Withholding and potty training

[Basicilly]

Hi,

My 3 and 1/2 year old has been withholding since we tried potty training last June. In September she had a bad dose of constipation and the withholding has become a constant a part of pooing since then. We have been using a maintenance dose of Movical (1 sachet) since September. Based on research on the Internet (our gp has been no help) we did a full impaction 3 weeks ago and noticed two hard pieces of poo that had been blocking. We have since been using two doses of Movical to ensure a runny poo and try to break the withholding cycle. Our daughter is in pull ups and has no problem peeing in the potty or the oiletbut has never pooed in it.

Based on some an NHS document we read we also introduced potty time after each meal. This is mostly done with a cartoon and small treat and has not so far resulted in a poo. We have also stopped talking about poo in front if our daughter to help reduce any anxiety she iis feeling.

I read the witholding book by Sophia Fergus which I found very useful. One point I wasn't sure on (the reason I'm writing the post) is that she says if we haven't completed potty training then we should hold off until the withholding has been resolved for 2/3 months.

I am wondering if we should continue with the potty routine each day or if we should just focus on the withholding for now. Since the impaction and increase to two sachets per day maintenance dose we have noticed a small improvement in the withholding so don't want to mess it up and be back to square one. Any thoughts or similar stories are really welcome as we are a little lost on this and trying to figure the best for our little girl

Thanks

[Gertru]

Hi. Has she never pooed in nappies? My son was the same but he would occasionally poo in a nappies away from me. All I can say is keep going on the movicol and look for signs that she is trying to hold it in and then place her on the toilet or potty. With the sachets depending on the dosage she won't be able to keep it in so once you get one onf the toilet you can then praise reward etc depending what works for her. If she is going too much and having accidents you can start to reduce the sachets. My son now has one a day to one every other day and is going quite regularly now but it is still a bit of a battle to get him on the toilet! Like your daughter wees are fine. It's a long process but I'm hoping he's going to grow out of it. Hope that helps good luck. Xx

[Basicilly in reply to Gertru]

Thanks Gertru, sounds very similar to our situation and really encouraging to hear about your progress. Our little one poos in nappies with some withholding but not in the potty so far. Since we did the impaction a few weeks ago and increased the maintenance dose to two sachets we have seen a small reduction in the intensity of the withholding which is some progress at least. We are going to keep going with the movical and potty time for now as she is not resisting and went herself this morning for a pee which was nice.

Looks like a long patient road ahead but hopefully we're on the right track.

Best of luck with your little one!

[Gertru in reply to Basicilly]

Thank you. Yes keep going sounds like you're going the right way. Eventually it gets to the point where it will just come out with wees without even trying. So once you work out the dosage you can adjust etc. It took us a good 6 months to get used to how it worked and when he would go. It might be worth keeping a diary as that really helped me at the start. I would put how many sachets and when he would go and what the texture was like so I could adjust it accordingly. Keep going... Its always good to go full hog on the toilet training as if you waited for them to stop withholding it could be a while. As my son was toilets trained a year and half on the wees but still going on the poo front but we've made great progress since the sachets. It really is the miracle juice. X

[Basicilly in reply to Gertru]

Thanks a mil Gertru, great to get advice from someone who has gone through the same thing. We'll keep going and be back on here when we are looking for help a little further down the road I've no doubt. 😉