Where have I been...

Well, the easy one word answer is bathroom.  What a ride we have been on over the last few months.  Potty training SUCKS!  We have tried everything, and when I say everything I really mean EVERYTHING, and nothing has worked for Charlie.  So here is a little rundown...  (if talking about poop bothers you just quit reading now :) )

February - 2 weeks before Charlie turned 5 we learned that his name was next on the waiting list to get on the Autism Waiver.  Once you turn 5 you "expire" off the list and cannot get on it.  Tyson "expired", Charlie was 2 weeks from "expiring" when they called.  I was so excited.

July - yep, took me until July to get any services started.  First thing on the list was to get this kid potty trained before Kindergarten.  He was great at peeing in the toilet, but decided he did not want to poop in there.  We told him not to poop in his pants, so he didn't.

August - started Kindergarten in underwear, but still not pooping in the toilet.  Or anywhere.  We decided to take him to the doctor for some help.  He was backed up...completely.  So the Myralax diet began.  4 times a day.  Completely liquid poop.  Back to diapers.

September - back to the doctor, x-ray shows he is still backed up.  3 times a day Myralax to try to make him have to push it out.  Finally, he succeeded in a giant poop in his diaper.

October - started working with an autism specialist who wrote up a program for us to follow.  We took him every 30 minutes.  When you have to set a timer for every 30 minutes your day becomes really long.  I feel like we lived in the bathroom.  We started wearing diapers and kept data sheets of all of his accidents.  We went down to 2 times a day with the Myralax. 

November 6th - we started underwear full time.  I thought our specialist had officially lost her mind.  He was pooping 8 times a day in his diaper and we had only timed it one time in the toilet.  We went down to a 1/2 of a capful of Myralax.  I decided to keep him home from school that day just to see how it went, assuming I was going to call her and tell her we can't do this to him.  He did awesome.  Since we started the underwear full time he has had one pee accident and a few streaks, but that is it.  I still won't say that he is potty trained because we still are taking him all the time, he does not initiate it.  But we are in underwear and he is keeping them clean and dry with us taking him every hour.  I will take that for now...

So that is where I have been.  It's been my whole life since July.  When I'm not in the bathroom with him I am holding a meeting with his team at school about it.  I have missed my sister's birthday party, Tyson's soccer and football games, lots of KSU games, and any social life I had, but it is so worth it to not have to put my 5 year old in diapers anymore.  (well at least during the day, nighttime is next...)