Pooping in the tub

[Halfasianmomma]

...how exactly do I prevent this?

DD is 22 months and we haven't done any potty learning so far. I bought her a potty a while back but she just played with it so I put it away.

In the recent weeks, she's been getting into the habit of pooping in the tub. FTR, bathtime is around 6:30 p.m., after dinner. Perhaps playing in the warm water stimulates her bowels enough for her to...let go.

It's just...a bit icky and annoying, as I have to empty out the tub right away, wash DD off thoroughly and afterwards, I have to disinfect all her bath toys and the tub itself.

Should I be putting her on the potty before the bath? It seems she poops after playing for a bit, so I'm not sure I'd catch anything...

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

If you are right there while she is in the tub, when you see her start to make "That Face", have you tried grabbing her and placing her on the toilet?

[shelleyd]

If my daughter hasn't already pooped during the day, I just don't give her a bath. If I do she is pretty much guaranteed to poop in the tub. I have tried quickly putting her on the toilet if I see that she is going to poop but I don't always catch her in time. I have tried putting her on before the tub and it is pointless. SO my only advice is to hold the bath if she hasn't pooped that day!

[Geist]

My son went through this phase, too, though we EC so he went through it a bit earlier and it was a more of, ok, instead of coming to us when he needs to poop or pooping on the floor and us taking him to the toilet, he's waiting until he's in the bathtub and THEN doing it. It was annoying, but compared to alternatives (the floor) it wasn't that bad. I think he liked seeing it float out, you know? Ew.
At any rate, it lasted a month I think but he got upset at the fact that ended bath time early because I had to clean out the bath. So, now he goes in the toilet and if he has to poop while he's bathing, he does his pooping dance and let's me know so I can put him over the toilet.

[lyra1977]

I've noticed that DD seems to poop after drinking milk, and after breakfast, so I sometimes put her on the potty after breakfast with a cup of milk to drink, to get things going. I think the liquid in the stomach and the ensuing digestive processes that are initiated tend to give them the urge to poop. That's my theory. So maybe try putting her on the potty after dinner with a cup of milk and see what happens? Be patient, read some books, because it usually takes 10 minutes for my DD to go, not because she's constipated but just because she has to relax and remember what to do.