Cambelle update.

I've been a little hesitant about blogging about how Cambelle's been doing with potty training because well, it's been awful. I've been on this "potty training" torture since May, until today, I see a light at the end of the tunnel.

Potty training stinks! Totally stinks! I dislike it a lot and I'm not good at it at all. I've done my research, and I can't get around the "tough love" side of potty training. I have to be honest... I bribe her big time, I may even threaten a couple of times with: no school, no treats, ya know, the stuff she loves.. but let's be honest, it doesn't work.

I've been so stressed out about this that I think I whisper the word potty in my sleep. First, let me just say that Cambelle is a genius at peeing in the potty - well, because that's easy. She'll go by herself with no problem. We've had a total of three accidents since May! The infamous NUMBER TWO has been the big problem....

Let me back up a little. Cambelle has been peeing in the potty since May, but if we are home she would ask for a diaper and tell me she has to poop. And, since she's had such big issues with her belly and GI stuff that I just wanted her to poop, I didn't want her to become constipated. So, I would put a diaper on her, she'd go and then everything would be fine. But, somewhere along the way, about 6 weeks ago, she started to scream when she would go poo and when she'd try to go and couldn't she'd run around the house, almost the entire day, screaming and asking for me to help. She would tell me things like: I can't go, my hiney hurts, I'm trying to go but I can't. It was awful seeing her in so much pain, but I honestly didn't know what to do.... She was just at her GI doctor in April and they scoped her, so I knew it couldn't have been anything internal, plus there was no blood in her stool.

Several weeks went by with this behavior DAILY... almost all day until she would finally go in a diaper, explain to me how much it hurt and then it would start again the next day. I just couldn't take it anymore and after some good advice from my cousin, Tina, I finally broke down and called the pediatrician. I talked to them for a while explaining what Cambelle was doing and how much pain she said she was in. They advised me to use an enema and if that doesn't work then use Miralax - by the way, I was putting Benefiber in her juice daily to soften her stool and that still didn't work well. (Oh, and they think all this is from potty training, but I'm not really sold on that idea, yet.)

When I got off the phone with the pediatrician Cambelle told me she went poo in her diaper so I held off using the enema. But, I immediately started using Miralax... and that's been my life for almost a month. Screaming, crying, Miralax, Benefiber, soft stool, screaming some more... it just wouldn't end.

She started school last week and technically she's potty trained. Except for the poop part. So, I've been praying that she doesn't have to go during school or even have a screaming match with herself and yell out her famous thing to say - "Poopy, come out of me now!!!"

But, we made it... no accidents at school! Which leads me to today... For most of the day she was crying and saying she has to go poop but can't and she seemed very uncomfortable... I ended up putting a diaper on her because I gave her a lot of Miralax in her juice and that'll make the poop just come right out even if she tried to hold it in. But, right before we were about to leave the house tonight, to run some errands, she demanded for panties to be put on, so we let her... While in one store she was really in pain and just couldn't even walk, so we went home. When we got home, I explained to her that I will not put a diaper on her and that she has to learn to go poop in the potty, yada, yada, yada. I don't know exactly what I said but something about school came out - oops- and then she finally went. Cambelle went number two, people... this is big news around here!

WHAT A SIGH OF RELIEF!!!! So, I think we are on the right path now. After she went she told me it didn't hurt that bad and she wants to go to school. I'm hoping/praying that we'll be making more runs to the potty! And, I promise no more school threats... I mean, what kinda mother am I? Don't answer that!