PottyUpdate

I had visions of perfecting potty training this summer. I’d send Abbie off to preschool in nice clean underwear and finally forget the pull-ups forever. She was close to being potty trained if she could just master that poop in the potty technique. Once Abbie was potty trained I could sit the boys on the potty and hope for them to miraculously take to the toilet faster than their sister.

Halfway through June I realize this is a fantasy. The boys are still at square one in potty training. I don’t expect to make any progress with them, but that’s okay. They’re young. They still have 70 years of life expectancy left to learn.

Abbie is backsliding on her potty training, though. Far from being perfect, I’d settle for the same level of potty training she achieved a couple weeks ago.

We suffered through four accidents today, three liquid, one solid. A couple weeks ago, she rarely had a liquid accident. I’m afraid her accidents have evolved into attention-grabbers. She knew she could strip off her clothes or beat on her brothers to get my attention; peeing on the floor will grab my attention too.

Her solid accidents are disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. I can’t remember the last time she pooped on the potty. The good news here is she’s getting very good at cleaning herself off after she poops her pants. The bad news is she cleans herself by dragging her butt along the carpet, much like a dog might do except a dog would show more shame afterwards. She’ll then running out to find me exclaiming, “I’m clean!”

I’m going to go back to basics with her. I’m breaking out the scheduled potty times and sticker charts again. Apparently I should pay more attention to her as well, if for no other reason than I can stop her before she cleans herself.