The Trifecta

The subject of poop has become all too common at our house over the past few weeks. I am sorry to say that it reached levels of unhealthy obsession that involved extended family members as well. A few weeks before vacation, Paul waited too long to go and ended up having a very painful experience. He then decided he was going to avoid the situation for as long as possible, which of course only made things worse. When we were on vacation the problem escalated and we tried desperately to get him back on track. Unfortunately, the more we encouraged (okay, pushed) him to go, the more he resisted. I had flashbacks of the days when my mother would send me into the bathroom with a jar full of raisins and I knew that this experience was punishment for my stubborn behavior as a child. Eventually, after a knock-down drag out temper tantrum worse that anything he did as a two year old, we realized he was not going to relent. I officially threw in the towel. My wise husband advised me to just let him be. The combination of extra fiber, some mild medicinal assistance and the decision to just ignore the issue resulted in success. However, we discovered something about our son. There are three things that cause most clashes in the van household: Eating, Napping, and Pooping. CJ refers to it as the Trifecta because Paul does not seem able to manage all three in a given day. While the poop struggle was taking place, he was doing a great job eating (we had no idea where he was storing it all) and napping every day. Now that the pooping is somewhat regulated, the napping has gone out the window. Yesterday he napped and pooped, but fussed at the dinner table and refused to eat. It's an odd phenomenon. But now that we've accepted it, hopefully there will be fewer arguments. I never thought I would go head to head with someone more stubborn that myself.