Potty Training Mayhem, Etc.

I am 22 weeks pregnant. 18 more weeks to go. Tired of having my stomach hurt. I have a pregnancy check up on Tuesday. I am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again.

I am at this moment craving a Popsicle. That is kind of funny because I haven't crave sweets much, and the idea of eating a Popsicle when it is so cold outside seems weird.

OK here is the potty training deal. When Erik is at school he pretty much goes potty without accident. He even poops in the potty most of the time (not all the time - but most of the time). At home he will not go potty on his own. We have to tell him to go. He resists going and has accidents. He goes potty of his own initiative at restaurants, church, and other places. Just not at home.

This makes momma crazy. Today we let him wear big boy underwear at home in hopes that it would keep him from having an accident. All morning he did great. He never identified for himself when he needed to go potty. But, he stayed dry and went potty each time I prompted him without argument and too much playing (although one time he did come out of the bathroom with his Thomas the Tank Engine potty seat on his head - momma didn't find this funny). Then after lunch, I told him to go potty and try to pee pee and poop before nap time. He went in there again without much fight. He told me he went pee pee but didn't have to poop (he said this while making a pooping/pushing face). He flushed and came out of the bathroom.

Then we took like two minutes to watch the garbage truck (a highlight for every little boy), and the garbage man even honked the horn at Erik as he often does. We went to Erik's room to read stories for nap time. When we got in his room, I discovered Erik had pooped in his underwear.

Pregnant mothers, with a very active gag reflex, who just told their son to go poop, don't handle this situation well. I am one of those mothers. There was a spanking, I threw up, Erik cried. It was not the most pleasant scene.

I feel really divided on how to deal with the potty training stuff. I think he gets the sensation of having to go (especially pee - poop I am a little less sure of). I don't want to be an uptight mom who flips out every time their kid has an accident and causes them to develop a complex and chronic constipation and bladder infections because they are so afraid to go to the bathroom. But on the other hand, I want him to understand that while there are rewards for going potty, there are consequences for not going potty when you needed to. I hope he figures this out soon. I don't like the second guessing myself. I definitely don't like the gagging.