Potty Training Woes

[LuvMyHubby]

Instead of a food reward (yep chocolate can constipate) what about purchasing an inexpensive roll or strip of stickers and a notebook or or unlined journal type thing and she gets a sticker or two to put in her "big girl journal" and she can color around the stickers or pretend she is journaling etc.

It has been so long ago that I went through it that I honestly don't remember it being a bad experience, just long.

[McD]

Let me share with you the tale of Wesley. I decided that around fourth of July of 2008 that Wesley was ready to be potty-trained. We went with the '3 day potty training method'. I thought it would be SO easy.
Yeah, right. Wesley held his pee for SO long he gave himself a UTI. He even quit drinking liquids because he knew drinking made him pee. So I waited and decided I wasn't going to push him at all. In September, he told me he wanted to be a policeman like his daddy. I told him that he couldnt be a policeman bc policemen pee and poop in the potty, not in their diaper.

Well by golly, he went straight to his potty and peed. Had maybe 1 pee accident a week and now hasn't had one in a few months. The poo part was harder. He knew he had to go, he would run in circles to try and hold it in. A few accidents later, we were stilll going through the same thing. Finally after 2 hours of crying and struggling one night, I burst into tears and gave him a diaper. 2 minutes later he walked into the bathroom, took his diaper on, and pooped in the potty.

She'll go when she's ready. Until then, just be a patient and loving momma.

[nvmommyx6]

When they went Pee, they got one M&m and when they went poop they got 2 M&M's, and of course, the whole Potty party thing!!!
I also had a porta potty in the living room and let them run around naked too, when they would go in it, we would do the M&M's and the Potty Party and go empty it!
Eventually they got tired of having to go empty the porta potty and just stopped using it!! We made a huge deal about how they were "big kids" now and did not give up!
Letting her go back to the diaper will confuse her, another thing to keep in mind, my Daughter (13 now) tried that "hold it in" and constipated herself, you just need to keep apple sauce and apple juice on hand, they can hold it in when they have those in their regular diet!
Good luck and don't give up!
Mommy

[guest002]

Also, I wanted to add 1 more suggestion. I see your in a colder area of North America, LOL. Try waiting until summer time. Then make the transition to real underware and you'll have a few days of extra laundry but then they usually get it then if they are ready.

[coup]

We were late on the PT issue. My kiddos were about 3 1/2 when we really worked on it and had a lot of success! Only a handful of accidents for each of them (I have twins and did them both at the same time).

So I echo all the previous posters: don't rush it. And try not to sweat it.

[QM]

...So, how did the prunes work out for you?

Still waiting! She's said a couple times this morning "Poo! Poo!", but nothing has happened as of yet!

[rasilla]

You make it sound easy. You haven't met my daughter... I know it will be easier when she shows more signs of readiness. I'm going to ease back on potty training a bit. I think this will help matters in the end.

I am not a potty-training expert by any means, but I have fully potty-trained my daughter between 18-20m old and am starting on my son now. I don't think waiting till your kid wants to go will work fully, then they will only go potty when it is convenient for them (ex: I am playing right now, too busy to go to the potty so I will sit in a puddle). There is something to the parenting concept that you are the parent and if they have bladder control you can help them learn to harness that. I know I love not having to change diapers!

Things that helped and continue to help us:
* wait until they are able to be dry during a nap - this tells you that they know how to hold it and when is a good time to go.
* do potty-play for a few months before you get serious, enough so that they know where pee-pee and poo-poo goes. During potty-play put bunched up toilet paper in their diaper so that they begin to feel what wetness is if you are using disposables. We found that using cloth or going straight to underwear with plastic pants was a bit more effective. You want to make it uncomfortable for them to sit in their waste.
* If they are refusing to go poo on the potty, figure out if they are scared to see something leave them and get flushed away, or if they don't know how to push properly, or if they are not recognizing the feeling that they will have to go poo soon. With my DD (and prob my son too, we aren't at the poo phase yet, still on pee-pee) I would wait till I smelled she was gassy after giving her something that would loosen things a bit, (like straight juice or beans or, like you did, a prune or two). Once I smelled gas, I'd sit her on the potty and put my hand on her lower belly and tell her to push. I could then see if she was pushing with her diaphragm or her abs. My DD struggled as she would push with her diaphragm which meant she would get stopped up. We'd read a book and after each page, before she'd get to the next one I'd make her push for 4-5 seconds. I made sure to do this when I knew she would have to go soon and usually, she'd poo before the book is done.

I also talked with my pediatrician who said that if she is holding her poo in and hiding to go, or refusing to go unless she's in a diaper, that it is okay to give 1/3 of a kids glycerin suppository for up to a week. She actually advised this as a way to get kids on a pooping schedule. We did this when DD began using poo as a way to get out of something she did not enjoy (aka naptime). We gave her the mini-suppository in the morning for 3-4 days and got her scheduled to go then that way there is nothing there to poo during nap time.

I hope that you don't give up! You can totally potty-train if you want to. It is work and dedication, but imagine not having to wipe a bum! Each time they go on the potty is one less diaper!

[Lori Biever-Launder]

I potty trained two at the same time. DS#1 is VERY stubborn and wants to do things HIS way (hmmm, I wonder where he got THAT?). I would sit him ont he potty and he would scream like alligators were in there trying to eat him. He would hang on to me for dear life (even on the little potty). We called him "the Klingon". Any way, what finally worked was Kool Ade and books. I told them they could have all the Kool Ade they wanted but they had to sit on the potty to have it. We sat in the bathroom for five days straight, reading books and drinking KA. It worked! Then, we had a big potty party for the two of them at McDonald's.

[monkeywrangler71]

I used to have a bowel movement approximately once a month until I moved out on my own at 19 and retrained my bowel. That's what happens to stubborn children when you make going to the bathroom a power struggle. You can't force kids to poop.

[QM]

DD2 finally pooped this evening. (I was out at a Bible Study while DH was at home with DD2.) DH said that she had two big poops fairly close together and wanted to go on the potty. He told her "If you want to, you can go poo in your diaper." She said, "No! Toilet!" I'm sure once she was on the toilet there was a struggle because she doesn't want to poo in the toilet and doesn't want to poo in her diaper.

Oh!...the joys of potty training.