Poo-servering, Barely

Day 7 of potty training. Yesterday was really hard and I seriously started contemplating giving up. I'm still telling Z when to go, so there were no potty accidents yesterday. Instead there was a total of, I kid you not, 10 poo accidents. All afternoon, he kept going a little in his underwear and then wasn't able to go on the toilet. Mess after mess after mess. Poo everywhere. On the toilet, on the kiddie toilet seat, on the floor on his shoes, on his foot, legs and hands. In the bathtub (twice). It is extremely difficult to be patient at a time like that. I tried really hard to stay calm but I didn't always succeed. I cried three or four times, but tried to hide it from Z. He found me anyway and said, "Okay, Mama." (I don't think he understood what I was crying about; he had already moved on.) By the fifth poo clean-up, John was home and I had put a pull-up on Z. I figured at least then I wouldn't have another pair of underwear to scrub.

After dinner I went out to a ladies thing and had a chance to talk to a few other moms about it. They gave me some great ideas like getting him a special book for reading on the potty just when he goes poo. And making the prize for number two something he really wants. And making Z help with the poo clean-up, at least putting his dirty underwear into the toilet to rinse. (This is supposed to really gross them out so they don't want an accident again. Z doesn't seem bothered about the poo all over. Really? Surely a loathing of your own feces is an inherent human trait?) Also, I got out the little potty for him and told him he could use it just for poo since it is much easier to get on and off and puts his legs in a more comfortable position. We'll see if he wants to use it.

So, when I got home last night, I felt a little more hopeful and had some more ideas to try. And then, (hope upon hope!) John gave me the update on the evening. Z did it! John also got to clean up poo five times, but Z finally went poo in the toilet! It turns out that he was constipated! Oh, man. I didn't think of that because it seemed like he had almost the opposite problem- lots of small soft poo's. So, Z was super proud of himself and told Papa that he gets dinosaur treats when he goes poo-poo. (This is past bedtime so Z had to wait until morning.) I think there is a different dynamic with Papa around. Maybe that will be John's job to help with the poo encouraging every night. Lucky him!

The next steps are just to keep working on Z knowing when he has to go himself. Today I started more indirect prompts and Z had an accident. I was actually kind of glad for the opportunity so he could learn. He's been going on autopilot for a while with me prompting him all the time. But I should report that we went to the grocery store this morning! When we passed the bathroom, I asked if he wanted to go. He was curious, of course, so he said he did want to go. And he actually did go in the toilet at the store. Again, a good learning opportunity, this time for both of us.

A friend last night told me to be patient and expect three weeks or so of really having to work on it (with the number two's). It's nice to have some rough idea in my head, because at my most tired and pessimistic, I was imagining him starting kindergarten and still unable to poo on the toilet. We're sticking with it. One day at a time, right? I plowed down the cleaning product aisle today and stocked up.