Poopoo Problems!!!!

Hi, I am also a divorced mom. My daughter is 5 yrs old and had that exact same issue when she was 2. To make you feel better, one day they will just quit doing it... I do remember too when she would go and just cry her heart out. It was terrible... I gave her the baby enemas which made the poop come out in huge balls as she held it for so long... The dr. said it is one thing they can control so they do! Just be patient and she will stop soon... warm water also helps... good luck!

I dunno, why she would go so long with out a movment of some sort. However, my youngest had colic and would often get backed up. The best no medication I could think of is prune juice, its a natural laxitive, useally coming in juice or you can get the baby food kind add water...if she does not like the taste try juices cranberry, apple juice along with fiber in diet.

When all of those things do not work, there is an over the counter medication, that is put in bottom (Fleet Glycerin Suppsitories) they come in a cone shape and at two she prolly not going to corperate, it well help as a last resort.

good luck and god bless

Hi J.,
My experience tells me that you daughter is lookng for more control in her life. That is the number one reason I have seen for children with poop retention issues. At some level your daughter is feeling out of control in her life and she does not have any other way to deal with these feelings. Please look at her life from her eyes and see what changes you can help facilitate. Maybe a a family councilor or therapist could help you and your ex discover some solutions if this is too much for you to take on with your ex. Life at both households needs to be examined and maybe she is not ready to live in 2 homes. . .
I wish you the best,
R.
Doula and mom of Ben 16yrs and Daniel 12yrs.

My daughter had the same problem. We had to cut back on her dairy intake and try to get her to drink more 100% fruit juice. That seemed to help. Her doctor told us to use glycerine suppositories if she went to long without using the bathroom. We only had to do that twice, but it worked. Cutting back the dairy really did help. She is almost 6 now and we still keep an eye on how much milk she drinks because if she gets to much then it makes going to the bathroom difficult.

Good Luck!

My son has chronic constipation because he is afraid of the potty. Last summer, he bacame so impacted that I had to take him to the ER---and that was not a pretty scene.

His diet now consists of: Soy milk (dairy is constipating)& LOTS of popcorn. I can always tell when he hasn't been eating it regularly. Apple juice is a huge help as is lots of water. He also get 2 stool softeners a day.
He is 5 1/2 and in my wildest dreams I din't think I'd be here discussing what I am.
We have the physical reasons eliminated (excuse the pun) as to why he would become constipated. Now we are going to work on the behavior end, which I think will be the most arduous. He refuses all fruits and vegetable but will eat almonds for his protein. I also have him on Flintstones multivitamin. I pray that that is enough.

GOOD LUCK!
C.

ok well i have a niece she is six ,and she was always pooping on herself. she would get in trouble alot by us her aunts and her parents as well. well no matter how much trouble she was in she wouldnt stop doing it. so my sister took her to the doctor and boy did we feel bad after that. the doctor diagnosed her with something called encropieses. she would hold her poo so much that some would just come out looking like black tar where she had been holding it so much. so it would come out sometimes. but ti was only a little smug cause she would hold the rest in. well anyways its a digesting problem where her food doesnt digest right and her poo turns to like a hard big rock. and it hurts when it comes out. the doctor put my niece on enimas and that makes her go to the restroom without having diarrea. it regulates her for like 2 or 3 days. then she has to take it agian. ask the doctor about that. cause shes holding but after a while a little bit will come out and shell be going on herself. we never knew thats what it was. my sister says to lay her down and press on the bottom of her stomach if you fell like little balls its cause she is holding it. well let me know after you take her to the doctor ok. i hope she gets better.

Our youngest and our only daughter both have this problem - constipation is a vicious vicious cycle... the first time is simply, for whatever reason, it hurts to poop - then they start holding it, which makes it hurt more. That can lead to an impacted colon, which ultimately takes away any "urge" to go.

The fact that she doesn't want to go sitting on the potty (I'm guessing she's standing when she goes in her diaper) implies that she might have the beginnings of hemmohroids (spelling?). You might want to talk to her pediatrician about checking, and using PrepH if that is the case.

We've found that between a half a cup and a full cup of ginger ale every day has enough sugar in it to pull water into the intestines (just like mom, but not as diarrhea inducing). Making sure they drink enough fluids is essential, too, because dehydration directly causes constipation.

With the baby we've also found that a chiropractor helps. Call them quacks if you wish, but until very recently the only time he defecated was after a visit to the chiropractor - he would go normally for 2 or 3 days, and then stop until he went again. For a while we were going twice a week, then as the intervals of 'normal poop' got longer we started going once a week, then every two weeks - now we go once every 3 - 4 weeks. Between that and the ginger ale we really haven't had any problems with hard stool or constipation.

Good luck with your angel.

Well, actually my daughter does this same thing, only she didnt START doing it until she was 3!! She just turned 4 this mo. and we are working on it, but I never did understand why she was doing it. She would tell me that "its going to hurt!" What i foung to help most is giving her dried figs (luckily she likes them)Now she'll even tell me,"i need a fig mommy" Also i can tell when she needs to go b/c i will see her trying to hold it, and i will quickly take her to the bathroom. Sometimes it will not come out and we have to go through this all day long(even for several days)Its ben hard, but making simple changes like less milk, more juice, more fiber etc. is helping.Also catching her at the right moment. Well, i know im not much help but at least you know your kids not the only one.

Dear J.,
My son had this problem for years. He would end up pooping his pants at school or anytime we out in public. My mother-in-law took him to Dr. Eric Nisimalt in Alice. He told us to give him an enemas for three nights in a row. Twice a day we mixed a power lataxitve in his drinks for a week. We also had to keep him on schedule of going to the bathroom we started taking every other hour. At a few days just after meals. The Dr. said it would take months to retrain him into knowing when he had to go, but to only took us a month. It has almost been a year without any poop in his underpants. Please check with your Dr. or take your daughter to Alice, because she is a lot younger than my son. I know what you are going through we tried everything before it stopped. I took him to conseling, but that didn't help either. Well, Good Luck and hang in there!

i'm not there yet, but i've got friends who are. i've heard of kids being scared to go in the potty. maybe she needs a little more time in a training diaper until she feels a little more comfortable witht he potty. she's young enough where that would be normal. as far as softening her stools and keep from medicating and getting the runs, try adding more fiber to her diet and avoid dairy. also, give her lots of juice and water.
i hope that helps! Good luck

My sister had, and still sometimes has, this problem with my 5 year old neice. Sometimes kids can hear or see something tramatizing to them that scares them to poo. Like see a women give birth or have some one tell them it stinks and/or its gross. My sister would have to give my niece enemas and all kinds of things because she would hold it for days. She also would go with her dad and then the problem would start all over. Maybe you can try letting her watch you go(I know its wierd) and say stuff like Wow I feel better but never anything negative. My sister says its called potty refusal so maybe you can google that! Hope it helps.

My sister had this problem with my nephew. He didn't want to go in the potty either. He would pee, but nothing else. After a few months she stopped fighting with him, and let him go in his diaper. About 3 or 4 months of this he was ready to use the potty and has every since.

Children have minds of there own, and as long as we stress about something, they will too. Let her go about it on her own, and please take her off the meds. They have so many effects on the body which leads to more problems.

Hi J.,

My name is D. P.. I'm a Licensed Massage Therapist, Personal Trainer and Birth Doula. I believe massage may be what your daughter needs. It will both relaxing her and keep her digestive system moving. The two things she needs to keep regular, in addition to watching what she eats.

I work by both studio and house-call. My e-mail is: ____@____.com and cell #:###-###-####. I do have professional references. You can speak to a few other moms I've assisted. I'd love to help you and your daughter. Please contact or call me J.. Thank you.

Warmly,

D. P., LMT, CPT
Licensed Massage Therapist
Certified Personal Trainer

Humm... I've heard of this. I would say that she's unsure of what is going on. Do you take her to the bathroom with her. There is this book that talks about that for kids, I found it at Hastings, forgot the name of it. But it is very graphic. But a good tool for kids who want to know what happens. Just talk to her and tell her it's normal and not to be scared it won't hurt her physically. You might want to give her something to do while she's on the potty, a book or squeeze toy if she gets scared. You could buy her that doll that poops and pees after she eats. If that doesn't work, I would suggest to disipline her. Feed her something that will make her poop, watermelon, and keep taking her to the bathroom until she poops, also have her drink water every time she comes out of the bathroom so that it will help her pee and she might poop when she pees as well.
Good luck.

I have a 2 year-old also, but she is not too interested in the potty. She will go pee in the potty if I ask her, but still wants to wear a diaper. She absolutely will not consider going poo poo in the potty yet. I've read that kids will pee in the potty long before they poo poo in it. I wouldn't try to pressure her to do. Just keep doing what the doc says for the constipation. I would let her go in her diaper if she wanted. Is it really so bad for them to still be wearing them. My doc told me that some kids aren't ready for total potty training until 3 and after that they still need a pull-up at night until around 4 or 5. They just aren't mature enough physically to be able to go all night until then. My daughter holds it it too sometimes. I've had luck giving her prunes (dried fruit to her) and straight apple juice (its supposed to have a laxative affect, but apple pieces are binding). I've also tried to increase the amount of fiber she's getting with other foods. And I no longer ask her if she wants to go poo poo on the potty. I'm just letting it go for now. I think we make Potty Training more important for us, than them anyway. It's difficult to watch her when she gets constipated and holds it in, I'm not sure how we can really help them with that. The stool softeners may be the only way.

Do you Think Maybe it has something to do with your ex-husband????? I noticed a pattern, she holds it only at your ex-husbands house....that's just a thought... Also, my daughter had the same problem...I just looked at her eating habits closely and whatever I thought would make her get constipated I would avoid giving her....Also she is allergic to cow's milk....Maybe there is another factor to this....I hope this helps...

M.

J.,
OMG my son did the same thing - I forced more water on him and went the holistic route - I am a massage therapist and if you rub clockwise around their belly button about 2 finger widths wide for a little while - it stimulated the intestines to move the bowels.. I told my son the same thing - the more you use the potty it wont hurt to go #2 if you keep practicing! I also used 2 m&m's as a reward each time he went and that helped get him on the potty in the first place! One m&m just for sitting there and the 2nd one for a job well done! It didnt take more than about 2 weeks and he mastered the potty thing!! Good luck to you and your little cutie poopootootie!! :)
J.

Every morning have her sit on the toilet for 10 min. But you have to keep her busy with books and stuff for the 10 min. It will get her into a routine to have a bowel movement every morning. It helps to switch out the books to keep her intrested. You can try poop books (Everyone Poops) for the first few times and move on to other books that keep her intrested. It also helps if you stay in the bathroom with her to keep her occupied and encourage her to have a bowl movement. If she goes great. If she doesn't then better luck the next day. Not everyone poops everyday.

You can also soften the stools with fruit. Kids love dried fruit, especially apples and bananas. Increasing fiber may also increase her stools. Good luck!

I had that same problem with my daughter at that age. I took as a fear if going poopoo in the potty because she always screamed and cried when she had to go poopoo, but as soon as i put the diaper on her she would go no problem. since she was potty trained on going peepee i got her big girl panties with her favorite character on them. i then explained to her that it is ok to go poopoo on the potty that all big kids and mommy and daddy does it too. this may be wierd but as a drastic measure to get her to understand what happens in the potty i had her in there with me once when i went and showed her what came out and what it looked like in the potty and that it doesn't hurt and nothing happens other than flushing it away. to my surprise a few days after that she started going poopoo on the potty. just don't force her to go poopoo, she'll eventually go on her own. Don't be surprised that in the future she'll have to go potty every place you go, no matter if she just went 5 min ago or not. I honestly think the fear of going poopoo is a phase just like checking out all the potties. My baby girl is now 21 and doing just fine, and so will your daughter.

I feel you pain believe me. My son does the same thing he holds it for days and it kills me to see him in pain. He only does this when we are at my In-laws which we usually stay 4-6days there. I mean he screams it hurts so bad. The next time she does it try and put her in a hot bath now she will more than likely poop in the bathtub, *thats what we sometimes do with my son* Just recently though our doc. put us on some great meds. that you mix with water or juice. It works but yes it does give them the runs for a few days, but I would rather have that then the screaming! If you need any help let me know..I go through it to! Also I will tell you the name of the meds if you want it.