Tuesday Toddler Tales
Ugh, I might just be at the end of my potty training rope please, someone throw me a life preserver of hope, encouragement, and some new ideas!!!
This past week, out of nowhere:
Emily is waking up wet every morning, her entire bed soaked and she apparently isn't bothered by it in the least. She tells us "it was a accident, I'm sorry I pee peed in my bed" and is eager to take a bath to get cleaned off. She LOVES baths, could she be doing this on purpose because she knows a bath will follow?
She appears to be freezing up randomly throughout the day, here at home, at Gymnastics class, and at Preschool, when the urge to pee hits her and the pee puddles on the floor around her. She doesn't cry nor does she seem embarrassed by it. Is she acting out or just not able to get to the bathroom on-time? She has only been potty trained for a few months...
She is doing what can only be explained as holding her poop in when feeling the urge to poop. She tenses up, freaks out and often begins to cry, and then, it's over and only a clumpy skid-mark remains, which requires an underwear change and always invokes an apology from her. She's not constipated, she does poop randomly on her own with no pain or discomfort and is always really proud of herself when she does this so, what gives? Is this a control thing for her? She's not afraid of the toilet nor of the act of pooping and never had any issues while potty training.
Going to Preschool is the only change in our lives and we haven't had any visitors in a while.
Any reason for this regression or is this just part of the joys of potty training where no much of anything makes sense?!?!?
So glad I figured out how to comment! Wahoo!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm sad to report that what you're describing sounds par for the course when it comes to potty training.
First, Izzy is *still* not completely dry at night! She's SIX years old! It drives me crazy and I've spoken with the pediatrician and done my research and basically there is NOTHING you can do about this. It's 100% a readiness thing. And I can attest to this on a very personal level as we've tried everything in the book - including major bribery. And things like that just make her sadder b/c she literally has no control over it. The Dr. told me that if you have either of the following: a) a very sound sleeper and b) a history of bed wetting in the family that this is just the way it is and it's a phase the child has to outgrow. Ugh!
Next, our daytime pee accidents have finally stopped, but it's quite normal with a child Emily's age. We would go through fairly regular phases with this.
Last, it's also very normal for a child to hold poop - particularly when they start school I've found. I think it's a bit of a control thing and a fear thing.
I know I've probably not helped one bit, but at least now you know you're not alone! I think the only thing to do is continue to be positive and patient about the entire thing. Best of luck!
Hmm, some of it sounds like it could be a control thing. Having occasional accidents is completely typical for any kid, but having frequent ones during the day seems like a lot. She has shown that she knows when she needs to go at this point, so having frequent accidents could be a behavior/control kind of thing. How are you reacting to her when these things happen? There might be something different you could do in response that would decrease the accidents. Sorry for the rambling- being a preschool teacher, I'm WAY into the potty stuff! It sounds like you're on the right track with your line of thinking. You will figure it out!
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