Two steps forward and one step back

My mom used to have a magnet on the fridge that read, "when you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on." While the magnet has gone on to the giant fridge in the sky the words still pop in my head --usually after I have informed Jack that he is killing me or that I've had enough. No other time has this motto needed to resonate more soundly than in Jack's current state of affairs.

Jack decided of his own accord that he wanted to potty-train; of course he chose the exact day we brought Sam home from the hospital to give this new endeavor a go. I wanted to wait until this summer started, putting him closer to 3 when we began. But as with all things in Jack's life he chose to do it in his own time. He actually did very well, going from diapers to bigboy pants in about 4 months and we have now enjoyed about 4.5 months of diaper-free Jack. At least we did enjoy this...until last week. Suddenly Jack has decided to regress and for the life of me I cannot determine the cause. He has had at least one accident every other day for two weeks; the night accidents are understandable -- he's little and plays hard during the day -- and while these accidents didn't use to happen I'm not worried at the minor trend. The concerning issue is the sudden increase of day-time accidents and the coinciding of these accidents with an increase in thumb-sucking. While I have zero experience in child psychology I can't help but think that this regression is the manifestation of some emotion with which Jack is unable to process. My initial reaction was confirmed last night when Jack voluntarily went to the bathroom then emerged to get his step stool only to return to the bathroom to poop in his pants. Uggghh!!

For whatever reason Jack must feel that he isn't getting the attention he feels he needs. Believe me when I say this is frustrating for all of us. I am tired of cleaning out pants, I am worried about Jack and the sudden change in behavior and Jack is embarassed about his accidents.

So right now we are all just hanging on. I am attempting to lavish Jack with more attention than normal, hoping that attention paid to him outside the bathroom will translate into a realization in him that he doesn't need to have accidents to get attention. My goal is smother him -- not literally of course -- but with attention. I can only imagine how difficult a transition it must be for the little guy to have to share the spotlight with Sam (especially with as cranky as Sam has been lately). So far no accidents today. We'll just take it one day at a time...and hope our knot holds out.