my almost 3 1/2 yo dd is having trouble b/c her poop hurts her when it comes out so she just doesn't want to go.
a note on our history: she was EC'd since day one and has been pooping in potties most of her life. she has also always seemed to have slow digestion, not pooping everyday, but maybe only once every five days or so. even when she was 5 months old and only breastfed i noticed a big space between poops and they even started to seem more solid while she was exclusively breastfed. once we started solids and she started eating more, poops were still spread out. i mentioned concern to my ped. at a 2 yr. visit and she said that because she was still being breastfed a lot, that slows down digestion. she said that because breastmilk is full of soo many great nutrients, it can take little bodies a long time to suck all the good stuff out before it is excreted. has any one else heard this is true?
well, now she is 3.5, still breastfed, eating a lot of solids, having a big space between poops----but then the poops are so big that they hurt her little butt hole when the "hard part" comes out at first. so, when she feels the sensation to go, she holds it in and refuses to sit on the potty because she doesn't want to go through the ouchie part (after which, it is soft and comes out easily and A LOT). at first, i just let it go: it is her body, she can choose when to poop, and i didn't want to add more stress to trying to get her to go. but it has been going on for several months now with no change, poor thing, and when she eventually goes, it usually (though not always) hurts her and thus reinforces her fear.
so: how can i gently encourage her to get on the pot and RELAX when she feels the urge? any suggestions for changes in diet (she eats all food groups now and i try to minimize processed foods)? or any other suggestions would be appreciated to help the poop pass more easily and painfree out of her little bottom!!!
thanks much.
a note on our history: she was EC'd since day one and has been pooping in potties most of her life. she has also always seemed to have slow digestion, not pooping everyday, but maybe only once every five days or so. even when she was 5 months old and only breastfed i noticed a big space between poops and they even started to seem more solid while she was exclusively breastfed. once we started solids and she started eating more, poops were still spread out. i mentioned concern to my ped. at a 2 yr. visit and she said that because she was still being breastfed a lot, that slows down digestion. she said that because breastmilk is full of soo many great nutrients, it can take little bodies a long time to suck all the good stuff out before it is excreted. has any one else heard this is true?
well, now she is 3.5, still breastfed, eating a lot of solids, having a big space between poops----but then the poops are so big that they hurt her little butt hole when the "hard part" comes out at first. so, when she feels the sensation to go, she holds it in and refuses to sit on the potty because she doesn't want to go through the ouchie part (after which, it is soft and comes out easily and A LOT). at first, i just let it go: it is her body, she can choose when to poop, and i didn't want to add more stress to trying to get her to go. but it has been going on for several months now with no change, poor thing, and when she eventually goes, it usually (though not always) hurts her and thus reinforces her fear.
so: how can i gently encourage her to get on the pot and RELAX when she feels the urge? any suggestions for changes in diet (she eats all food groups now and i try to minimize processed foods)? or any other suggestions would be appreciated to help the poop pass more easily and painfree out of her little bottom!!!
thanks much.
