Potty training.

I have been crowned the household potty training queen. Both of Edda’s other main caregivers, Jeremy and Yvonne, are not as excited as I am about getting Edda potty trained. I think girls with Rett Syndrome who are potty trained are mostly timed-trained, which means they’ve trained their families to take them to the bathroom every 2 hours or so. We are quite badly trained, I’m pretty sure Edda could be timed trained if we could get our act together.

I’ve downgraded my definition of potty training (for now that is), I’m just hoping that I never have to change another poopy diaper ever again, I totally don’t mind the pee diapers, it’s just the poopy ones that are a PITA – literally and figuratively. They are so huge and messy and just plain difficult to deal with, I just hate it, hate it, hate it.

A few weeks ago, I had a string of 4 or 5 days, where I had good luck and every day I coordinated well with Edda where she went #2 in the potty right before bed. I don’t ask school or Yvonne to document the #2s, so sometimes it’s hard for me to tell when she went last. Edda does not give any indication that she has to go, I just put her on the toilet when I remember to and then I wait for 3-5 minutes, because that is how long it takes her to get going. (This is the reason I’m the potty queen, Jeremy doesn’t like waiting the 3-5 minutes. I’m like 3-5 minutes of just hanging playing patty cake with Edda to not change a poopy diaper? That’s a fair trade!)

Our latest triumph is what I call the “traveling poop” – where we are actually out and about and Edda gets a poop into a potty. It’s quite a scene – I use the whole handicapped stall – you’ve got the wheelchair, Edda and me and all of our crap, which means 2 winter coats, a huge purse and backpack, one diaper that has been used, one diaper that is clean and then we are wiggling around trying to not to touch anything. I’ve had this happen 3 times in the past year, once on a trans-continental flight (which was so impressive to me that I celebrated with an extra bag of Doritos), once at church and one this past Sunday at Union Station. I love the thrill of victory!

I don’t want to give the impression that we are getting 100% of the poops. We still sometimes find ourselves out in public places with a full diaper and a yucky public toilet stall and at home, even when I’m paying close attention, I’ll miss the signs and I’ll need to change her, but I feel like we are making progress a little bit at a time.

Go Edda!

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5 thoughts on “Potty training.”

  1. ha ha ha this was a hilarious post. so graphic lol. i have NO DOUBT that you can potty train her. i have seen other Rett girls time-trained too. with SUPER results. Like weeks without ANY “accidents” Keep up the good work, Edda!

  2. I think this is remarkable and very important. I don’t think the school would mind helping out, or at least reporting what is happening. I worked with a little girl this way. It was one of my job duties, it was a part of my job description (which I loved. Not the usually secretarial stuff for me). I’m not 100% sure but I think it was in the little girls IEP for future skills. It made by the end of the year, life for the family and the class so much better. I bet the class will appreciate it and be very willing to help. This is what they are there for, to implement life skills such as this one.

  3. Keep it up! Caitlyn is some what trained these days. She actually does better at school then at home. Since she is ambulatory, she is also a little “I need to go” trained. We have a one talk button outside of the bathroom, and school has one by the classroom door. She will sometimes push it when she needs to go.

    That is great that she is only taking 3-5 minutes! We do 10, because Caitlyn has a privacy issue. She has to relax and make sure no one is watching!

    Keep up the good work! and you are not alone with cramming it all in the stall! I even carry a potty ring with me every where we go, sticking right out of the top of a bag. No shame, no shame

  4. Doris…I am SOOOOO impressed with you (and with Edda!) I have not even attempted potty training, although the school is encouraing me to start…hmmmmm maybe YOU can be MY inspiration!!!

  5. Take pride in the little victories along the way, because eventually there is an end in sight. Although Ezra’s issues were different (Aspergers rather than Rhetts) he was a solid 7-year-old before he was fully trained, but boy did I celebrate the day I could get rid of all the diapering supplies! Whoohooo! Keep up the good work, Edda!

    MARCY

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