Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The Potty Training PROCESS!!!

When was the last time that you had to potty train your little one?  For me it has been quite awhile ago.  My oldest was potty trained before she was three.  Potty training my little M has been quite the process!!!  AND I MEAN THAT WITH ALL MY HEART! 

We started our venture about a year an a half ago….YES…I said 1.5yrs ago.  UGH..it has been a long time.  For those of you that have a special needs child you know that the typical “potty training rules” do not apply to us.  I can’t bribe my daughter to use the toilet, I can’t punish her for not using the toilet.  I can’t yell or threaten or say “THE NEXT TIME YOU PEE YOUR PANTS I’M GONNA…”….NONE of that will help.  The only thing that REALLY helps is positive reinforcement…..have YOU ever tried to stay positive for a year?  IT IS HARD!

I met with a behavioral specialist at the beginning and she prepped me for this long hard journey…….little did I know then….BOY WAS I GONNA NEED IT!  She was fantastic though.  She taught me the basic teaching techniques and they are pretty simple.  Putting them into action has been the hard part.  BEING CONSISTANT….When you are a mom, you are most often RUN DOWN…..doing all of the little life things that make the world turn around.  When  you are in potty training mode…..EVERYTHING CHANGES…..

I have LIVED in our bathroom for the past year.  I am not even kidding!  I practically have a bed in there. 

It makes for some pretty interesting, gross, funny stories though!

here is one….

One day, while working on a big fundraising campaign, I got a call from the local news paper!  A reporter wanted to interview me….I WAS SO EXCITED.  In the background my kids were playing and running through the house…nothing new right?  WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN….I hear….

MMMMOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!!!!  It was my 9yr old, she would only yell like that if something WAS REALLY WRONG.  Trying to remain composed, while answering this reporters questions, I followed the yelling…..

I get to my daughters room, with a finger up to my lips giving the universal sign for SSSSHHHH……and she said quite loud “EEEEWWWWWW!  THAT IS POOP!” (sorry I know that is gross).  I followed her eyes and saw the disastrous mess! Panicking, and keeping up with the reporters questions (because, I couldn’t very well tell they guy that my potty training child has struck again) I picked her up by the arms and took her into the bathroom, stripped her down and hosed her off….all the while, never skipping a beat with the interview……

The interview ended about the same time that our impromptu shower did…AND I STARTED LAUGHING!  Probably a little hysterically…because my oldest said “mom are you alright?”.  I realized then that it really takes a SPECIAL Person to be a mom to a SPECIAL child.  We never let our challenges stop us, they just make us change directions.  Life, as I know it, is NEVER boring!

…the next day, I got the paper and my interview was in it…and I didn’t do to bad.  I am sure the reporter heard the chaos in the background, but never asked if everything was ok…THANK GOODNESS, because in the moment, I am not sure what my answer would have been….

CHEERS!