Underwear Required

Max lives in a very naked world. Underwear required. 

Max is now potty-trained which was a HUGE deal! 
He still wears pull-ups at night, but most nights will wake up dry and go potty right when he wakes up.  It has been life changing.  He gets so excited about going and screams "I did it!" after every success.  But beyond being potty trained his sensory issues have taken a huge nose dive. 
He hates clothes and takes them off any chance he gets.  Now, we understand that being naked is a part of childhood, and it is "normal", but Max screams, cries, fights, and tantrums over the thought of getting dressed.  He has taken his clothes off in inappropriate places and we have had to fight to put them back on.  He doesn't like the feeling of anything on his skin, not matter what fabric.  He tolerates it when he is forced.  We do know that cotton clothing and soft materials are more tolerable than others. 

At school he wears these noise blocking earphones to help block noise. 

Dexter has his own sensory issues.  He doesn't like anything covering him while he sleeps, he hates loud noises and gets overwhelmed in loud places.  Dexter is starting to become very picky with textures of food, and just like Max, is starting to drink more of his diet than eat solids.  We are trying different methods to get Dexter to eat, and when either Max or Dexter requests something to eat we are happy to oblige for them.  We just need both of them to get calories.  People are always shocked when they hear how Max eats because he is off the charts in height and weight, but Dexter isn't even on the charts and can use the calories!

One thing that Will and I wish people would understand about Max and Dexter is how overwhelmed they get in large groups, on holidays, and anything that is out of the norm.  For example, Thanksgiving Day was spent at Aunt Katie's house.  We had a great time, and Max and Dexter actually did great.  Max had one major melt-down but other than that the day went smooth.  On the way home Max got fixated on a helicopter that he played with at his Aunt's house.  This turned into a tantrum that lasted all the way home, and then into the night.  It took us two hours to get him calm and into bed once at home.  Then the next day his body was exhausted and he spent most of the day calming his brain down.  He spent so much of Thanksgiving trying to stay calm which takes a lot of brain power for Max.  We have to pick and choose how many events we do in a day and in a week because too much can really be hard on our whole family once we get home. 

Holidays and social situations have changed for us.  But our boys are teaching us that it is okay to be different.  Different is good. 

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.