Lizzie's Journey

Potty Training...Lord help me!

Lizzie is showing a real interest in all things potty related. Lord help us all. Too be honest, I've overlooked a lot of the signs that she was interested, but when she started pulling down her pull-up and yelling "look I peepee!" and clapping for herself I figured the time had come.

This of course presents a major problem.... How do you potty train a child with a vesicostomy? Really, you don't. BUT, we can encourage her when she takes initiative and give her the tools to be at least somewhat successful in her own little way. And don't think the irony of having a 25 month old wanting to potty train is lost on me. It's not. I felt like our older son might start college in diapers. He showed no interest whatsoever until he was at least 3, maybe even older. No such "luck" with Lizzie boo.

Our solution so far is to let her stand and pee like a little boy would. It's a little different, but it works for her, and talk about instant gratification! lol The kidneys are always draining into the bladder (she drinks non-stop - all day), and because she has a cutaneous vesicostomy, it also drains continuously. All she has to do is stand on her stool facing the potty, and pull down her pull-up. She is able to go anytime she wants, which is pretty convenient.

This method has its pros and cons. I do worry a little that this will make things more difficult when we get the stoma out since she will have to re-learn how to use the potty. But on the flip side, she will be learning to go in the potty, and understand the concept of going, flushing, and washing your hands. Who knows? We're also considering getting some of the pouches used to get a urine sample at the nephrology office. By putting them on her abdomen, over the stoma, we could allow her to sometimes sit on the potty too. Then we could empty the pouch into the potty, and we would have the same basic outcome. That way she kind of learns both ways. It would also be a big bonus if we could get her Miralax timed right and let her sit on the potty to poo. Ahhhhh. The things that bring a mother joy!

In reality, this is another one of those gray areas that doesn't have a right answer. What I don't want to do is discourage her from doing something that makes her happy and gives her some sense of normalcy. I am not actively encouraging it, I'm just following her lead. Too be completely honest, I hope that she will lose interest soon, and we can wait another 6-10 months before encouraging her to try again. I suppose we will find out soon enough, but until then it seems to be good for her self esteem and that makes it good enough for me.

Labels: Diapering vesicostomy, Potty training