Monday, October 19, 2009

What's been going on?

Harlie's taken a major step back in her potty training. She was doing great for so long! And then all of a sudden, it's as if she was never trained at all. And now she doesn't care where she goes. We're very frustrated over here. We spend a lot of time in the bathroom. And when we're not in there, we're cleaning up a mess somewhere else. And I'm finding this whole potty training thing a lot more difficult with no immediate motivators. With Murphy, it was easy. He loved Dum Dums (still does) and so it was a breeze to train him with them as a reward. I don't remember any difficulty training him. But, he has always been a very easy kid to raise.

But, with no reward? Potty training totally blows.

The cheaper way to go would be to use something like stickers. But she HATES stickers. So that's no good. We've tried tons of praise. But I don't think she cares anymore if she makes us happy. We've tried underwear (that's what worked the first time around). She loves those little wind up toys. So, I went and got a few (they're not cheap) and when she goes potty, I let her play with those for a few minutes. I worry that the reward isn't immediate enough. By the time she goes potty, pulls her pants up, flushes the toilet, washes and dries her hands, and leaves the room, she's probably long forgotten about the fact that she just peed. I don't know. I'm probably not giving her enough credit. So we'll keep on trying it and see what happens.

Harlie started receiving speech and physical therapy through the public school system. She goes to Murphy's school, which is great. I really like her therapists, they are great with her. She gets speech therapy there twice a week, and then she still gets her private speech therapy once a week. So, she gets three speech therapy sessions, one physical therapy session, and one feeding therapy session per week. Plus two half days at preschool. She's a busy girl.

My cold started to leave me for a few days. And now a full blown sinus infection has taken its place. I'm in agony right now. But, I called my doctor today and asked if he would just call in a prescription for me so I didn't have to come in. I was so happy that he did. So, hopefully I will bounce back soon now that I have some antibiotics. Yum!

Unfortunately, I have missed an entire week of my training for my half marathon, which is now less than a month away! I really can't afford to miss anymore runs. So these meds better kick in fast! I'm supposed to run tomorrow!

Well, this has taken me forever to write because my head is so full of pressure and my teeth hurt. I just can't focus. So, I'm going to bed now.

Thanks,
Christy

6 comments:

Susan said...

Evie was the same way. Once the novelty of potty training wore off and the sticker charts and underwear were not enough of an enticement it was impossible. She couldn't care less if she had an accident. She's 8 and she still doesn't like to stop what she's doing to go pee. Some kids are just like that. She'll do it when she wants to. Adrian too was easy in comparison. His motivation was jelly beans. Maybe boys are simpler. ;) Hope you kick the sinus infection.

Unknown said...

Just wondering...how does Harlie do with the Potty in other settings....school, therapy etc?

To be honest I waited till the last possible moment with all my children as I hated the touching public toilets etc etc!! And like you said earlier thats when they want to go every 5 mins!

B-Mama said...

Perhaps the changes in Harlie's therapy have thrown her off track a bit with the potty? If it makes you feel better, our T is still pooping in his underwear and having regular #1 accidents as well, usually while standing right outside the bathroom. And he has no excuses other than extreme stubbornness!

I hope you feel better in a jiffy!!

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Ang B said...

I'm just echoing what Susan said - Kate was the same, as soon as the novelty wore off, she was practically back to square one. I was beyond frustrated. Recently, she's on a upward swing but I think it's mainly due to the fact that I"m babysitting another 3 yr old everyday - peer pressure and arguing over who's going on the big potty and who on the little is making a big difference. But it takes time - and whoever said girls are easier lies. My boys training was much more straightforward than this! Good luck!

Ms. Crabass said...

Christy-I totally get what you mean about the not being interested in rewards thing! There is nothing Milo is interested in since he's NPO. We *were* letting him choose a new movie afterwards but that created a monster! He would sit on the potty and not do anything just so we'd change the movie...and he's never been the same since. Still not getting it's no longer a reward so he just uses his diaper.
And you know how old he is! So if you find a resolution let me know. Kisses to Harlie and gang xx

Kerry

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