Two words that I really thought that either a) I’d hear only for a little while, or b) wouldn’t fill me with half the dread that they do.

Shockingly, I think it’s been a while since I’ve written about the progress being made in the Monster’s toileting, perhaps because it’s not been the foremost issue on our minds of late.  We’ve been concentrating on so many things while summer’s drawing closer, like homework and his IEP, that it’s perhaps just because we have our semi-annual visit to the developmental pediatrician tomorrow that brings it into focus.

In short – we’re having many, many fewer accidents lately.  More often than not, at home, the Monster’s warning us verbally or by signal that he needs to go to the bathroom before he has to pee, and we are getting him there in time to avoid accidents.  Overnights don’t count, and there’s still the odd occasion where he doesn’t say something.

We’re still struggling with #2, and we don’t know how the school is handling it themselves.  We only know that it’s been a while since soiled briefs came home from school, so he’s clearly not soiling himself there.

On the other hand, he’s also figured out that “potty time” is the magic word to a lot of things.  If we’re on a walk and he’s getting tired of it, he calls for it.  If he’s in time-out and doesn’t want to be there, he calls for it.  Since we’ve made it clear that asking for the bathroom entails an immediate trip there, and he is a smart child, he’s put two and two together to realize that it turns into a free pass to change what we’re doing, even if he doesn’t need to go.

The one positive about yelling it, though, is he’s not going the other direction as much anymore.  Even on Thursday, at gymnastics (one of his favorite activities), he stopped things with his instructors to go to the bathroom when he felt a need to go.  And that is progress…