Hope on the Horizon

I decided to try my friend's method after all, but I've altered it a little. Like Lura mentioned in her comment on my previous post, having the kid stay in the bathroom 'til the next time they need to pee could mean a long time in the bathroom.

Today, what I noticed with Drew is that when he wets his big-boy pants, he doesn't go very much. It's like he realizes right away what's going on and is somehow able to stop the stream before it becomes a full-on river. So I have him try to use the toilet before I wash him off in the shower. So far, so good. He's been able to go at least a little bit on each occasion, and for me, that counts! With Owen, he had bigger accidents (including a "twosie," as they call it on 'Scrubs'), but was still able to squeeze out a little tinkle so I didn't make him stay in the bathroom after I cleaned him up.

It's been an interesting day. Both boys have been pretty good about using the toilet (even without me reminding them a few times). If there is an accident, the kid who did it would say, "I don't have to need a shower!" And that's how I'd know to check their britches. Though, at times throughout the day, Drew would randomly say, "I don't have to need a shower!" I'd check him and he'd be dry. So I took it as a hint that he needed to go and he usually did. Other times I'd randomly hear, "Drew needs a shower!" from Owen, or "Owen needs a shower!" from Drew. Luckily those were all false alarms. Silly little tattle tales.

Generally, though, the boys sort of resigned themselves to the shower. They cry when I tell them we have to clean them up (because they know that means cold shower), and Drew will sometimes plead, "I just wanna have wipes!" But I remain firm, telling them, "When we mess our big-boy pants, we have to get all cleaned up." And they will say, through their little tears, "Okay." Then they proceed to wail and cry through the whole shower (which is about half a minute long or a minute for the "big messes" --'cause those take longer to clean up), but act all brave and like they didn't care when it's time to get out.

Another thing I altered (and I forgot to mention this sort-of-important part in my previous post; my friend recommended using a shower hose that attaches to the faucet for kids like Drew who are already really afraid of the overhead shower. That way, you don't get water in their face or anything, you just wash the area that needs washing, and it will still be uncomfortable enough that they won't want to face that consequence again.): I meant to pick up a shower attachment when I went to the store to buy more underpants for the boys, but I totally spaced getting it. In the mean time, I'm just letting the tub faucet run full blast (Drew is also afraid of this--but really, what isn't he afraid of?) with the cold water and sort of splashing/pouring it onto the kid with my hand or a wash cloth, depending on the size and nature of the mess.

I'm pretty optimistic so far, with this method. The boys seem to be catching on to what peeing (and needing to pee) feels like without a diaper on, and they seem to be making the necessary adjustments (going to the toilet). Hopefully things keep going this way! My friend said that two of her boys were trained within two days using this method. Her other boy is quite "spirited" and a little stubborn, and took about a week--mostly because he just didn't want to interrupt his playtime to make a twosie in the toilet or to tell anyone that he'd done it in his pants.