February 13, 2003 - Thursday
He did it! Harry pooped in the potty this morning. I brought him up there when it seemed the time was right from his seat squirming and, though he complained right along, I think the fiber tablets we've been giving him since the weekend probably were kicking in and there was no stopping it. His anxiety about pooping in the potty had surely diminished a little, regardless of his outward tone, due to all the practice of late, and he did it!

It's amazing, one the one hand, that such an otherwise unpleasant matter could bring such joy and relief, but being a parent changes a lot of things and after the trials of the last several days, this was really quite a thrilling moment. To see the surprise and very tentative emotional relief and the hint of pride that were all emerging from Harry's face as he said "I pooped" and slowly stood up to reveal more volume than I would have imagined could have remained in his tiny body after last night literally brought a tear to my eye. Together Harry and I both smiled and got very happy, albeit in a somewhat reserved outward manner. I called down to his mother, still home evaluating Harry's condition before heading to work, and she came to see and celebrate Harry's major accomplishment.

We had promised Harry "Cranky the Crane," another Thomas figure, the next time he was able to poop on the potty, but we hadn't gotten it yet, thinking that we probably had at least until the weekend. So, I took Harry and Jeremy up to the mall in the afternoon. Unfortunately, there was no Cranky the Crane, apparently he is too oscure a character, so I ended up buying Harry an entire new playset, the Take-Along Sodor Mining Co, to go along with and connect to the Take-Along Thomas Roundhouse he'd received from his grandparents for Christmas. I explained as best I could that this special present was both in lieu of Cranky the Crane and a well deserved toy given Harry's difficult time over the last few days and fabulous accomplishment this morning. I also bought five more Thomas characters that we agreed, like Gordon, would wait until he pooped on the potty the next five times. The total for the day was just shy of $50, the characters about five bucks a piece, and that's a rather extreme amount. But, with momentum on our side, I'm thinking that now is the time to make some serious progress on both Harry's long term constitution issues and potty training. And, if $50 bucks gets Harry over these major hurdles, I'll gladly lay it down, especially after the last several days of emotional trials.


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