Potty Trained

Shane's officially potty trained.

Actually, he's been there for the past month or so. It started one week with an incredulous "You put him to bed in underwear?"

We haven't bought diapers since November 20th and we've got a bunch left.

It's been great.

There have been a few times Shane has said "Uh-oh. I think pee-pee is coming out!" Most of those exclamations meant a sprinkle in the underpants and the rest was safely deposited in the toilet.

So why has my son decided to poop in his pants twice?

My reflexes were slow. I'm out of practice. Tuesday, Shane stopped playing, looked at me, and by the time I recognized the poop face it was too late.

That was the second poop.

The first one took us totally by surprise. Sunday, Shane wanted to watch what Carrie was doing on the computer. He watched quietly and then looked up. "Mommy, I pooped in my pants!"

Color me baffled. I don't know why Shane decided to do the deed.

What was the function of the behavior? Was Shane seeking attention? Did he miss the sensation? Or did he not want to stop whatever he was doing to take the time? Maybe Shane relies on us too heavily to assign potty breaks instead of self-monitoring?

I don't know. I hope it's not about to become a habit.

I do know that we want to avoid unintended consequences. The first incidence was messy. I took Shane up to the bath to clean his butt and underwear. I didn't want him to think pooping his pants meant a free trip to the bath, though. He may have considered that a reward. I filled the bath my 1/2" to 1" of cold water.

Shane was not amused.

I had Shane sit in it a couple of times for a short second or two. I wasn't out to torture my son. I dried Shane off quickly and dressed him warmly afterward. I wanted to A) clean off the poop, B) avoid a fun reinforcer (warm bath) and C) if the method I chose to do so was clearly un-fun that was okay, too.

Shane wet his pants at Nana's today, so we're not out of the woods on this one yet. I guess my son wants to keep us guessing.