Hello! My first post so please bear with me. I have a 2 year 10 month old (she'll be 3 in May) preemie. She has pretty much grown out of the preemie stage, but we are potty training. Well we actually got it down to a T, execept for pooping. She wears big girl panties all day except when it's time to go to bed at nite. She even wears them during nap time and doesn't wet in them. She goes to daycare everyday and uses the potty well there, she even poops there. BUT almost every night she poops in her panties. She is at the point where she will tell you when she has to go, but not when she has to poop. She doesn't seem to think it's nasty having poop all over her, so I'm stuck. I've talked to daycare and they say she tells them. I'm not sure what else to do. We do not offer treats for peeing anymore, but I do tell her if she poops then she can have a treat, but nothing. Any suggestions would be great! Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Thank you all for your suggestions and I am taking everyone of them to heart. It means a lot to me that you all took time to post. I will def keep you posted on how it goes.
*Update* So I tried putting her back in pull ups with the thought of panties being the reward when she poops in the potty, but she pees in the pull up and doesnt tell me when she has to go????
A., hang in there. My Meredith is 3 years old and went through the same sort of thing. She was great at knowing when she needed to tinkle, but kept having accidents when she needed to poop. I think that sensation just takes them longer to recognize and longer to learn to control. Good luck!
Maybe she is just tired at the end of the day and not as aware? Or it could be that she wants the extra attention she gets from you when you are changing her. I would suggest changing her in silence so it isn't a reinforcement. Good luck!
My son was a 28week gestation preemie and he took awhile to get the poop thing too. I noticed "preemie ways" in him until about 5, even though he was supposedly all caught up. They are usually younger as in less able to control their body functions and often less mature, than you would expect for their age. Take the pressure off. Put her in a pull up and ignore her accidents. Clean them matter of factly. However I would buy some really appealing undies and remind her that when she doesn't poop in her pants anymore she can have them...she wouldn't want to get them dirty! Maybe even a shirt with the character she thinks is the coolest...something she covets. Don't hound her, just leave it in plain view and say, after her accidents, "Wow, it will be nice when you can remember to go poop on the potty and then you can wear..." And leave it at that. She'll come around if the pressure is off. She's still very young. My son didn't get the poop in the potty thing every time until 3 1/2 but he was fully trained for peeing by 3. Good luck! They are truly our miracles! (Mom to a 16 year old 5ft 5" straight A student, 3 sport athlete who came into this world at 2lbs even and at 13" long)
I understand your frustration. We had a similar problem with our son. My Mom gave me some good advice and it worked for her with my older brother (when he was that age, obviously) and it worked with our son. We simply told our son that if he could tell teh teachers at school then he could tell us as well. I know that it seems so simple but sometimes the simple way works. As frustrating as it is the good news is that she will get it. I am sure that she tells the daycare people because she would be embaressed to poop in her pants in front of the other children. Hang in there. you are doing a great job!
Maybe she needs some extra motivation besides treats? I let my son pick out a truck at Target ($10 range) and the next morning he sat on the potty every five minutes for two hours until he pooped on the potty and earned the truck. He was 26 months and fully trained...I used all positive motivation and he seems quite proud of himself, like it was his accomplishment. Good luck!! D.
Try buying some really pretty, colorful, kid-oriented wipes and make a big deal about them....or the cool kid-toilet paper...tell her that she can use the wipes or you will help her use the fun wipes if she goes #2. If this doesn't work, just do everything you can to minimize the mess (pull-ups, etc) at night and bide your time...it can't last forever! Hang in there....
It's pretty great that she's gotten so far with potty training. I've been through two kids, and I can tell you from my experience that 1) each child has his/her own unique pattern of progress for potty training and 2) it can take a while to get all the control needed to complete potty training. You're daughter is still pretty young, so I would not be disappointed or surprised that she's not quite there yet. For now I would recommend putting her in overnight diapers to minimize the mess (you're already doing this, I think?). She will eventualy learn to not poop in her pants, but until then, diaper. Also, before bed, or after dinner, have her spend a bit of time relaxing on the toilet (maybe reading a book), to see if she can get it out of the way then. Best of luck with your miracle child.
My daughter did the EXACT SAME THING!
The first time she pooped on the potty it was hard not to laugh because it actually seemed to be quite the drama for her.
She would hold it until she had a diaper or pull up on and then let it go.
I think pooping is just a different sensation all together and also if they are used to squatting to poop, sitting on the toilet can feel weird and may not "work" for them (mine actually put her feet on the seat and pushed...I told you it was kinda funny!)
Be patient, I know its gross and hard and frustrating, but she will get there, I promise!
We have a potty sitting in our living room because our only bathrooms are upstairs. This made it really easy for my daughter to go the second she felt the urge. Maybe you need to put a potty in a location where it's right under her nose so there's no need for her to run to the bathroom when she gets the urge. Maybe she's having a hard time holding it in. Also, try to keep track of the time of day she goes and keep your attention fully on her so that when you see she may be ready to go you can instruct her to run to the little potty. She'll get it!
I don't have much advice but I do have a similar situation. My son is 2 years, 8 months and seems to be at the same stage as your daughter. He is potty trained for peeing, but not for pooping and will poop in his pants most days. He goes to daycare 2 days a week and does the same thing there. We have tried plotting the times that he poops and are having him go to the potty every 30 minutes during his peak times to hopefully "catch" a poop in the potty. We just started this a few days ago but are hoping it will move the training along. We are also keeping him out of underwear when we are home to encourage him to go to the potty when he feels the urge to poop. Good luck! I'd love to hear some of your responses.
