Stubborn as a Mule ( like his Mom)...

Cole has been bribed, coaxed, wooed, cajoled, lured, and urged amongst other things in a vain attempt to become potty trained. Unfortunately he has my stubborn streak and hence, despite trains, candy, stickers and race cars beckoning him from the bathroom shelf he has zero, nada, zilch, diddly squat interest in breaking free of diapers/PullUps.

He gets physically distressed if you try to leave them off...he refuses to wear big boy underwear unless it is over a diaper/PullUp and though he freely lets the stream flow in the bathtub, he exhibits extreme anxiety when we try to nudge him to use the toilet. Every few months since he was about two years old, I tackled the venture of potty training for a few days at a time but I also know that it is one of the major milestones that I cannot dictate to him and when he pushes back vehemently I know to back off. He has to want to do it comfortably for it to be a success. It has been probably the most frustrating thing about being a parent (with the exception of four months of colic) that I have experienced with him. I am tired of keeping diapers/Pullups and wipes stocked. I fear since he is so tall for his age that soon the largest size of those won't fit him anymore. I am tired of carrying around a changing pad. I am done with stinky trash.

I have been incredibly lucky that his preschool is of the mindset that kids master the potty at different rates and even his teacher acknowledges with a laugh that "Cole does NOT want to use the potty, he makes that quite clear every hour we make him try"!

I know he will eventually ditch the last vestige of his baby/toddler days and it is his way of telling us he isn't ready to become a full fledged little boy and who can really blame him?