Potty, Potty, Tee-Tee

The word "potty" is going to be used quite heavily in this post. That, and "tee-tee." Just so you know.

We've been working on potty training for some time now. This summer we almost had it down. Bennett was only going to school about every other week, and while he was at home I let him run around with only a t-shirt on. That way, he knew that if he had to pee or poop he had to go to the potty because there wasn't anywhere else to go but the floor, and that was a big no-no. We did have some accidents, but for the most part, he was using the potty. I'd be sitting in the office on the computer and I'd hear little footsteps getting closer and closer (the bathroom is close to the office) and Bennett would run into the bathroom, get his stool, pick up the lid, put his seat on the toilet and tee-tee in the potty. Then he'd flush it and I'd hear the footsteps head back into the other room, fading away. He did so well.

Until school started back up in August. We were back to getting dressed every morning and putting on a diaper. Well, why worry with using the toilet if you can just go in the diaper you're wearing? The potty usage pretty much came to a complete halt. I'd try my best to let him run around pant-less on the weekends, hoping that he'd get back into it, but he would just run to me and ask for a diaper so he could pee or poop in it. Of course I wouldn't give it to him; I'd take him to the potty. He'd use it, but it was much more of a chore than it had been. And he was making no effort what-so-ever to use the potty at school. No way.

Last month, his teacher at Montessori asked how I felt about moving Bennett up to the next class at school. He and another little girl were the only two that didn't move up last year. They were the young ones of the class last year - everyone else was 3 when they were 2. So this year, all the new students are 2 and Bennett and this little girl are almost 3. I was glad for him to be among students that were older than him last year, because he was able to learn from them. This year, I have felt like he is not benefiting from being in a class of younger children. So I was happy to hear that they wanted to move him up.

So while this topic was being discussed, the issue of potty training came up (this wasn't the first time). Everyone in the older class is already potty trained. I had a conference with his teacher early last week, and we decided that I'd start sending Bennett to school in his "big boy undee-wah." I was a little unsure about this, but hey - if it takes being a little embarrassed at school when he has an accident in his pants, then I guess that's what will have to happen to get him to go to the potty.

So this past weekend he wore his big boy underwear and we talked A LOT about using the potty like a big boy and how he was going to wear his underwear to school this week. Monday morning, I took his diaper off and put his undies on and told him that if he has to go potty, just tell Ms. Lupe or Ms. Vickie and they'll help you go to the potty like a big boy. I took an extra set of clothes that morning and totally expected him to come home in them. He didn't. Ms. Lupe said he would not go potty. He waited until they put a pull-up on him at nap time and tee-teed then.

Sunday was Halloween, and of course Bennett was able to enjoy some of the treats he had collected in his pumpkin. Monday afternoon when we got home from school, he asked for his treats. I had already decided that I would only allow him to have a treat if he went to the potty. I didn't want to resort to the whole bribery deal, but I thought it was as good a time as ever, since he had a big pumpkin full of treats that he was expecting to get to eat anyway. So Monday afternoon, he started tee-teeing in the potty in exchange for a treat (3 m&m's).

Tuesday, he got moved up to the new classroom for good. He had been visiting more and more over the last few weeks, and was now officially moved up. He wore his big boy underwear again, and again came home having had no accidents, but still having refused to use the potty at school. And they said when he woke up from his nap his pull-up was completely dry. He was holding himself as we left school, and as soon as we got home he used the potty - and got 3 m&m's. He tee-teed in the potty all afternoon like a champ.

Yesterday morning I heard him in his bed as he was waking up, saying, "No, tee-tee. No, tee-tee!" I got him up and went to change his diaper, only to find that it was completely dry. We went downstairs and I asked him if he needed to use the potty. He said, "Umm.... no tanks." As I was getting him dressed and about to put on his underwear, I asked him again. He said no. He would not go before we left for school. So I put on his clothes and took him on, feeling certain he'd use the potty at school since he hadn't gone since the previous evening. Nope. Same thing. He wouldn't use it at school, and his pull-up was completely dry when he woke up from his nap. I tried to get him to go at school with me before we left. He wouldn't. He was holding himself as we left, saying, "No, tee-tee!" As soon as we got home, he went in the potty. A lot. Poor boy! He had been holding all that in for so long!

Same thing today. He woke up with a dry diaper, saying, "No, tee-tee." And didn't go at school at all. Came home, tee-teed.

So the only diapers I have used in the past week have been the ones that they have at Montessori for his nap time and the ones I've put on him at night, and those have been dry every morning. So I guess you could say he's completely potty trained, but there's still the issue of refusing to do it at school. Also, you haven't heard me say anything about going poop in the potty, have you? Or in his diaper? That's because he hadn't. Since, like Sunday. I was starting to get a little concerned that he was going to make himself sick.

He had started saying, "No, poop!" And he'd go to the potty and sit down and try, but never would poop. Finally, tonight we went to dinner with Josh's parents and put a pull-up on him under his big boy underwear. When we got home, he started saying, "I don't feel good" (which means, I have to poop). I took him aside and said, "Bennett, it's okay for you to poop in your pull-up." He kept saying, "no," but finally did poop in his diaper. I changed him into his nighttime diaper and his pj's, and within about 5 minutes he pooped in that diaper too. Again, poor boy! Now holding in all that poop! But I was so glad that he finally let it go.

We'll see how tomorrow goes at school. This has been kind of a crazy process, but at least he's been wearing his underwear and hasn't had an accident all week!