Some of you may want to skip this one. You've been warned.
There is good news and bad news on the potty training front. In a complete reversal of roles from their early stages, Xander has the good news and Sawyer has the not so good.
As I've mentioned several times, both of the twins have digestive issues that make number two somewhat of an ordeal. It's been that way since birth. I'm sure a big part of it is their very limited diet, what with their sensory issues and their picky eating habits. The rest of it is likely pure stubbornness, but that's just a theory.
Early on, it showed itself in as many as six or seven dirty diapers each day, every day. That was fun, times two. Later, it came in the form of alternating diarrhea and constipation. Also fun, times two. And at last year's well visit, our pediatrician recommended putting them on Miralax as much as every other day if necessary to help with what seemed to be a worsening issue. We started out once a week, and ended up at pretty much every other day. And even with that, we were still getting phone calls from their teachers wondering if they were okay, because they were watching them go up on tip toes and straining to use the bathroom at school. Pretty much every single day.
They went from those early days of many, many dirty diapers to not having but maybe one number two a week, if that. Clearly not a good thing. When potty training came along, we decided to stop the Miralax (trust me on this, there's a good reason). We opted for that other, equally awful alternative, children's suppositories. That worked well for a while, but Xander got to be a master of holding even those in, for as much as six or seven hours at a time, which cannot be a good thing. Both of them also soon mastered the ability to dislodge the suppository and nothing else, which was not helpful at all.
One day last week, something just seemed to click. Xander is now going on the potty for number one and two, and doing so consistently. He had his first puddle accident yesterday after lunch, the first one since the first week of potty training. But other than that, he's been doing extremely well. He even walks himself into the bathroom (you need to be paying attention, of course, but he lets you know in his way what he needs). He also says "Pee-pee!" and "Poo-poo!" and "Good job!" on a consistent basis during the process. So, other than his natural tendency to pee every twenty minutes, he's doing great.
And then there's Sawyer. He did so well early on. He was consistent and even occasionally managed to go number two with very little fuss or issue. But lately he's relapsed. The first problem is that he now starts to pee the minute his pants come down. And that would be regardless of whether or not you've already raised the seat or even opened the lid. The second is one that I think we've created. Because he was getting so good at avoiding the intended purpose of the suppositories and he was still having trouble going number two, we opted to put him back on the Miralax. Not a good idea.
Let's just say that today, only two days into the Miralax routine, we've spent hours in the bathroom. He's been there almost all day. Because every time I let him up, a small (or large) stain appears in his big boy underwear. I have literally gone through almost two whole packages of diaper wipes today (as in, yes, I have opened up the holder and put in two brand new packages, the second of which is halfway gone). Wipes have been used both in cleaning him back up, and also in cleaning all the surfaces he continues to smear (that whole can't sit still thing is a real problem today).
And that's where we are right now. Xander is doing extremely well. Sawyer, not so much. So I guess it's back to the original plan. No Miralax, except under extreme situations where nothing else will work. Because I can't take too many more days like today. And I know his teachers won't want to either. Sigh.
