Ok. Things have gone from reasonably good, to bad.
The first afternoon was mostly just to get him accustomed to not wearing a nappy, and visiting the toilet - whether he sits on it or not. He loved, loved, LOVED the posters on the wall. Looking around and smiling at them, even vaguely pointing to some. Hissing and making his usual sounds at them. Not interested in the books in the slightest, and ... did he just step over that mat? ... I thought he liked textures under his feet? Oh well. Didn't distress him, so we'll leave it there. It's good for my knees anyway (kneeling on tiles is not fun).
He didn't really like wearing his new jocks - the ones that look like proper little boys' underwear. He whined and picked at them and wanted them off. But I encouraged him to keep them on, and then left him be. He settled after a while. After about 5 minutes wearing them, he wee'd. That seemed to shock him a bit and he'd look down wondering what had happened. Of course I grabbed the opportunity to take him to the toilet and begin my spiel about how wee's go in the toilet, etc etc. Cleaned him up, and put some fresh jocks on. This time, I put the toilet training underwear on him. They are like normal underwear, but with a little more absorbency, and they fit snugly around the legs. He liked those better than the other jocks.
A little while later, another wee incident. Change his jocks again and talk him through again. He is not distressed in any way at this stage. He was just a little ... I don't know... reluctant? Hesitant? Apprehensive maybe? Lets just say, he was not lovin' it. But he was not really upset either.
By this stage, I had been able to sit him on the toilet for a few seconds at a time, with a reward. Those chocolate buttons certainly did sweeten the deal for him, hehe. However, later in the afternoon, he pooped in his jocks. I missed the incident because I was bathing the baby miss at the time. But I think I caught him very soon after he did it. So, I took him to the toilet, removed his soiled jocks and showed him what was in it, threw it into the toilet and tried to sit him on there, all the while gently but excitedly talking him through the process.
Well, wasn't that a mistake. From the time I even began walking him to the toilet, he didn't want to go. It was like he knew what he had done. He wouldn't look at the poo. Recoiled from it and wrinkled up his nose at the smell (dude, it's your turds! I'm the one who is recoiling here LOL). He looked up towards the ceiling and shook his head from side to side all with his eyes shut. He wanted nothing to do with it! I really struggled to get him to sit on the toilet at that particular incident, but we managed it for a few seconds. Then I cleaned him up and showed him how we flush the poo's away. He just looked horrified... he didn't want to see the poo in any way, shape, or form... even if it was being disposed of.
He did another poo later that day, and when I tried the same thing - ie. showing him where the poo goes, etc., his reaction was even worse. Without boring you with more details, now he does not even want to visit the toilet anymore. I have to carry him in there with him quietly whining, and as soon as we get in there, he drops to the ground and won't stand up. He will sit on my lap though. And yesterday, in desperation, I actually sat on the toilet seat with him on my lap (kept my clothes on though LOL), just to try and recover that fear of sitting that he had developed after he progressed so well at the beginning. I didn't even bother taking his pull-up down either. I really didn't want to distress him further.
So all in all, it is not going well. It started off reasonably well, but has taken a turn for the worse. Ever since he saw that poo being thrown into the toilet, he wants nothing to do with it.
I don't really know what to do. To this point, it has only been 3 days, and I really don't want to give up yet. But I don't want to make things worse for later on either. His reaction of disgust and shock might be a sensory thing, but I don't really think it is. Could be wrong though.
I have petitioned a couple of knowledgeables for advice and am waiting on their response. At the moment, we are just in the process of organising an OT for him too, so I have to wait until that's sorted before I can actually ask "my" OT.
I never expected it to be easy, nor necessarily successful this time around. But I would dearly love to have him toilet trained on this attempt. It would be sooo much easier than changing his nappies, and would be such a boost in my own confidence - just a real encouragement on our journey. It might also be nice for the school staff he eventually goes to if he is toilet trained before he starts, although that is still a couple of years away.
xx
At the time this is posted, we are on morning #4 of toilet training. Still haven't 'caught' anything on the toilet yet.
The first afternoon was mostly just to get him accustomed to not wearing a nappy, and visiting the toilet - whether he sits on it or not. He loved, loved, LOVED the posters on the wall. Looking around and smiling at them, even vaguely pointing to some. Hissing and making his usual sounds at them. Not interested in the books in the slightest, and ... did he just step over that mat? ... I thought he liked textures under his feet? Oh well. Didn't distress him, so we'll leave it there. It's good for my knees anyway (kneeling on tiles is not fun).
He didn't really like wearing his new jocks - the ones that look like proper little boys' underwear. He whined and picked at them and wanted them off. But I encouraged him to keep them on, and then left him be. He settled after a while. After about 5 minutes wearing them, he wee'd. That seemed to shock him a bit and he'd look down wondering what had happened. Of course I grabbed the opportunity to take him to the toilet and begin my spiel about how wee's go in the toilet, etc etc. Cleaned him up, and put some fresh jocks on. This time, I put the toilet training underwear on him. They are like normal underwear, but with a little more absorbency, and they fit snugly around the legs. He liked those better than the other jocks.
A little while later, another wee incident. Change his jocks again and talk him through again. He is not distressed in any way at this stage. He was just a little ... I don't know... reluctant? Hesitant? Apprehensive maybe? Lets just say, he was not lovin' it. But he was not really upset either.
By this stage, I had been able to sit him on the toilet for a few seconds at a time, with a reward. Those chocolate buttons certainly did sweeten the deal for him, hehe. However, later in the afternoon, he pooped in his jocks. I missed the incident because I was bathing the baby miss at the time. But I think I caught him very soon after he did it. So, I took him to the toilet, removed his soiled jocks and showed him what was in it, threw it into the toilet and tried to sit him on there, all the while gently but excitedly talking him through the process.
Well, wasn't that a mistake. From the time I even began walking him to the toilet, he didn't want to go. It was like he knew what he had done. He wouldn't look at the poo. Recoiled from it and wrinkled up his nose at the smell (dude, it's your turds! I'm the one who is recoiling here LOL). He looked up towards the ceiling and shook his head from side to side all with his eyes shut. He wanted nothing to do with it! I really struggled to get him to sit on the toilet at that particular incident, but we managed it for a few seconds. Then I cleaned him up and showed him how we flush the poo's away. He just looked horrified... he didn't want to see the poo in any way, shape, or form... even if it was being disposed of.
He did another poo later that day, and when I tried the same thing - ie. showing him where the poo goes, etc., his reaction was even worse. Without boring you with more details, now he does not even want to visit the toilet anymore. I have to carry him in there with him quietly whining, and as soon as we get in there, he drops to the ground and won't stand up. He will sit on my lap though. And yesterday, in desperation, I actually sat on the toilet seat with him on my lap (kept my clothes on though LOL), just to try and recover that fear of sitting that he had developed after he progressed so well at the beginning. I didn't even bother taking his pull-up down either. I really didn't want to distress him further.
So all in all, it is not going well. It started off reasonably well, but has taken a turn for the worse. Ever since he saw that poo being thrown into the toilet, he wants nothing to do with it.
I don't really know what to do. To this point, it has only been 3 days, and I really don't want to give up yet. But I don't want to make things worse for later on either. His reaction of disgust and shock might be a sensory thing, but I don't really think it is. Could be wrong though.
I have petitioned a couple of knowledgeables for advice and am waiting on their response. At the moment, we are just in the process of organising an OT for him too, so I have to wait until that's sorted before I can actually ask "my" OT.
I never expected it to be easy, nor necessarily successful this time around. But I would dearly love to have him toilet trained on this attempt. It would be sooo much easier than changing his nappies, and would be such a boost in my own confidence - just a real encouragement on our journey. It might also be nice for the school staff he eventually goes to if he is toilet trained before he starts, although that is still a couple of years away.
xx
At the time this is posted, we are on morning #4 of toilet training. Still haven't 'caught' anything on the toilet yet.
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