Potty Training - a pain in the butt.

I loath potty training. 
I don't hate a lot of things, but potty trianing is high on my list. 
Luckily I have a very patient husband who has been relentless this summer. 

Max doesn't have a "treat" he likes.  He actualy has made a drastic turn for the worse when it comes to food.  He only drinks his meals.  (Another post about food at a later time)

Potty training has been rought for Max.  And for Mom.  It stressed us both out. 
He doesn't really sense he has to go.  He needed a pattern.  I was still working during the year and felt like I wasn't a big help at all.  I felt really guilty about that.  
We started at school. His teachers were amazing and got him on a great potty schedule.  And once he mastered school we really started working on potty training at home.  We tried to have him on a schedule, we tried to use a sticker system, we tried so many things, but nothing worked.  We were all getting frustrated and upset.  So we stopped.  That was in the beginning of June. 

Max then went to summer camp at Giant Steps two days a week.  And there again, he had accident free days. So we knew he could do it at home. 
Max LOVES trucks and toys.  At school if they have a good work session he gets to have his special toys for a lotted amount of time.  We thought, could this system work at home? 

And then magic happened. 
We bought him the toy he has been wanting.  A rescue bot.  (We actually bought him the wrong one...but Poppi is going to be the hero and send us the correct one!)
Everytime Max is successful using the potty #1 or #2 we allow him to play with his Rescue Bot for 10 minutes.  We set a timer and when it goes off, the toy goes away.  I was reluctant.  I know, negative Mommy moments.  But it worked!  And he put the toy away. 
This has worked every single time.  He even tries to force pee out just to play. He also wants the Rescue Bot show on while playing with his toy.

*The real success story:
Today we were gone at a doctor's appointment for Dexter for 4 hours.  When we came home Max came in the house, he ran to the potty, went and then wanted his Rescue Bot.  Miracles do happen. 

Now, he still wears a diaper at night and in the car.  But, progress is progress no matter how small. 
And we couldn't be prouder of our cute little underware wearing boy! 

Potty Training - just the beginning.

Potty Training is something I have been dreading.  It is something that has given me anxiety.  But with the confidence from Max's teacher last week we started the process.  And it is a process. We started January 29th and here is our 9 day story.  

Max doesn't really feel when he has to go to the bathroom, so we have to help him.  The first day was baptism by fire.  He went to school in diapers, and as soon as he arrived his Thomas the Train Underwear were on.  He had no successes that first day.  None.  He cried when he had to be placed on the potty and came home from school very upset. 
I had 5 pairs of pants to wash and lots of dirty underwear. 

At school Max is asked every 5 minutes if he has to use the toilet.  Then every 30 minutes they put him on the potty.  I can tell you the first few days were very rough.  Max hated being at school.  It was hard.  He would cry a lot.  But then, last week I got a text from his teacher that simple said "WE HAVE A SUCCESS!"  He went.  The happy dance was done by everyone in his classroom and he was happy at school.  And then he didn't go again for a few days.  He was getting really stressed out.  Over the weekend he cried and was having so many tantrums.  So on Sunday I said "Diapers!  Just put one on!"  And that is what we did.  And Max slept, and all was right again with the world. 

But then we started again on Tuesday this past week.  He does much better at school.  He has improved over the week.  He started with 4-5 accidents a day, and today he came home with only one pair of dirty pants.  At home it is harder.  He hasn't gone for us yet.  But we still try to follow the same routine at home.  At night he wears pull-ups with underwear over them.  And if we go out we do the same.  He LOVES his underwear, so we put them right over the diaper. 

Rewards:  Because Max doesn't eat candy, chocolate, cake, cupcakes, or cookies this hard been harder.  He will lick dum-dums, and at school Gerald is his reward.  If he has a success he gets five minutes of Gerald time.  He is allowed to play with trains while he sits on the potty, and we are overly excited when he has a success.   At home we let him sit on the potty with the ipad.  He doesn't really understand stickers or a chart, and because of his sensory issues we don't feel like it is fair for him to have to clean up his own mess.  Maybe when he is older? We have had so many good suggestions given to us, and we appreciate them.  We are not trying to rush him, or give him more anxiety, we want him to be successful. 

But until then, Max sure looks adorable in his little boy undies!

And yes, that is the potty in our living room.  We will try anything.  Anything. 

9 Days in...February 6th...
Say some potty prayers for Max.