Hi!
Potty training question here. Very sweet family, older, first time parents expecting number two in mid-May. Their eldest now is a mid June birthday, having arrived two months early as a surprise.
R is in Pull Ups and stays dry all day, even during nap. It's the pooping issue that I'm seeing as a roadblock for her. Not to be gross, but her poop is often soft and sometimes a blowout, meaning it leaks out of the Pull Up and gets all over her clothes. She won't tell us when she needs to poop, and most recently her poops have been funky in color, alternating between soft and mushy to a water balloon consistency. (Picture filling a balloon with water) Yesterday she had four blowouts: two at home and two at school. Today she had a water balloon poop and another one similar in consistency this afternoon. I'm wondering if her being pre-term is the reason for the blowouts, as if her digestive system isn't mature? She has no known allergies, yet I'm wondering if there could be an allergy of some sort. R does great with peeing on the potty, and she will say whether or not she has to go when asked. We always tell her to tell someone when she has to poop, or when she feels like she has to. Nothing happens. When she poops, we clean her up and she dresses her self.
Has anyone had experience with pre-term and potty training? Could not be ready for underwear due to the pooping issue, and/or could she have a digestive issue or allergy? M has been sick and she is thinking that R has what she has, just a different version. I want to make this easy for M and D with the new baby coming, yet I also know only R knows what she needs when she needs it in reference to potty training.
Any advice would be great!
Well, there are deeper issues here than just potty training. This child's #2s are a problem. She is having diarrhea every day, according to the post. This is VERY serious - has her pediatrician been informed? This is not a preemie issue, this is a medical issue that is the killer of majority of babies and children in the developing world. Has she been vaccinated for rotavirus? If she hasn't or the diarrhea has been continuous for over 5 days- take her to the emergency room IMMEDIATELY! She's losing micro-nutrients, electrolytes, getting dehydrated and her overall growth and development is affected! Honestly, expecting a young child that is having diarrhea to anticipate/make it into the potty is madness - adults sometimes have problem with that! Please have this child seen immediately to!
ReplyDeleteFigure out what changes need to be made to her diet. Also mention to the ped. I assume she is drinking enough and no signs of lethargy? She still is peeing fine? And acting normal? If yes then no she doesn't need to be rushed to the er. Good grief. Call the ped, and try decreasing her dairy in take. If she gets 3 glasses of milk still decrease to 2. And no yogurts or cheese, no other dairy.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I would talk with a child psychologist. It could be anxiety. A lot of children struggle with pooping on the potty and she could be holding it in until there's just too much. Unless she's had poop issues since before potty-training, I would highly doubt any kind of allergy. Anxiety is a huge cause of diarrhea in children. Also, pull ups aren't meant for a full-on poop. That could be some of the problem with the leakage.
ReplyDeleteJust a side note- pull ups are such a bad idea.
Seeing mom has some issues going on, may R also does. I would have mom take her in and get checked. Is she eating new foods or a lot of fruit or fiber? Try giving R applesauce, bananas, rice, potatoes, toast, oatmeal, and yogurt. Keep diet bland with no additives. Cut back on milk for awhile and push water and pedia lite.
ReplyDeleteAlso pull ups I agree are not ideal, but better than underwear until this issue is fixed, but forsure better than going back to diapers. Maybe take her shopping and have pick out some "special" underwear, put them over the pull up tell her these are your very own special undies, so you cannot poop in them, you need to use the potty. Give rewards when she sits on the potty even if she doesn't go, such as, one m&m for sitting on potty w/o anything happening, two m&ms for peeing & 3 for pooping on the potty. Or get a Potty time treasure box, put a lot of cute little trinkets in and maybe a small prize for telling you she has to go, little bigger for peeing & best for if she poops on potty. Really encourage & reward. It is really good that you make her be accountable for her actions, you help her clean up, but she needs to redress herself.
Has she ever used the auto flush toilets and got scared by them? I know when my daughter was potty training she use a auto flush toilet and it scared her to death, so she did regress on potty training for awhile. I know that has nothing to do with the type of poops she has, but it could be the reason she won't go on the toilet.