory, wait no, the FACT, that taking a potty-training child to Disney World is not the most enjoyable thing ever. It's not horrible, as I recall, but it adds an extra level of stress and urgency that I really don't need.
So... anyway since we have nothing new in development, it's onward to improving the quality of our currently existing products. ;)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Potty Countdown...
The way I figure it I have five, six months MAX left of diapers being in my life. I could not be happier about this countdown.
Jonathan has approximately zero interest in the potty though, currently. I ask half-heartedly every so often.
For the last few weeks, he has woken up completely dry every morning... which tells me the time of readiness is fast approaching and I can't avoid it for much longer.
"Hey, you want to sit on the potty?!" I ask on these days, enthusiastically selling the benefits of being like big brothers and getting to flush! OH how he loves to flush. And flush. And flush. And Flush. Bye, bye gallons and gallons of well water...
His answer when I ask though is generally an emphatic, "NO!"
At some point, I need to just ignore the protest and get this party started, so to speak... preferably before August. I don't want to. I hear people hire this sort of thing out now? A friend of mine is sending her son to be potty trained by his daycare lady. The daycare lady told her if she sent him in with 30 pairs of underwear on Wednesday, she'd have him potty trained by Thursday.
Where do I sign up?
Kidding... it's a rite of passage. I did it with the other two and we'll get through it together. I just... oh how I hate that stage where you have 5.5 seconds to find a bathroom in whatever store you are in or ELSE.
As I type this, he is, in fact, sitting on the potty...happily flushing away and talking about pee pee and poo poo, so maybe we're making some mental progress. Or maybe he just likes flushing.
Sigh.
Jonathan has approximately zero interest in the potty though, currently. I ask half-heartedly every so often.
For the last few weeks, he has woken up completely dry every morning... which tells me the time of readiness is fast approaching and I can't avoid it for much longer.
"Hey, you want to sit on the potty?!" I ask on these days, enthusiastically selling the benefits of being like big brothers and getting to flush! OH how he loves to flush. And flush. And flush. And Flush. Bye, bye gallons and gallons of well water...
His answer when I ask though is generally an emphatic, "NO!"
At some point, I need to just ignore the protest and get this party started, so to speak... preferably before August. I don't want to. I hear people hire this sort of thing out now? A friend of mine is sending her son to be potty trained by his daycare lady. The daycare lady told her if she sent him in with 30 pairs of underwear on Wednesday, she'd have him potty trained by Thursday.
Where do I sign up?
Kidding... it's a rite of passage. I did it with the other two and we'll get through it together. I just... oh how I hate that stage where you have 5.5 seconds to find a bathroom in whatever store you are in or ELSE.
As I type this, he is, in fact, sitting on the potty...happily flushing away and talking about pee pee and poo poo, so maybe we're making some mental progress. Or maybe he just likes flushing.
Sigh.