Poo Problem

DD has started hanging onto her poo, I a pretty sure it is a control thing as we are in the process of toilet training, we realise that she is not ready to poo in the toilet so we put a nappy on when she asks for a poo.

I am starting to get a bit worried though as she has only done 1 poo since sunday, and she hasnt been at all for 3 full days now which I am sure it not normal.

Has anyone got any ideas what I can give her (preferrably natural and not medication) to help her get a bit more regular, I am really worried that she is going to end up constipated.

Some things that work for us are:
- lots of water
- pears
- pureed apple
- licorice

Zucchini
Prunes or prune juice (may have to water it down a bit tho as it can be pretty strong)

had the same problem with ds.

does she like dried (or fresh) figs? dried apricots? apple juice helps, but beware of cooked apple - it's 'firming'.

good luck!

fruit will do the trick. Stone fruit
Pear juice
prune juice
orange juice

if you make this fresh, it will be even better for her. good luck!

Yup, that's a toughie. I've read that some toddlers hang onto it and once the bowel is distended it actually lessens the urge to go (which is kinda counter-productive and a bit annoying).
I might try to find the book and reference to see what's suggested. As well as the change in diet, it might be worth trying to find ways to encourage a change in behaviour too... I'll see what I can find for you.

Okeys, I read about it in the Mighty Toddler. Something that may be worth considering is whether she finds pooing painful? Like if she's passed a hard poo that's caused an anal fissure or something. This could make her reluctant to go again (but it obviously doesn't help the problem, just helps you understand a possible reason for it...)
Barker suggests some possible foods that may help as follows:
- Dilute prune juice
- Weet bix for breakky with brown sugar and straight prune juice
- Lentil dishes
- Paw paw

HTH and good luck :)

My son had the same problem for months, and when he HAD to go, he was so distressed he would scream, cry tears, go red in the face and cling onto me as tightly as possible. It was the most horrible thing. I tried everything that the pead had told me and nothing worked.

The only thing that did work, was Vaalia yoghurt. I know, not something that people would generally try, but I was desperate and on advice from a friend who had been through the same I tried it.
DS loves yoghurt so it was no problem and the probiotics in it really hepled. Over a one week period of one serve of vaalia a day, he went from the afore mentioned, to a pooing champion. No screaming, no crying, no bleeding. Nice soft unformed poos.

After having him on it for a few months, (I initially had him once a day, but cut it back to once every 2 days, and maybe even less) I found that he has not reverted back to it ever since. We have not had one single issue with his poos. He has never cried since. It was an abo****e lifesaver.

That's my story, and it may or may not work for others, but I just wanted to get it out there:)
DS also has hommus on multigrain sandwhiches every few days to keep hisfibre intake up aswell. They are good for him and he loves them.

I hope that you find a solution for your little one soon. It is heartbreaking to watch.

All the very best.

We've just had a horrible time with this!

DD realised she could hang onto poo and delay going so she started to. She would seriously hang onto it for DAYS. She was only going once every 3 days at one point. Eventually holding it so long meant it was very dry and hard when she did go and the poor love got an anal fissure which was clearly agony.

She got really scared to poo, would cry and run about in distress when she felt the urge and when she couldn't stop it she would be hysterically upset by it. It was awful. Eventually she began leaking watery poo because she was so blocked up lower down and i bought syrup of figs in desperation. My bottle also contains senna, but you can buy it without in health shops. The dose for a 1-3 year old is 2.5-5mls and i give DD 1.25mls every day just now. For the first 3 days she pooed big hard painful poos twice a day, she was obviously very backed up but then - i'd not realised how bad it was despite the fact i'd been massaging her tummy daily to help her "go". We are now 12 days in and i'm giving her dose every other day. SHe's been pooing pain-free for a week. It's scuppered our potty training again (as did the house move, and before that the 'flu...) but i don't care. Seeing her go without pain and distress is worth changing another 6 months of nappies!

Bx