What do you do when your child holds it?
Unbeknownst to me, this actually has a medical term! Have you heard of Dysfunctional Voiding/Elimination Pattern? Neither had I, until my youngest had to be seen by a pediatric urologist for pain while urinating. What looked like a UTI was actually infrequent and inefficient stool elimination, which produced elevated pressure on organs, such as the bladder. This caused burning, discomfort, pain, and in our case, symptoms of a UTI.
Our urologist compared it to constantly pressing the snooze button and waiting too long to get out of bed in the morning. A bad habit, yes, but could also set a toddler up for a world of other issues as she grows and develops. I was also told my tooty toddler was pressing her snooze button each time she passed gas. An easy at-home solution was proposed but I had no idea just how difficult and time consuming it would be.
Hopefully you won’t need to see a baby urologist! Below are some helpful tips to help make potty time a bit more successful.
MAKE A SCHEDULE
Choose two times a day to sit down on the pot for at least 15 minutes to try!
This was new to me. While it made sense to use a schedule for potty training, when it came to pooping, I was of the mindset that they’d tell me when they needed to go. When talking to friends, I’ve heard funny stories about toddlers asking for diapers, holding it all day at school, waiting until they were in the comfort of their own bed and pull up before making an elimination. While potty training our son, I would just let him tell me when he needed to go, so this was a new ballgame to me. The interesting thing about scheduled patterns is that it has been found to be as effective (sometimes more effective) in producing a poop. More on this later!
It prolonged bedtime by about 45 minutes but we finally made some progress. It’s also common for them to start to realize what it means to “stall” and as she’d be all cozy and warm in bed, she’d stand up and say, “More poop.” Most of the time, it never happened this late.
USE A CHART/REWARD SYSTEM
We were sent home with a chart deemed the Elimination Calendar. We spruced it up with stickers, glitter, paint, and some color and hung it on the wall by her tiny white potty. She had been potty trained for a few months at this time but was still holding her bowels. It would become our mission to find a scheduled elimination pattern in the morning and in the evening.
Stubborn doesn’t even come close to what you could call our daughter in this arena. It took prizes, coaxing, and lots of cheering for her to sit there long enough to go. We ordered a huge bag of miniature zoo animals from Oriental Trading Company, and each time she went, she was able to choose a new prize.
JUICES, FIBER SUPPLEMENTS, & STOOL SOFTENERS
Fiber supplements and stool softeners like MiraLax or Benefiber can help; however, the choice to eliminate must still be made by the stubborn child. We pumped her up with Benefiber for two weeks to no prevail. It took a constant schedule, consistency, and a little Miralax to get her bowels regular. Now we use fiber gummies in the mornings and lots of water throughout the day. Natural remedies like apple juice, pear juice, blueberry juice, and prunes can also help. Be mindful of what foods stop up the child as well and avoid while figuring out!
Good luck! What has worked for your kiddos?
