Potty Training 101 (Plus About 8 Years Practice)

The most wonderful thing happened today! ... Nathan went potty all by himself!!! You say, "What's the big deal ... he's 10 years old for Pete's sake." Well, I'll tell you (proudly) what's the big deal: At birth his colon ruptured and sent him into septic shock; this alone nearly took his life ... another long story for later. The wonderful doctors at UCLA Medical Center performed quite a few surgeries on his little colon over a period of about 1-1/2 years, even removing most of his large intestine. The little guy had to wear a "baggy" on his abdomen for the first two years of life. Finally after his final "pull through" colon surgery, we had dirty diapers. Dh was so proud of his son that he had a hard time throwing away that first dirty diaper :) (yuck)! About the age of six, we had "potty training" services provided in our home to help train him ... I actually did all the training ... but it was nice to have the little chart and someone come to my home three times a week for accountability :) We got the little guy to be daytime "habit trained" ... this meant as long as we put him on the pot every two to three hours we had success. Just imagine, folks, having to remember to put your child on the pot all the time ... even after ten years. My Pollyanna spirit reminds me that other parents have it much worse and that I should be thankful. This week I started just telling Nathan to go use the potty! "You're a big boy ... just go do it by yourself!" ... AND for the past two days, he's actually been doing a pretty good job ALL BY HIMSELF! I'm still having to remind him ... but hope that with his new found self-help skills, he'll start going on his own. Hurray for N..A..T..H..A..N!!