daughter holding her poop

Sherri - posted on 03/07/2009

I probably wouldn't suggest inundating her with corn syrup or laxatives. The later because I would NOT want her to become dependent on them. My son had this issue a lot when he was younger I did find rubbing his belly and pumping his legs helped a lot. Also if you think it's been way to long they do sell baby suppositories. I had to do this once or twice too and I would put it in and in 2 minutes he'd poop out it and his poop!

Dawn - posted on 03/07/2009

thanks for all the advice girls!! i tried the grape juice because she wasn't drinking the juice with the stool softener in it. she went 3 TIMES in the potty yesterday! i think she's cleaned out now:)

Kerri - posted on 03/07/2009

My 4 year old was holding it in too. I learned that the bowel can get stretched out from the backed up stool and lose tone. Then the muscles stop signaling the urge to go. Our ped suggested MiraLax (Generic: Polyethylene Glycol) - her own son uses it too. It is a powder that you mix in with juice, milk, etc. Other moms here have recommended it too. We have had great success with it keeping him regular (BM every 2 days).  Good Luck - it's terrible to see your little one in pain and discomfort. 

Nicole - posted on 03/04/2009

I have a 16 month old who just had the same problem. She went 9 days without going, and she kept slenching and holding it in. The doctor told me the same thing...fiber, pear juice, apples blah blah...nothing was working. We gave her kondremul 2x a day, which is mineral oil...nothing. We have her Mirolax...nothing. Finally, I got worried so bad that I gave her a glycerine sepository. That did the trick in about 2 minutes! That was almost 2 weeks ago, and she has been going great ever since. You just need to flush out the system and soften everything up so it doesn't hurt to push it out. Best of luck!

Dawn - posted on 03/04/2009

hi amy. well the dr said to try pedia lax and that's what threw me off i guess. but it's not a laxative it's actually a stool softener. however i put it in her juice this morning but she must have suspected something because normally she chugs it but i've been trying to get her to drink that same cup for 3 hours now! my sister in law also recommended mira lax but i looked at it at the drug store and it said not to give to children under the age of 16. so i went with what the dr said. also she said to give her apple juice. but i took the advice of another mom on her and bought some grape juice. i haven't given it to her yet though. didn't want to mix that and the stool softener. so in a bit i'll try the grape juice since she's clearly not drinking the cup with the pedia lax in it!! ahhhh!! it's sooooo frustrating when they are old enough to know what your trying to do!!

Amy - posted on 03/04/2009

Hi Dawn! My son will be 4 in April and last June he was hospitalized for constipation. We were going through the same problem you are. To this day my son still is afraid to go sometimes because he thinks it will hurt him. We have been advised by our doctor to give him 1/2 to 1 full cap of miralax, it is a laxative, but it will not remove any of the "good" bacteria in the digestive tract. Also, it's not like other laxatives, and it does not cause cramping or sudden urges to go, my son takes it daily and he has gone almost everyday with no problem since last June. Miralax is over the counter. Also, my son's GI Doctor said not to give bananas or apple juice, because they can cause constipation, he said to try using pear juice. Also, feel free to email me at alaforce_bmc@yahoo.com if you have any other questions or need any more advice. I know it is very frustrating, but once we got the problem fixed we haven't not had a problem!! Good Luck to you and I hope you will try the miralax!

Dawn - posted on 03/03/2009

My son will be 4 in a few days and he refuses to wear a diaper and refuses to poo in the potty. So you can guess where it ends up. I have read and heard that at this age, barring any physical problems, it is a matter of power and control. The advice I was given was to give him as much power and control over his life as I can without letting him run the house. I also heard that getting them to "help" you with things, and telling them you "need" their help, like sorting laundry, makes them feel important. I heard that one day, they just start doing it like everyone else. Good luck!

Sarah - posted on 03/03/2009

Try Prunes.  It helps my little boy

Anna - posted on 03/03/2009

My sister inlaw had this proble with my neice and she brought depositries....... they have seemed to work.

As for laxitives.......... it's work a try even just a ting amount, just to see how it goes.

Gwendolyn - posted on 03/03/2009

I agree with Davon, Welch's Grape Juice will help. My 2 year old son had trouble going for about 8 hours on one occasion. Thank the Lord!!!! I gave him about 8-10 ounces of grape juice and in a matter of a few hours he was alright in that department.  Also Sunsweet has something new called "Sunsweet Ones" and they do taste like candy. Maybe you want to try giving her those instead of the laxative.

 

Quoting Davon:

I'm not sure if you pediatrician mentioned to you, but your little one could be slightly dehydrated, make sure she's getting enough water, not just juice. 

For the juice, I recommend using 100% pear fruit juice and 100% concord grape juice... If you can find it organic, I would recommend those. 

She may need something to soften her stools (I would recommend food at this point), not an actual laxative as those can be harsh.  (Prunes, and grapes are pretty good for this)

Soluable fiber is better than insoluable fiber at this time, so i would limit the wheat bran etc as it will just bulk up. 

HTH...

 

Dee - posted on 03/03/2009

my son 4 years has had the same problem recently . i made sure that he trys on the loo last thing if he hasn't been that day already but noticed that he was holding it in when i asked if he needed to go earlier that day he said yes but noone was there to help, this led me to believe that he had worries about going at nursery thus the poop was building up inside his system

so i set out to sit him on the loo before pre school and when he came home.

at first he was not happy and because of the build up of the days before it hurt him but i tried to reasure him about'' little and often '' and to let it come out with out pushing if poss

after a fue days he seemed to keep to the routine and also found comfort in knowing i was there as a result poops didnt build up thus didnt hurt . maybe getting her to sit on the toliet trainer seat that fits over a normal toliet might be easier than hunching up over a potty (i'm guessing only if you have traditional potty) i hope this has helped

Eve - posted on 03/03/2009

My son did the same thing when he was pottytraining. I gave him Little Tummies laxative drops. It gave him no choice. He chose pooping in the potty over pooping in his pants. It didn't make it too soft though. It only took one time and he pooped on the potty from then on.

Paulette - posted on 03/03/2009

Hi Dawn,  I went this route with the doctors too. For a little while try to reduce the amount of dairy, not eliminate it. Celery is a great way for her to get fiber along with strawberries, grapes, raisins, prunes (but it is hard to get little kids to eat them). How much milk, juice and water is she getting, i.e. 8, 16 24 ozs ?  My son was getting everything right...fruit and that included water but what I learned later on was he can not tolerate dairy and it affected his moods and made his movements huge plus hard as rocks. Early on the one pediatrician treated me like an overreactive mother. She even ignored it when I brought her an example. So I switch peds. in the practice. The next one did not ignore the family history and the fact that I was doing everything right and put him on Miralax for a while. But as I said earlier it turned out to be dairy. Maybe if you reduce her level of dairy and things improve then you have an idea of what direction to go. See if there is a family history of constipation too. I hope this helps. Take care.

Lisa - posted on 03/03/2009

i never used a potty 4 last last two children and my son who is the youngest was actually the easiest to train when i stopped the nappies i put him straight on the roilet but with a trainer seat which goes on the toilet itself and he thought it was great cos it was like being a big boy,, i dont know what kind of potty u have 4 him but its worked great 4 my last two plus my first child used it after havin a potty 4 awhile cos she started on potty then just decided she hated it x

April - posted on 03/03/2009

I do give him treats for pooping on the potty, not so much for peeing anymore b/c he knows what he is doing, but the whole treat thing doesn't seem to be working either (with pooping) and 5 minutes after he has sat on the potty for 10 minutes he will go and do it in his pants, and this is worse to me then changing a diaper or pull-up.

Lisa - posted on 03/03/2009

he will eventually its just like when they r good 4 everyone apart mummy and daddy just ask him if he wants to go but dont make a fuss if he doesnt but really praise him loads if he does but dont worry cos if he is goin at school etc there isnt an actual problem he will do it in his own good time(he is a man after all lol)

SSamantha - posted on 03/03/2009

I had a terrible time with my daughter with this very same problem. What helped me was Mira Lax. It does nothing to her stomach as far as pain but it will soften her stool so it is easier for her to go. Plus the best thing is you just put it in her drink and she cannot taste it, see it or anything. Now you can buy it over the counter. I put it in her bedtime drink and by the morning she had to go. You need patience because she will still be afraid but once she starts going and it does not hurt she wont hold it anymore. I gave her this drink starting every two days. Then I gradually took her off it. All it is a stool softner it wont force her to go like laxatives do. Trust me this stuff works and it is really gentle.

April - posted on 03/03/2009

My son is 3 and is potty-trained, but pooping on the potty has become a challenge for him, I make him sit there, and he has done it before, but lately it seems like he just doesn't want to poop on the potty for us, but he will do it for everyone else, like daycare, and his grandparents but not for mommy or daddy. I am interested to know what everyone else has to say about this also. As a mom I am right there with you :-)

Davon - posted on 03/03/2009

I'm not sure if you pediatrician mentioned to you, but your little one could be slightly dehydrated, make sure she's getting enough water, not just juice. 

For the juice, I recommend using 100% pear fruit juice and 100% concord grape juice... If you can find it organic, I would recommend those. 

She may need something to soften her stools (I would recommend food at this point), not an actual laxative as those can be harsh.  (Prunes, and grapes are pretty good for this)

Soluable fiber is better than insoluable fiber at this time, so i would limit the wheat bran etc as it will just bulk up. 

HTH...

Catherine - posted on 03/03/2009

OH--- I forgot to tell you-- You just mix about a tablespoon of karo syrup into water, makes a sweet tasting drink for your child.. and helps with going # 2

Catherine - posted on 03/03/2009

My son had trouble when he was younger... You can give her the "DARK KARO" syrup and it helps with making her "GO" a little easier.

Lisa - posted on 03/03/2009

it actually might just b that simply she has been having big poos lately and they have hurt because she is only a little girl cos it can happen to adults too sometimes