Potty Training to Do #2....

Is it only when you are trying to potty train? In any event, I would give the pediatrician a call and let him/her know what is happening. Then try to get your son to relax. If it is only when he is potty training, he may be having some nervous issues that are affecting his stomache. Also, look for a book called "Every Body Poops". It helped with my cousin when she refused to poop when she was potty training. She would hold it as long as she possibly could which led to constipation. I remember her having to go so bad that she bit down on a picnic table to help herself work it out when we were camping when she was a little over 2 and still in diapers but starting to potty train. My sister bought her the book for her birthday and like I said, it helped a little but sometimes it is mostly patience and lots of talking through it with the child to really get through it.

If he will go in a diaper or pull up, I'd suggest putting one on him to poo in BUT have him sit on the potty while he does it. Then try once every other day or once a day to go without the pull-up/diaper. Maybe this will help him transition a little better to the potty without him being constipated all the time.

I wish I could give you some magical advice that would make it all happen overnight but I don't think there is any. Like I said, give the Pediatrician a call just to make sure there isn't any other problem contributing to it and ask him for a little advice. He might suggest giving him some Miralax (which a friend uses for her girls who have constipation issues).

Good luck.

Your son sounds just like mine. He just turned 5 in May and it was only in the last few months that we resolved this. For whatever reason, they are scared to do this on the potty, so they hold it in. It is truly a battle of wills and not that you are feeding him the wrong things. My son made himself so constipated over several months that he is on Miralax so that his colon will shrink back down. It gets stretched out over time and then they don't get the urge to go until they get that filled up again. If I put a diaper on my son, he would go in moments. If you try to make him go on the potty, he'll hold it for days. We had to use other laxatives and on occassion suppositories. He hates these and they eventually became his reason for wanting to do it himself. We also used a sticker chart and when he filled it up, he got to go to Build-a-bear for the first time. Other suggestions I had, but that didn't work for me, was to use a small potty again, in case the fear is in the large flushing one.

Good luck, I've met a lot of people who went through the same thing. Be persistent and it will pass.

K.,
Stop the apple juice. I would suggest pear or white grape juice (pear especially) to help him "go." Can you mix in half prune juice as well? The apple juice may not be the best thing. May be making it worse. Water, water, water. Add fiber wherever you can--no white bread. Ask your pediatrician about a fiber supplement you can mix in water oor juice. Or a stool softener. He's probably waiting so long it hurts and then it's just a cycle.
He has trained you to pout diapers on him and he "rewards" you by pooping in it. Mind game?
I think, at nearly 4, you need to stop the diapers completely. Keep him naked from the waist down and take a potty chair with you WHEREVER you go. Keep it really handy. Give FRESH fruit & veggies out the whazoo. Stop fruit snacks/roll ups if he eats them.
The book Once Upon a Potty (boys version) really helped my son to get the connection of where poop comes from & how it comes out. Let him look at himself with a mirror if he is curious. I think it's a weird concept for kids to grasp & it freaks them out a little bit.
Hang in there--he'll get it.

My daughter has had BM issues for a while and they recently have been fixed and now she will only go poo on the potty. She will rip off the diaper and run into the bathroom. I guess she realizes it is not fun to squash around in a diaper. Anyway for a long time (1 1/2 years) She had chronic constipation and hard stool issues. She has been on Miralax for as long as I can remember and just this past Feb we went to see a GI doc. They said with somekids it is psychological fear that it will be painful etc (my daughter used to hold it) What we found that the Dr recommended was to use a tablespoon of mineral oil. It can be bought over the counter. Our doctor has us mix it in a sippy cup with either milk or juice. It has no taste at all (just greasy) Anyway the result is very fast. Then second thing they taught us is to have the child blow bubbles or blow on one of the kiddie pinwheels. If they are blowing it relaxes the muscles in their bottom. My daughter has been on the mineral oil since Feb and has pooped on the potty since the end of May. With the mineral oil, kids need to be taking a multi-vitamin. www.livegreeneasy.com

My son, who's 5 1/2, was tough too. I finally figured out why he was hard to get to poop in the potty - He wanted complete privacy. Before, I would come in the bathroom, to clean his bottom and he just stopped going to the potty. He just pooped in his pants. So, I finally realize dit embarassed him when I came in. Now, I just give him a box of flushable toddler wipes and let him take care of himself. He hasn't had any problems and I figure that if he doesn't clean himself thoroughly, he'll get cleaned up in his bath later. But he hasn't had any rashes or anything to indicate a problem...So, maybe you could try telling him that you'll let him do everything by himself and give him complete privacy.
Hope this helps! - E.

My son is three and a half and is doing the same thing. We tried a mild laxative, also, and it didn't get him to go on the potty. I talked to our pediatrician about it and she said she'd rather we give him a diaper to poop than let him get constipated. She told us to try to get him to sit on the potty every day, even if he doesn't poop, and praise him a lot for it. So far we're not making much progress, but I know sooner or later he's going to do it. My friend said she knows someone whose child did the same thing and finally one day he just started pooping on the potty. I'm hoping that will happen with us.

Dear K.,
Just one thought that I didn't see posted elsewhere ~ I know that for my son, he did okay (not great) on his little potty, but when we switched him to the regular toilet he didn't like to poop. We struggled for months before discovering that sometimes when he would poop in the bigger toilet it would make a splash & his bottom would get wet, which did NOT like at all! He's 5 now, and right around age 4 it just all seemed to click for him. He was dry through the night for months before he could make it a whole day without an accident (around 4), but now he only has an occasional accident overnight. When he does sleep deeply & wake up wet, he's usually extremely agitated ~ partly b/c of the wetness & partly b/c of frustration & embarassment, I think. Remember that this, too, will pass. Don't be afraid to speak with your pediatrician/doctor about your concerns. If you feel they're patronizing you, tell them so. You're the mom & your concerns are valid. You are the best advocate your child has. If you think there's more to this than a simply potty-training glitch, seek medical help sooner rather than later. God bless you & your son. I'm praying for you both. :)

K.,
My daughter was the same. Peeing was fine. Refused to poop. When we tried to force the issue - (no pull-ups), she would stop pooping altogether. I found that because she was holding it in, it became painful for her to poop, which made her constipated, etc. We used Miralax. It makes it so they are unable to hold the poop in. Once they go a couple of times and realize that it is not painful to go, the start going. At least that is what happened with my daughter. Good Luck
M.