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DCG2 has been holding in her poop to the point of tears for about 2 months now. Mom and dad are awesome. She eats a healthy diet, they haven't pushed potty training at all, so I don't think anything is wrong there. According to them, she was constipated once and it hurt her to go, so now she does all she can do to hold it - sometimes for days and days... Which of course makes it hard and it hurts more. Just wondering if any of you have any good advice on how to handle this. I don't want to scar her for life by either giving it too much or not enough attention, but we literally can't do anything when she is holding it in because she screams bloody murder and this can happen several times per day.
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It's a vicious cycle. She's scared that it will hurt, she holds it forever, then she's proven right because it does hurt. Poor thing... I would talk to her parents about a high fiber diet and possibly using a glycerin enema to make her go. She has to see that it doesn't normally hurt in order to get over her fear. -
I have had two children who did this.
One parent gave them some type of fiber biscuit/cookie after breakfast each day - child usually finished eating it here.
The other one started as a young toddler - we fed him baby food prunes every day until a few months after the issue subsided.Comment
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I have a DCB who gets constipated a lot then have weeks of crying because his tummy hurts and his butt hurts.
First we did prune juice. Then he refused to dink it. Now we give him fiber gummies and a little miralax in his milk when he hasn't pooped.
It works great. It's just enough to make it a little softer. Nothing runny.Comment
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I had a newborn that had some poop problems. Doctor said to put Karro (not sure how to spell but it's the baking syrup) in a warm bottle. Doctor said if problem continues past bottle age than she can just warm it and drink it with milk, water, or by itself. I was hesitant, dcm did it and it worked wonders!Comment
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I have 2 that were like this. They eventually went to the doctors and by prescription will be on a stool softener for a year to correct the damage done.Comment
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I would ask mom to consider asking her ped. about Miralax...it really does help-a few months of Miralax should help things get back on track, and then she could ease off of it.Comment
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Thanks for all the advice! Mom is giving lots of prune juice and gives her a good diet. She is against miralax and is trying diet changes first, which I can support. I'm more wondering what I can do or say to this child when she walking around with her but cheeks clenched and screaming. Do I treat it like any other tantruming child and redirect or have her sit in the cry corner until she is ready to join? Or do I show more compassion and comfort? I've tried having the "everybody poops" talk and explain that her body wants her to poop but she doesn't understand. I'm not sure how much our how little attention to give her during her clenching episodes. I don't want to scare her by making this a big deal, but also need her to know that it's not Ok.Comment
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I suppose Mom considers Miralax a dangerous drug, but it probably is what DCG needs. Has mom talked to pediatrician about the seriousness of the issue? I would strongly encourage her to do so. Miralax will bring more water into the intestines and help little one go-whether Mom is afraid of it or not, it probably is the best answer.Comment
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My DCM didn't want to do the miralax either but after the diet change didn't work and dcb was miserable, she changed her mind.
When she is holding it in and crying, maybe lay her down on the changing table and bring her knees to her chest and see if she will go then.Comment
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I do agree about the Miralax. My own dd had to be on it for a week or two and it was no big deal at all. After they realize they can poop without it hurting, it becomes a non issue. I will keep trying to make this a big deal to mom who just is kind of nonchalant about the whole thing. Perhaps I need to start calling mom when dcg is screaming so much she can't participate. Maybe she will be more apt to get the problem fixed?Comment
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With this issue... had maybe five kids with it.
What I do is toilet all the other kids then sit the kid on the pot with a stool at their feet so they have butt on seat and stool at feet. The stool has to be just the right height for them to flat foot it without their knees going out too far. Just exactly the right height.
Then I have them lean.forward and place their forearms directly from thigh to knees.
I turn all the lights off except the natural window light and have them sit and stay with NOTHING to do. I give it about three minutes and then I go in and kneel next to them and give them a skin to skin back rub with the motions going up their spine from bottom of back to neck. Just up. Not down.
I use very light touch. Fingertips only.
No talk.... no interaction.
Within a few minutes the kid starts pooping. The first part hurts so I say "easy" go slow. Then the rest comes out.
I do this after meals and I make sure they have a full belly and a good amount of drink. I will flood them with liquids after a meal to get a full full belly.
Once the kid has had success they are very accepting of this. They know they are going to have initial pain on days they have been away from me the days before.
I had one kid who would not poop ANYWHERE but my house. He was gone two weeks at Christmas and it took days of this to get him cleaned out.Comment
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exactly. After a few times doing this.. The kid generally enjoys he relaxing one on one time so much that few seconds of discomfort is worth it to them and they think more about the relief than the discomfort.
I also second the miralax also...
Point being once they get back in schedule it won't be uncomfortable anymore.
I also second the fact that after just a few months of this... It can cause some major damage. Hemorrhoids... Bleeding.... Anal fissures... All kinds of serious damage. While I understand not wanting to use a stimulant laxatives becUse of all the recent information about our bodies possibly becoming addicted and not being able to poop without them. But miralax is different in how it works.Comment
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My son did this and I cannot tell you how extremely important it is to get that child pooping. My son has had encopresis for going on 5 years now because I wasn't all that concerned in the beginning and it just snowballed from there.
Miralax has done wonders for him as well as making him sit on the toilet for 15-20 minutes after each meal. I know that seems like a long time, but he's to the point where he doesn't feel the need to go anymore.
ETA: also wanted to add that ds's doctor assured me that Mirlax is not habit forming and he very well may need to take it for many years.. and that I shouldn't be concerned. It's more concerning that he may eventually need surgery to remove everything.Comment
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