Any tips for Mr Poopy Pants?!

[zanacal]

I wonder if there's some way you can get him to lean forwards while he's sitting - something on the stool or floor in front of him which he has to lean to look at? Can he go without the toddler seat? My LO doesn't want to use it for wees any more - though the bad thing about that is that he doesn't hang around for a really long time on the toilet like he needs to to do a poo!

[PeonyPrincess]

My DS1 is like a fruit bat and really good at eating vegies, so I was really surprised that he got constipation. I took him to a naturopath who told me I needed to change his diet and now we don't have any problems. The main things she said were: Give him a 'poo' breakfast (sounds awful, but helps them do a poo after eating it). It is basically porridge. She suggested cooking up some apples and pears, cored but with their skins on and adding it to the oats once cooked to sweeten it. I also make a LSA mix (linseed, sunflower seeds and almonds) and add a small amount for some protein. Sometimes I make home-made baked beans and he has that with wholemeal toast. On the weekend I always let him choose his own breakfast so I don't feel like I am constantly nagging about eating the right foods. And I want him to learn that he has to choose what goes into his tummy and suffer the problems if it is all junk.

She also said to buy breads with wholemeal flour. Even some breads here that are called wholemeal actually use a lot of wheat flour in them. The main other thing was if he has meat or eggs, he needs something with it to help it move through his gut as they are binding and will block him up. Brown rice is perfect or chick peas, that kind of thing. Medium grain brown rice my kids actually like, especially with some soy or tamari sauce sprinkled over. I made long grain brown rice once, but even I couldn't eat it so I don't recommend that!

Sorry for the big post, but I remember how awful it was to have a child who complained of tummy pains every day and relied on parachoc to do a decent poo. When he was blocked up it used to cause him to wet the bed as well, so it has fixed that too.

One more thing about diet...she said to give him plenty of fresh fruits but avoid fruit juice as it is very high in fructose. The fructose prevents their bodies from fighting infection for some hours after they have it. I had mentioned that the kids were catching every cold around and now that they rarely have juice they are much healthier. I thought it was very interesting as I assumed it was a healthy thing to be giving them to drink.

Zanacal, I love that your boobs were supposedly extra babies! Don't they say the cutest things?!

[Wishing4Princess]

I wonder if there's some way you can get him to lean forwards while he's sitting - something on the stool or floor in front of him which he has to lean to look at? Can he go without the toddler seat? My LO doesn't want to use it for wees any more - though the bad thing about that is that he doesn't hang around for a really long time on the toilet like he needs to to do a poo!

Yes, I have tried putting something in front of him to lean forward to look at..it helps a bit. he doesnt even like the toddler seat, and doesn't use it to do #1. he'll just go on his own and lift the seat and take wee standing. but it's really impossible to use the toilet w/out the toddler seat, since he's scared he'll fall into it.

Peony, that's interesting about the fruit juices. my kids don't have much of it. I know diet is key, but only if he goes when he needs to, there won't be much build up , ya know. I guess it will get better over time. I will just have to get more creative about hiding veggies /fruit into his meals.

BTW, Peony congrats on your BFP! crossing fingers it's your girl

Zana, you are getting very close to your due date! how exciting!

[atomic sagebrush]

Zana, my DS 2 who was VERY easy to potty train and did so at a super young age basically on his own (I think he was just barely 2) then wet his bed for many years afterwards. And I know two woman whose daughters potty trained very easily and then started having accidents (one poo, one pee) that carried on for years afterwards (hopefully yours won't!) I've wondered if the easier they are to train at first, maybe they like to make up for it in the end haha.

For the ladies dealing with constipation, my DS 3 gets very constipated becasue of a medical condition and I've found that the gummy laxatives with inulin in them (the ones we have are "little tummies" brand) are awesome for that.

[atomic sagebrush]

Oh and Wishing4 - DS 3 had no success using the potty seat or pooing on the little potty, he ended up learning to balance on the big pot and pooing in there. Something about the position he was in when on the big pot, helped to get things moving.

He was really scared too but I bribed him with massive amounts of candy (it was really bad) the first few times.

[Wishing4Princess]

Oh and Wishing4 - DS 3 had no success using the potty seat or pooing on the little potty, he ended up learning to balance on the big pot and pooing in there. Something about the position he was in when on the big pot, helped to get things moving.

He was really scared too but I bribed him with massive amounts of candy (it was really bad) the first few times.

that's funny..at this point I really don't need the extra stress and would do anything to make him go too. I will try m&ms..thnx for the info on the gummy lax. I will pick some up today.