"I MADE A POOpy"

As every parent knows....potty training can be and almost always is difficult, trying and very frustrating at times. It's one of those things that need constant vigilance and constant reminders.

We have been working with LB for some time now trying to get him to understand EXACTLY what the potty is for. NO!! it's not for washing G.I. Joe, it's not for seeing which car can swirl around the bowl the fastest....it's for going potty (tee teeing and poo pooing). We've tried explaining it to him over and over, we've tried taking things away when he went potty in his pants, we tried bribing him.....NOTHING seemed to work. I'll admit I was getting a little concerned. LB will be starting Pre-K in the fall (or so I hope) but I knew he would have to be potty trained completely before this could happen.

We finally got it through to him the proper uses of the potty and he has done really well with the tee teeing part. But come hell or high water....he would NOT go poo poo in the potty. I finally asked LB one day a couple of weeks ago if I took him to WalMart and let HIM pick out his very own potty seat if he'd try to go poo poo on the potty then. "mmmhmm yes Mommy, I go poopy on the potty then". So off we went to WalMart...LB picked out his very own potty seat, and I'm thinking "finally...he'll go potty". OH!! I should have known it wouldn't be THAT simple. (*laughs*) We arrived home, set the potty seat in place and then it started all over again. Crying and screaming "I dun wanna go potty". So potty seat didn't work either. So back to the pleading and bribing.

Well about a week ago BD had a dollar laying around and LB wanted it badly. So BD told him that if he'd go poo poo in the potty he could have the dollar then take it to the store and buy a car. Well LB said o.k. and I thought for sure that it would never work. A short time later LB decides that he wants to use his new potty seat and go try to poo poo. I'm sitting in the living room, BB having helped LB onto the potty, when I hear this excited yell......."I MADE A POOPY!!!!!". I didn't want to laugh and discourage LB but it was very hard to get up from the sofa from giggling. The way he yelled it....he was SO SO proud of himself, and he yelled it for ALL the world to hear. Well of course we all crowded into the bathroom to see this "poopy" he'd made. LB had the biggest grin across his face and was standing beside the potty, almost jumping up and down saying "see my poopy, see my poopy....I made a poopy". It's one of those things that instantly erased all of the headaches, the head banging, and other fit throwing (by ME not LB - lol) over potty training.

We've had one or two "accidents" since this monumental day, but for the most part......I feel sure that LB finally understands the REAL use for the potty!