Day 155. Incentives.

The boys are officially 'potty' trained - yay! 

But while they have mastered peeing in the toilet, pooping in the toilet, however, 

is an entirely different story.

They had no desire whatsoever to do #2 in the toilet.

After weeks of cleaning out poopy underwear (and gagging every time), I put them back in pull-ups.

I was beginning to think they would never poop in the toilet. 

Jacob got so fed up with cleaning poop this week, that he told the boys they could have any machine out of Reece's Bruder machine catalog if they would just poop in the toilet.

To make the goal a little more defined, I made them each a poop chart that hangs in the bathroom

(I made Kate one to be fair even though she has been using the toilet for a year now).

If they poop in the toilet, they get a sticker. When an entire row is filled with stickers (6), they can pick out a machine.

And lo and behold, it's working!!

The first day I had the charts up, they both pooped in the toilet for the first time!

 

I should mention that the charts didn't magically make them start telling me when they have to go, though. I've noted the general times of day when they need to tend to their business and I make them go sit on the toilet during those times of day. Sometimes we sit there and read books and nothing happens and sometimes we have success. The sticker charts just made it so they would sit on the toilet willingly and actually try once they were there.