Choo! Choo! All aboard the Potty Train!

Well, we are giving it another try! Sean has taken an interest in using the potty again. This time, he has actually had some success, so we are super excited and optimistic.

I have done soooo much reading up on potty learning, potty training your child with Down syndrome, and about other families that have gone through this stage of life. I even went to two presentations on potty learning- one by our local Parents-as-Teachers group and the other at our DSSW meeting. I should have a PhD in Potty Learning by now! Somehow, I feel that like everything else, it isn't going to matter what I know- it's about what Sean knows and how Sean feels. It's his body and he's the boss.

When Aidan hit around 3, I wanted to try potty training with him. I had done a bit of reading and thought he showed signs that he was ready. He showed us that he wasn't interested in using a potty chair, or sitting on the adult potty with a child seat. He wanted to pee standing up like Daddy. When he was tall enough to do it, he had great success quickly and went to undies full time within a month. Our challenge with him was #2. The boy refused to sit on the potty. He was scared, he'd say. He figured out how to withhold poop until he was home, then he'd strip off his clothes, put on a pull up and poop. He did that for a long time. I mean, a loooooong time. Like as in he was almost 5 before a bout with a tummy flu and leaky poops finally convinced him that he couldn't use pull ups anymore. We were extremely frustrated with him and tried many times and many ways to get him to stop using the pull ups.

What we learned from the experience is that we needed to trust him. Trust the process. Trust that he would get it on his own and eventually move forward. I really hope that this history with Aidan is going to help us as we go through the learning experience with Sean.

Back in August, we got a Baby Bijorn potty seat for Sean, it's size and sturdy design looked like a better fit for Sean. While he enjoyed sitting on it, he hasn't ever used it for it's intended purposes. In December, I bought a dozen cloth potty training pants to use with Sean. I thought we'd give it a go over the school break. Day one went so poorly, I decided to put it on the shelf again.

As summer approaches, I have again been giving it thought. Wondering if lots of nakie time and potty access all day would help. I started my reading up again, wondering if we should try the timed potty break approach once more.

Out of the blue, last week Sean decided to start trying to use the potty. He is attempting to pee at the potty, standing up. The first day he tried, he peed in there three times all on his own. So far this week he has had several days where he has succeed in peeing in the potty one or two times a day. He's tried sitting on the potty with the kid seat a few times to catch a poop in the potty, but we haven't had luck with that yet. He has even gone in the potty at school a couple times this week! It's been magical!

The pride he has in himself for accomplishing this little success is just wonderful. He beams with joy and has high fives for everyone! We are all so proud of him and I am trying to contain my excitement and give him time to keep working on it himself, without pushing him. I take a deep breath, because I know the trip may be long and I need to just appreciate the journey.