Potty time and poo withholding

[fifiloveslove]

Hi my daughter is 2 1/2 and in her 4th week of potty training and doing super well!

She has been on movicol since June 2018 and we have been through disimpactions and playing with the dose to get it right and have now found that potty training and having a proper toileting routine has actually really helped her!

She is on 3 1/2 sachets a day at the moment which keep her poo’s nice and soft but not too sloppy that we get leakage or accidents so all good. And she has been going once or twice a day. She would have an off day with a bit of withholding but only one day in a week.

BUT....this week, she has been fine with weeing but gone back to her withholding for poo’s....and has started jumping off the potty. Not interested in any of the things we normally do whilst having potty time, I can sometimes get her back on with screen time but she will continually get back up and avoid pooing, even though the signs are all there that she needs to go. She would sometimes have a bit of discomfort but would always stay sitting and do her poo, but the last 4 days have proved difficult.

She hasn’t had a poo at all today and has gone to bed with a bloated tummy which just makes me feel so unsettled, as I’m sure it does her too!

I’m unsure as to what to do, I thought about increasing her dose just by half for a few days, incase she is having trouble going (although not sure she is being on that much a day??) but has anyone else been through this? Or have any ideas about what to do?

Do I just need to chill the hell out and she may eventually just get back into a relaxed routine?

Thanks in advance! X

[RuthRosetta]

My daughter is a withholder too. Every few weeks or so she misses a day without pooing but then has a clear out the next day. If she doesn't go today I'd definitely up the movicol. Good luck, I empathise with how stressful this is x

[fifiloveslove in reply to RuthRosetta]

Thanks for your reply, it’s super stressful isn’t it! She has been doing the same this morning, fussing and jumping off the potty again and there is a tiny poo spot in there! I’ve come to work feeling a bit anxious and just hoping she goes at the childminders today🤞🏼

When your daughter does a clear out, does it tend to be all in one go or does she just go a lot throughout the next day?

[RuthRosetta in reply to fifiloveslove]

I hope she goes too. Keep me updated. When my daughter has a good clear out it can be over one or two poos. She tends to go twice a day since she's been on laxido.

[fifiloveslove in reply to RuthRosetta]

Hi again, I just wondered if you could tell me what your daughter does when she withholds. Does she just not go or is there any behaviour that she does? Has it got less and less over time?

[RuthRosetta in reply to fifiloveslove]

At first she simply doesn't poo, as the withholding gets more extreme she starts going up on tip toes with the effort to hold it in. Eventually she starts crying with the pain of it all. Now we've found her maintenance dose of laxatives she doesn't withhold but still very occasionally go a day without pooing x

[fifiloveslove in reply to RuthRosetta]

Ah ok thanks, that’s exactly what my daughter does too. I just wondered if it was similar. I just struggle with why, do you? How can they go most of the time so easily with no problem but then the odd occasion hold on? 🤷🏼‍♀️ I wonder what triggers it, do you have any idea?

How long did it take for her to stop withholding? And how many sachets is she on? If you don’t mind me asking all the questions! X

[RuthRosetta in reply to fifiloveslove]

I think the reason is nobody sticks to an exact poo schedule all of the time. I don't think my daughter is necessarily withholding when she misses one day. My daughter is currently on 1 and quarter sachets of laxido. From first starting laxido it took only a few days for her to stop withholding. It took some playing around with the dose though to get her to stop withholding but also not have really runny poo that was leaking everywhere xxx

[fifiloveslove in reply to RuthRosetta]

Oh that’s so good, I’m glad you have managed to get it under control for her and so quickly too!

We are now on 3 1/2 sachets a day which seems to be ok for her most of the time and no leaks....but she will have 1 or 2 days a week when she will still withhold. Thats what I don’t understand, as he poo is so nice and soft, it can’t hurt. So I guess it’s just old habits....I’m hoping if we continue and just power through it will get less and less 🤞🏼x

[RuthRosetta in reply to fifiloveslove]

If only we could get inside the minds of our toddlers eh?! X

[CN4321]

Have you tried giving her something to play with or do while she’s on the potty trying for a poo? My son is a classic withholder and I used to let him take toys and to the bathroom with him (he still takes a book for his ten minute try every day) to make him sit for longer.

Bubbles are a classic as they use the right muscles for them to poo.

Good luck

[fifiloveslove in reply to CN4321]

Thank you! Yes she sometimes has screen time, and I have bought play dough and we have bubbles and slime. I did struggle a bit though as found she then wouldn’t get off the potty as she loved them so much! 🙈😂

She has finally been today thank god, but there was a lot of fuss with it.

I’m going to keep her on a slightly higher dose for a while and see if that helps her to back to going with less fuss.

Might have to get a few new potty time toys and have a refresh!

Thanks for replying to me

[MissPringles]

My daughter is the same and would withhold to the point she was in terrible pain by the time she finally went. We used glycerin suppositories which were tricky to insert but worked within minutes. I found the whole thing really upsetting as you know if they don't go, it's going to be a terrible experience for them. Now, she is much better and is getting a kinder egg for doing a poo which means she is keen to go. She is on lactulose as and when needed. Good luck with it all.

[fifiloveslove in reply to MissPringles]

It’s funny you say about kinder eggs! I tried a different approach with her this weekend. She told me she needed a poo but then she kept saying she had finished and nothing was there. So I said why don’t you try really hard and see if you can do a poo and if you can, there’s some kinder in the fridge that you can have! And just like that, within seconds, she did it and then stood up! 🤷🏼‍♀️ I don’t get it lol!! But it worked and she was so happy, she did 1 poo Saturday and 2 yesterday! 🎉

Thank you for your reply! How old is your daughter and does she go regularly now? X

[MissPringles in reply to fifiloveslove]

The magic of Kinder! So funny. She is much better now, thanks. She is going every day at the moment so fingers crossed it continues. But if she skips a day without a poo I give the lactulose just in case. Hope things keep going well for you too x