3 Year Old Not Going to the Bathroom Now That New Baby Is Here.

My three year old went through same experience. Milk of Magnesia was difficult to get her to consume. Per our pediatrician's advice, we put our 3 year old daughter on over the counter "Miralex" that we mix in her morning apple juice. We also spend 15 minutes on the potty after lunch or dinner, reading books. This helps child get attention and time with parents and encourage elimination. This system is working very well. She is no longer getting constipated which hurt her, causing a vicious cycle.

Oh my goodness! I am having a similar problem right now! I am due in 5 weeks and have been trying to get my son to poop in the potty. He does not sleep in diapers or anything, pees and never has accidents but when he needs to poop he asks for a diaper. So i decided it was time to cut that out. I was worried about him holding it and his doctor also suggested milk of magnesia. He only goes every other day, but last monday he went and by wednesday, he needed to go and didnt. Finally friday he went on the potty. But then he didnt go again until this past Monday, which he refused to even sit on the potty, almost pooped in his bed at night, and it has been a nightmare. So monday night (tuesday morning) i put a diaper on him and he went and that is the last time he has gone and tomorrow will be friday. I am really worried that he is holding it in for fear that i might try to get him to sit on the potty and now it has become some subconscious effort on his behalf. Let me know what people tell you because I am anxious to help him!

Congratulations on your new baby! When my son can't go, I give him Gerber apple prune juice. Works like a charm!!

D.

I had to spend a week in the hospital when I had my youngest daughter and my 4 y/o didn't poop the entire time I was gone. As soon as I came home, though, he got right back on track. I guess he was waiting for me. But until that time I'd planned on giving him prune juice as soon as I got home. Don't give a lot because it REALLY works, at least on my son. Pear juice works pretty well too. There's also a brand of medicine for kids called little whatever, like Little Noses for stuffiness, Little Tummies for their stomachs. Maybe see if one of those would work for you.

The same thing happened to my daughter at about that age. I don't know whether they are afraid of bowel movements or if they are working so hard to control those muscles that they don't want to relax. I had to take her to the dr because she woulnd't have a bowel movement and then it pushed on her bladder so badly that she was having trouble urinating as well. Our dr said she did not have to have a bowel movement every day but he needed her to have one at least every other day. We did a few things. First we had to give a children's enema. Not a good time!!! But it worked. I also put some mineral oil in orange juice for her to drink once a day. About 1 tablespoon of mineral oil in a few ounces of orange juice. I also monitered her diet a lot more closely. I would slice up apples for her, steam her broccoli, give her salad or whatever fiber she would eat. Does he drink prune juice? I also see that they have fiber powders available at the pharmacy. You can add them to whatever food you are fixing. I don't know if they work or are safe, so check with your dr. first. Good luck with everything.

Have you tried Karo (simple corn syrup)? A big teaspoonful in his fav drink should help it go down without him realizing it then evrything should flush out wheather he likes it or not. That's what my oldest son's doc had me try when he was very constipated (about 7 days of no poop!). We stuck his Karo in his milk. He never finished a sippy of milk faster! I hope this helps. Good luck. He has to go sometime or another. Everyone poops!

~Jen B.

You can also try Fletcher's Laxative for kids(it's liquid, suppose to taste like root beer). I used this for my son last year when he didn't poop for 6 days and it worked within 30 minutes. After this particular experience, the Dr. gave me the okay to give him mineral oil twice a day. We did this for a couple of weeks, then we didn't need it anymore. I haven't had a problem with his bowels since.

Try not to make a big deal about it in front of him because it can make things worse. I know it's a frustrating time, but cut him a little slack because he has a lot of new stuff going on in his life right now. Good luck and remember that many moms have gone through this before and survived. This too shall pass!

Congrats on your new little one. This is actually very common according to my ped when we went through it. She told me to sneak as much fiber into her diet as we could until she had no choice but to go. Prune and pear juice, fig newtons work like a charm, someone at work gives her girl pieces of dried prunes and she thought they were wonderful. The other thing is to reward them when they do go. My nephew went through this and I remember they paid him a dollar a poop(he was always motivated by money). Find what motivates your guy.