A Banner Day

My 3 year-old son, Henry, has had this fear of pooping for a very long time now. It's not that he was constipated or anything... he just didn't want to poop. He actually would hold it in for a week at a time. We called it the Stinker Shuffle because of the dance he did while trying to hold it in with all his might. During these times he was extremely loud with crying and moaning and sometimes outright screaming. We all hate the Stinker Shuffle around here.

When it happened in public, people would really wonder what in the world those crazy people with all the kids are doing.

A few weeks ago, Henry decided (all at once pretty much) that he was going to pee on the potty and wear big boy underwear. That's how he put it. I gotta say, when the boy decides something, he does it. I honestly don't believe we've had one accident, even at night, since the very first day. Dry underwear every day and morning and after naps. We don't even ask if he has to go... he just does when he needs to. It's been the greatest potty training experience ever because he trained himself. He just decided to do it on his own without us pushing. Maybe that's the key.

BUT... we still have the Stinker Shuffle problem. He might be going on the potty, but the stinkers are still an issue as he still didn't want them to come out. THAT IS UNTIL NOW. Tonight, I was getting him ready for bed and he said he needed to go potty. That is totally normal and part of the schedule. We went in and he asked me not to peek, again his words. I said OK and turned my back and looked at the fishtank and my desk and whatever else was going on around me. After a minute or so I asked if he was done and he said, "Yup." Then he looked up at me and said, "I made my stinkers." I was stunned. I had no response but, "You did?" Well, God bless us all, he did. Not even a peep. I am thinking maybe the switch on his brain flipped tonight and the Stinker Shuffle is like the twist, or the mash potato... a thing of the past.

I can say that I felt very blessed and my wife was expressing the exact same sentiment. In fact, her exact words were, "It's a good day at the Beard's." Amen, Becca, Amen.