It's just like Gus to firmly place me back on square one, after a brief moment of elation way back on Wednesday and the belief that I had whittled the "squirmy hours" down to a three-hour period in the early afternoon.
Today, we started the day off with a big No. 2 - in the undies. It came totally unexpected early in the morning and was preceeded by little squirming or any other giveaway signs that I could have noticed had I even suspected that something was going on...
Oh well that pretty much clears the day for pursuits other than the potty kind, though we practiced sitting on the potty every two hours, but only for brief periods.
Meanwhile I watch the week go by and wonder what piece I am missing or what I am saying/doing wrong. I have no doubt in my mind that Gus is physically and mentally capable of doing what I want him to do. He has a visual schedule that he can recite by heart, a regular meal plan, enough Metamusil to be regular beyond regular, and pretty much no reason to be scared or anxious, although he now has moved on to some pretty impressive screaming and hitting tantrums every time I tell him it is time to go sit on the potty.
So I am left to wonder if I'm not properly desensitizing him to the potty, or even creating anxiety in him where I shouldn't. Is his diet not fiberous enough? Should I be prompting him to go or let him decide on his own? Should or shouldn't I adjust his schedule to try to get him to go at a predictable time, or should I just wing it, which means walking on eggshells all day. One of our professional helpers is suggesting that I treat accidents with a noticeably detached, neutral demeanor (showing now disappointment or desperation, which God know I am feeling) so that Gus does not learn to get attention from me by doing the wrong thing.
Whichever way you turn it it this potty training experiment fraught with moving targets and accidental mistakes, and almost everything else is left open to interpretation.
We'll forge on.
I have laundry to do.
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