The thought of potty training Caleigh seems a little crazy to me, but when talk of preschool started; potty training was one of the first things that I was told they would teach Caleigh. The teacher even showed me the potty area of the classroom.
It left me thinking about potty training a child with short bowel syndrome. We change Caleigh's diaper at minimum 10 times a day. Some days make it up to 20 times. Right now she is stooling at least 4 times a day. I read about other short bowel parents and how they trained their kids. It seemed easy peasy from everything I read.
So on to the next challenge. Caleigh uses a wheelchair and needs full assistance with lifting. Sitting up and balancing on a potty chair would be difficult. Caleigh uses the iPad to communicate, but we haven't exactly developed a signal when she wants to tell us something with the iPad. We give it to her....she talks. That's how it goes. So telling us when she needs to go could be hit or miss.
Last week I was ordering wipes online (we use a special sensitive kind) and the site I was ordering from also sold potty chairs. I had been investigating the different choices for a month or so, but didn't want to take the leap. When I saw the baby bjorn tall back potty chair I knew it would be a good start. So I showed Caleigh the colors online. Blue, White, Red, & Pink. I put those 4 colors in the ipad and had her choose which color potty she wanted. Caleigh immediately went for pink. I showed her the pink potty online and then asked her again for confirmation. She chose pink. So I ordered it.
When we got it in the mail a few days later I thought it would be a new fixture in Caleigh's playroom. Maybe we would sit on it. Read the book I bought. Talk about the potty. Just get used to it. I thought wrong.
Friday morning, after Caleigh woke up, I decided to sit her on the potty before putting a new diaper on her. I told her "big girls use the potty" and she proceeded to go poo on the potty. There was lots of cheering and I gave Caleigh a sticker to play with. Caleigh had the biggest smile on her face. She knew exactly what she was doing.
About an hour later I had created a makeshift potty chart and decided I better go with it. Strike while the irons hot and while she is interested. It's age appropriate, right? That first day we tried the potty several times. Every time I put Caleigh on the potty she would go. The stickers started to add up. I would put the sticker on Caleigh's pointer finger and then help her put it on the chart. She's all about the stickers. If I mention them she smiles like crazy.
So now here we are. Sitting on the potty throughout the day. Let me tell you a secret....I have NO clue what I'm doing. I have NO clue where to go from here. I basically have NO clue what I'm doing.
It's a lot of work getting Caleigh on the potty and then holding her up while she's excited. It's a lot of work wiping her tush and then getting a diaper back on her. We are still watching Caleigh's input and output. It's more work to weigh the potty cup and clean it out then just weighing a diaper and tossing it.
I've read about setting a timer. I've read about letting your child hang out naked. I just don't know what to do at this point. I know this will take time and by all means I'm not rushing things. I just need a plan to keep her interested and successful.
As of this morning Caleigh has 18 stickers on her potty chart. She's excited and we are excited. It's potty time.....Got to Go!
12 comments:
Yay Caleigh!!! She is such a smart little girl! You're such a good Mommy Holly! Hugs!!
MaryBeth Martin
Holly,
I have never potty trained a child with short bowel syndrome, but have trained a lot of other children with multiple disabilities. Your next step would be to have Caleigh communicate to you when she needs to use the potty. You can put it on her communication device. Then she can get "super" stickers for every time she tells you and then goes in the potty.
Her potty is very pretty, but you might find it easier to get her and adapted toilet with it's food rest, back and arms. I believe Rifton makes a good one. This would be higher off of the ground making it easier for you to transfer, Then all you have to do to wipe her is lean her forwards and reach behind her and wipe from the front to the back. If she can weight bear at all, I would put her in pull ups and have her stand against you so you can pull up her pants. Thats how I do it with with some of my students.
Lisa
We are going through potty training ourselves and stickers are the way to go!
And just so you know you are not alone, I haven't the slightest clue as to what I'm doing myself. Potty training is one of those things I thought Sawyer would just get and boy...I was totally naive to think that! I am not a researcher and I think I've read more about potty training than I've read about anything else child rearing-wise. it's been an eye opening experience to say the least...
Good luck! I'm proud of your girl, she's doing great!
Clueless over here too. I have put Oia on the potty but NEVER has she gone. I think with CP kids (or so I've heard) they have a hard time recognizing/feeling those muscles so I'm in no rush. But clueless, I tell ya, I guess we just wing it like everything else.
BTW, we have the same potty!
Our little one is affected with severe cp in all limbs, but we are finding success with pottying on the big toilet. Like this morning I noticed that she woke up dry, so I took her in to sit and yay for her she went! It is definitely hit or miss here, but she smiles big and definitely knows it is a big deal. I am trying to figure out the communication part of it and also just the logistics of getting to the pot in a timely manner - kind of cumbersome to be pulling off a diaper and carrying and all that, but oh her smile makes it so worth it!
Dannette
Sometimes the best results come from when you figure things out on your own. (I bet you knew that already.)
Can you ask your therapists to review your transfer method - to give you some hints on making it less work for you?
Barbara
I know we still haven't met, but I love you!!!! We're always nearing the same experiences at the same time, and it helps knowing that someone else is doing some of the same things. Wade has been trying to make himself pee in the tub because he thinks it's funny. (I see him looking down and kinda pushing and grinning!) So, I know he's aware of what's going on. We talked with the OT and speech therapist a couple weeks ago, so it's something we're all brainstorming together. I'm just not so sure how ready *I* am! Good luck on this new venture!
Smiley is quadraplegic CP and like that it was suggested that I should potty train her. Her potty was just like Caleigh's, only blue and she also used it first time. She is now clean (most of the time) but not dry, and even that makes a big difference to outings and swimming and other activities. She uses a sad face to indicate that she needs to go, hopefully when I finally get an iPad she will be able to use that! Caleigh seems to have taken to the potty like a duck to water. so I would definitely say keep going - after all it sounds like she want to :)
Way to go Caleigh.
I spend a large part of my workday giving parents advice on toilet teaching their children with special needs. I usually recommend beginning with a timed schedule (every 1 1/2 -2 hrs) on the potty. Children requesting to use the toilet often happens later. Consistency and lots of positive reinforcement are key. The sticker chart is great.
Her curls are the greatest.
Charlie likes sitting on the potty, but he wants NOTHING to do with using it--he wants to with using it. He even starts to get agitated after a while and I think that's because he has to go, but doesn't want to go in the potty. All in good time, right?
Also, go Caleigh! You are doing an amazing job with her--I feel like complete slacker mom over here.
Way to go on using the potty Caleigh! That is very exciting. What a big girl :).
I started by time training my son (every half hour and then grew it as went along). I praised both going on the potty and being clean or dry when he got on the potty. I tried to make sure he was always clean/dry by keeping the time short at first and growing the increments between toileting (was able to grow it up to about 3 hours in the end). Because he had an understanding of what clean/dry was from us talking about it I could ask him at any time if he was clean/dry and then celebrate with him when he was. I would then include a question of if he had to go if it was between the intervals.
Really, it was only after he had been trained for about 2 years that he started actually telling me when he had to go. Basically he learned to hold it in between.
He still struggles with BMs due to his low tone but we will get there :).
Good luck. It sounds like you are so on the right track. How exciting.
weighing ins and outs: can you line the pottychair bowl with a plastic bag like a cut down target bag or small trash bag? it would make both measuring and clean up easier- the bag would go under the seat-so caleigh's bum will still be on the seat-not the bag....might work...
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