My son will be 4 yo in February. He has been potty trained for about a year and a half, though still wears a diaper at night. BUT, he has trouble with pooping. He knows when he has to go, but asks for a diaper, refuses to go on the potty or will try, but nothing happens. He clearly is having trouble while going, even in the diaper. It takes him a while, and is clearly struggling. He has had a couple of bouts of constipation over the last year, at which time I would give him miralax for 5-6 days, and once (and hopefully never again..!) gave him a suppository, which worked immediately. He never goes pooh during the day at daycare.
Our pediatrician is great, has been very responsive to any and all issues. I have talked to her about this a few times, she says it is not uncommon, and to just keep trying to persuade him to go on the potty (which we definitely do).
SO, I am just curious if anyone else out there has had this situation, and if so, did it just resolve itself? Was there anything physcially wrong? Any specific tips to suggest?
Thank you,
Kim
ps - my daughter is 2.5 yo, potty trained and no troubles with pooping on the potty.
Try a fiber filled fruit before bedtime, this will usually give a bowel movement first thing in the am. A pear, plum, or prune before nighttime toothbrushing and bed. Give it a try and give it a week to start taking affect.
My daughter always struggled with constipation when she was little. Nothing worked for her until one day my mom persuaded her to eat a prune. Within just a little while she had a bowel movement. From that point on, we would give her a prune when she seemed to be having problems and it always helped. You might try to give him one a day for a while and see if that helps.
This happens to a lot of kids and there have been dozens of posts asking about this. My DD had this problem and it took months for us to resolve it. She once went 15 days without pooping... even with suppositories and an enema. If it goes a few days without pooping then they get impacted and it is extremely painful to poop add that to the potty and whammo. not good. We gave her children's benefibre. Pear juice every day. I had to sit with her and make her poop every day. Lots of water.
We got a book called "It Hurts When I Poop" it really helped.
If he's constipated, maybe try giving him Miralax a few times a day until he can poop without it being painful or difficult. If it hurts, kids tend to try and hold it in. Just a thought...
My daughter experienced constipation which made bowel movements painful. We were given advise on diet for our picky eater. You know, whole grains, fiber, reduced dairy...but, we have a picky eater. :-)
We started giving her 1/2 cap of Miralax daily (per doctor) and having her sit on the potty for 5-10 minutes after meals. I can't say the scheduled potty time helped my daughter, but the theory was that she needed to retrain her body. It may work for your son. The Miralax does work for her.
As for trying to use the potty, make sure he can put his feet on something. It's more comfortable and helps w/ pushing. When my daughter was in diapers, she stood to poop. I think sitting probably was a bigger adjustment for her than for others who squat w/ a diaper.
Perhaps your daughter's success will encourage your son to try.
Good luck,
J.
