We tried to encourage him by telling him that he would be such a big boy if he were to go poop on the potty. We told him that he would get two chocolates if he went poop on the potty. Despite our motivating words, he was very much against the reality of pooping on his “new” big boy potty. Once it became clear that he was not going to use the potty to go poop, we switched from using words, to physically picking him up and putting him on the potty. He continued to whine but my husband sat in the bathroom with him until he emptied his bowels. We showered him with accolades and promptly gave him his reward: two big chocolates! We were so proud of him and he was extremely happy with himself too. We had successfully navigated our first big potty training hurdle: going poop in the potty. After our son’s poop accomplishment, daddy was off to work. The first real and official day of potty training continued and our son remained in just a shirt and a pair of underwear. I asked him periodically throughout the day if he needed to go potty. Sometimes he said no and other times he said yes and still other times he told me he had to go pee. We stayed home the entire day to keep him close to the potty, which also allowed him to remain pantless. In the afternoon my sister who was home for Easter break came over for one last visit before she had to return to school. I was afraid that the visit would hinder his progress. However, his aunt’s visit had no negative affect on his potty training. I persisted in asking him if he had to go potty and he started getting in the habit of telling me when he had to use the potty.
(To be continued…)