Today was the first time that Liam ever pooped in his potty! It is actually the first time he’s done just about anything with that potty. It’s the same little potty I used when I was little. And about four months ago we brought it out of storage and put it in our bathroom – where it sat and collected dust while Liam ignored it. Up until a week ago, anytime I asked him if he’d like to sit on his potty, I got a defiant “NO!” And then suddenly he showed some interest in sitting on it. For about four seconds at a time. With his pants on. Until tonight.After his bath he started talking about the potty. He was still naked so I asked if he wanted to sit on his potty and he - much to my surprise - said “Yes”. So I put it on the hallway floor for him and he sort of sat on it. And stood. And squatted. And sat again. And then the poop came. And between the sitting, standing, and squatting, most of it landed in the potty. I was so happy for him that I didn’t even mind cleaning some poop off the hallway floor.
Earlier today Liam reached another big milestone. For the past two weeks at school he’s been transitioning from the Infant Room to the Toddler Room. There are many big differences between the two rooms. But the biggest difference for Liam is that naptime takes place after lunch on a mat on the floor; whereas in the Infant Room it took place on individual schedules in cribs in dark nap rooms. It’s been a running joke between Jason and me that Liam will never sleep in the Toddler Room because of the whole mat-on-the-floor-next-to-your-friends situation. In fact, the first day the Toddler Room teachers tried a nap with Liam I sat in the observation booth to watch – purely for my own entertainment. And it was indeed entertaining. All of the toddlers fell asleep. And then both of Liam’s little colleagues who are also transitioning along with him fell asleep. And then there was Liam. The only one awake in the silent room. Making elephant noises.
Then earlier this week the teachers tried again. This time I wasn’t observing, but the teachers reported back that he cried for 20 minutes while everyone else slept. He only stopped crying when they took him out of the room and went and got his Infant Room teacher to comfort him. So this morning I gave Liam a little pep talk. As his mother, and the person in charge of convincing him to do things he doesn’t want to do, I have come to realize that sometimes direct instructions are the best way to handle Liam. So I looked him in the eye and said “Today at nap time I want you to lie down on your mat, close your eyes, and go to sleep”. He looked back at me and said “No nap”. But then he DID IT! At nap time he fell asleep on his mat along with the rest of his friends. And slept for an hour (which is a pretty decent nap by our standards).
Two big achievements in one day! Go Liam!!
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