Diaper baby

Porter moved up to a class at school where he's currently the youngest in the class...many are already four. It's been so good for him to be with the older kids, but as kids get older, they start to notice the differences more and more. Most of the kids in his class are overly helpful- the verbal redirection he's getting from his peers is fabulous for keeping him on track. But this morning, at drop off, I heard one of the boys say "diaper baby is here". Porter is just over three, but he's not yet potty trained. He's the only one in the class who isn't potty trained (although a few of the kids in the class still wear pull ups during nap time). 

We've started working on potty training. We know he's ready to get started, because he'll pull out the diaper mat, diapers and wipes when he needs to be changed. He doesn't like to have a wet diaper and he can hold it for a few hours. He sometimes signs potty right after he's gone and requests to sit on the potty. He's coming into the bathroom with RC and I more often, showing more interest. 

We sit on the potty often and we read books. But, he's just not getting it. A lot of the time he goes in a clean diaper, right after he's done sitting on the potty. And, another issue is that he's not able to pull down his own pants (his arms are just a little shorter than our arms, which makes this difficult), so he can't independently put himself on the potty.

 

We've been playing outside some days in our bathing suit with no diaper. He holds it, but then goes as soon as I put a diaper on him. I'm currently reading a book on potty training for special needs and am thinking that a schedule will really help him. He thrives on routine, so a routine we will build. I've also done a few webcasts, read many articles and understand it's not a race. I know "diaper baby" isn't a horrible tease, but it's the first tease I've heard and it's still difficult to hear.  I also know plenty of typically developing three year olds who are still working on potty training. 

He'll figure it out. And we'll celebrate. And until then, we'll work together to help him understand.