DS has been having poopy issues for quite some time now. He's been potty trained for the most part since he was about two, he just turned three is October. He started out fine with pooping on the potting but over time has taken to holding it. We're thinking he's decided he just doesn't like to poop.
He gets the urge and holds it in until the urge passes. We see him standing there squeezing and clenching and sometimes holding onto his bum. We've tried taking him to sit on the toilet at this point but it's a huge scream fest of - I don't want to poop, I don't need to poop, nothing is there, etc. At this point we can't even get him to sit on the toilet and try and don't want to push it and have him hold it even more.
When he can't hold it any longer is when we take him. How we know that he can't hold any longer is that he starts peeing at bit and will cry out that his pants are getting wet - usually he's started pooping a bit by this time. It is still a big fight to get him to sit on the toilet and have his poop but we can usually talk him into sitting there for a few mins until he poops, all the while telling us he doesn't have to.
Like 99% of his poops are in the toilet but only after a half a day of the poopy dance! He always pees in the toilet (other than the dribbling when trying to hold poop) and often times wakes at night to pee cause he doesn't want to go in his nighttime diaper. He never just comes and says I need to poop, it's always a huge production
It gets frustrating at times and of course I always wonder if we're making it worse or could be trying something else.
I would love some tips if any of you moms have BTDT … some days it is just so frustrating and there are some many better ways to spend our time together than fighting over pooping … I know DS gets so frustrated with this too
ETA: Though I'd better let you know what we've tried (aka, what doesn't work) and that he eats great, lots of veggies/fruit, water, milk, etc.
-Bribes (I know, but we get desparate)
-Withholding stuff (like, you can't color til you poop, etc) I know, I know but again, we get desperate
-when he's at the sitters sporadically she has set times (after he's eaten) that she puts him on the toilet. It seemed to work at times but I really didn't like this, seemed to me if he's not showing signs of having to it shouldn't be pushed on him. If you don't need to poop you don't need to poop ... so I don't do this at home and he is rarely at the sitters (hasn't been for months)
-we do keep baby prune juice for when it's been a few days. It does get him going but it's still the same big production
I just don't know what else we could be doing and I worry about making it worse or scarring him somehow ...
He gets the urge and holds it in until the urge passes. We see him standing there squeezing and clenching and sometimes holding onto his bum. We've tried taking him to sit on the toilet at this point but it's a huge scream fest of - I don't want to poop, I don't need to poop, nothing is there, etc. At this point we can't even get him to sit on the toilet and try and don't want to push it and have him hold it even more.
When he can't hold it any longer is when we take him. How we know that he can't hold any longer is that he starts peeing at bit and will cry out that his pants are getting wet - usually he's started pooping a bit by this time. It is still a big fight to get him to sit on the toilet and have his poop but we can usually talk him into sitting there for a few mins until he poops, all the while telling us he doesn't have to.
Like 99% of his poops are in the toilet but only after a half a day of the poopy dance! He always pees in the toilet (other than the dribbling when trying to hold poop) and often times wakes at night to pee cause he doesn't want to go in his nighttime diaper. He never just comes and says I need to poop, it's always a huge production
It gets frustrating at times and of course I always wonder if we're making it worse or could be trying something else.
I would love some tips if any of you moms have BTDT … some days it is just so frustrating and there are some many better ways to spend our time together than fighting over pooping … I know DS gets so frustrated with this too
ETA: Though I'd better let you know what we've tried (aka, what doesn't work) and that he eats great, lots of veggies/fruit, water, milk, etc.
-Bribes (I know, but we get desparate)
-Withholding stuff (like, you can't color til you poop, etc) I know, I know but again, we get desperate
-when he's at the sitters sporadically she has set times (after he's eaten) that she puts him on the toilet. It seemed to work at times but I really didn't like this, seemed to me if he's not showing signs of having to it shouldn't be pushed on him. If you don't need to poop you don't need to poop ... so I don't do this at home and he is rarely at the sitters (hasn't been for months)
-we do keep baby prune juice for when it's been a few days. It does get him going but it's still the same big production
I just don't know what else we could be doing and I worry about making it worse or scarring him somehow ...