2/21/12

{battles}: the potty.

I think I've hit a breaking point.  Paisley was once potty trained.  She really, really was.  She went potty during nap times, woke up dry most mornings (I've kept her in pull-ups just in case) and always told me if we were out at the store or such when she needed to go potty.  She even had no problem using public restrooms!  Lately every single time we leave the house, she pees her pants.  I ask her a million times before we leave if she needs to go, sit her on the potty before I dress her, and I even bribed her with a treat today if she would go before we left.  To no avail-she peed her pants, not once but twice.

Things are technically getting better actually...3 weeks ago she decided to stop going potty in her potty during naptimes and would just poop on the floor next to her potty.  So gross.  She would then use anything she could find to try and clean it up because it's "messy."  Thank heavens last week she decided to be potty trained during nap time again.  She also stopped waking up dry.  I swear she's not drinking more, she just doesn't seem to care or is peeing more in her sleep but it is a rare day that I walk in and she's dry.  She typically likes to take off her pull-up before I get a chance to get in with her-also because it's "messy!" Unfortunately once again she feels the need to try and clean up if it's messy and I feel like I'm doing a load of laundry a day between washing 4 pairs of pants and her sheets and blankets every single day to washing all of her clothes or blankets or stuffed animals that she uses to "clean up" with...argh!!

The at home stuff I can handle for the most part-it's super unpleasant and I would also like it to all be done, but the every single time I leave the house thing has got to stop.  I need help.  I'm honestly thinking about putting her back in diapers when we leave because it's gotten so bad.  If we spend the entire day at home she rarely has an accident.  Even if she's fully dressed, even if she's far away from the potty, even if she totally engrossed in what she's doing she will stop and go potty if we're at home.

As soon as we're at the park, or playing at someone's house is when she has an accident.  I ask her every 10 minutes if she needs to go, I take her even if she doesn't.  I take her when she says she needs to and she changes her mind.  Nothing works.  I need help!!  Any suggestions??

4 comments:

  1. Ok, well. In my experience this is a control thing likely...since we already know she is totally capable of going in the potty and controlling it physically. She wants the control and does not want you to have it. Mind you, I am not a trained therapist or anything like that, just a mom. So, that being said. I don't actually have a solution to the problem. The end...

    Well, I could make a little one I guess. You could try having her clean the laundry and stuff. With your help of course, but I would not under any circumstances put her back in diapers, because then she wins. Sorry but I have seen that take then twice as long (or 10 times for one nephew) to recover from.

    She is probably a bit unsettled with the news of the new baby too. That often throws them in reverse on the potty thing and other such "big kid" stuff. You might try letting her potty train a doll and change its diapers and the like so that she can be the mommy like you. It puts some of the control back in her court, and she might take pride in being the big sister/mommy instead of wanting to stay the baby.

    Those are my thoughts. Good luck kid. You are a great mom and can totally handle this little bump in the road. But never, never let them see you sweat...if they smell fear you're dead in the water. ;D

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  2. Claire was rough too. I would think i had made great strides then she would pee on the floor right in front of me. What finally worked was putting her in time out in her room, with her potty, anytime she had an accident. She was not allowed out until she went pee/poo IN THE POTTY. She was in there for an hour once. 2 days of that and she was all done! good luck. Don't give up.

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  3. I agree with the first comment...that it's a control thing. She totally understands her limits at that age and she is beginning to push them to see how far she can go. So my suggestion is that you need to make sure you set limits. You already know what we did with Teigan when she decided to mess her pants and I think that some kind of punishment might be a good idea...other than normal time out. Remember...she completely understands! DON'T give up!! If you need anything just let me know!

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  4. All kids are different. Dax seriously went through this exact same thing. Once Kai was diagnosed with PDD, and saw me emotional, and there was a lot of stress and chaos around the house, Dax peed and pooped his pants non stop. I finally put pull ups on again, and decided he needed a break, and so did I. ( I know most moms wouldn't agree with going back to diapers) I slowly went back to underwear during the day. He knew and knows how to go potty, but it was his way of either acting out, getting attention, or dealing with stress. Now that things are calming down with Kai and his Dr. visits, and I'm less emotional and stressed. Now he is totally peeing and pooping on his own. You kind of have to try everything, and see what works. We tried, no pants, diapers, time out, staying in the bathroom til he went, and honesty none of it worked. He just needed time to cope with whatever he was dealing with...

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