Potty trained!!!

After 4.5 years Ezra is finally potty trained. Today he went NR 2 in the potty and got the lollipop he had been staring at for the last five months. We hadn't really tried to potty train him before. It was clear he was not ready to give up control. He has been going NR 1 in the potty for close to a year, but only sporadically. Then four weeks ago he decided he wanted underwear and was promptly dry during the whole day, and even the nights. Every time he went potty we praised him for staying dry (not for going potty) and rewarded him with his major motivation, stickers of airplanes. However when it came to going NR 2 he was just terrified and ran away screaming every time. Whenever it was time to go he would get completely undressed grab a diaper, do his business, and then dump it in the toilet and wipe his bum, like I trained him to do. After we came back from the New Frontiers program, we decided to use our new tools to help him go. We simply stopped buying diapers. We were always encouraging, but left it up to him to go. He held it in for three days, refusing to go. He kept asking for a diaper, and I apologized that I didn't have any more. The clever kid even told me which store I could go buy them at. Then today, the third day, he lay miserable in the playroom, and held his stomach. Every time he complained that his stomach hurt, I explained it was because he needed to go to the bathroom. I gave him a bottle of apple juice as a laxative. After waddling around for an hour with a pinched bottom, he finally went NR 2 in the potty. Of course all appropriate parties were notified, and the act duly admired and celebrated. A new helicopter and fighter jet grace the potty page in his sticker book, and the lollipop was greatly enjoyed, and discarded.