I know that no one in their right mind goes around wishing for shi* to happen and I could be the very exception.
You see since May this year, 3 months ago, Sophie had a bout of constipation which has left her terrified of pooing. Back then her poo would be so hard that she’ll cry for a good 15-20 mins before she finally makes a deposit. Coincidentally, it was also about that time that she became a picky eater and would pick out the greens in her food and tell you that she doesn’t want them. Guess I spoke to soon when I said we never had an issue with her diet.
So the first thing we did was to change her milk powder from Mamil Gold to Friso which I understand to be more gentle on the tummy. That worked… but only for a week or so when she started to display a fear for pooing. Somehow the constipation episode left such a bad memory that she’ll cry whenever she needs to poo and would use all her might to hold it back.
Thanks to my well meaning friends from FaceBook, I received plenty of tips and remedies to try.
Here’s a list of them
- Changed milk powder from Mamil Gold to Friso
- Prune juice. We diluted it with water as we found it too sweet
- Papaya
- Pear
- Dragon Fruit
- Yogurt
- Vitagen/ Yakult
- Lactus prescribed by the PD and he mentioned it can be taken daily to soften the stools
- Probiotics- Primadophilus from Nature’s Way
- Ru Yi oilment
- Stickers as rewards
- iPad as reward
- Books on going to the toilet, potty training
- Praises
- Threats even when our patience were worn down by her constant crying
On a good day, she’ll find that she can no longer hold it back and just let it out all after crying for a while. On a bad day, it can even take up to half an hour or coaxing, persuading, encouraging, motivating and praising a crying toddler and still nothing happens.
And for me, my mood can swing from being totally heart wrenched to down right frustrated to watch her cry in pain and still refuse to poo no matter what we do.
So last Sunday, we decided to switch things up and get a new potty for her. And I’m happy to share that she’s getting a bit more interested and earned herself a big fat star for pooing in the new potty!
Keep it up Sophie!
Do you have any success stories or advise to share on dealing with constipation? I would love to hear from you!
Tagged: constipation, potty training, toddler
hi susan, was googling remedies for constipating babies and saw your blog! sorry, didn’t get to speak to you much at ethan’s party. my little one is also suffering from constipation. he is on mamil gold. he has always had a bit of a constipation problem on and off but it was manageable. but recently it seems to have started again. he now only poos once every two days instead of his usual daily poo. this seems to have coincided with my introducing stage 3 to him recently, but actually, i am still transitioning him between stage 2 and 3. so he is not even fully on stage 3 yet. hence i am not sure if the constipation is caused by the milk or is it a recurrence of his previous constipation problems. i have tried prunes and yoghurt but with mixed results. as i am still in the process of transitioning him to mamil gold stage 3, i am concerned about changing milk brands yet again. i will give some of your tips a try. good luck to sophie!
Hi Jessica, if things don’t improve then chaining the formula milk will be an option. Sophie’s poo was softer after changing to Friso but then again that didn’t eliminate the current pooping problem. Hope Jack gets better soon.
[…] So here’s another call out to moms who’s had success with their toddlers who have overcame their fear of pooing. And if you do need some help with a constipated baby/ toddler, you can read more about what we’ve tried. […]
[…] a fear for pooing after she had a brush with very bad constipation. Trust me, we tried almost every single remedy from the doctors, to well meaning advice from friends and relatives. And till now, she still has […]
Hi Susan, thanks for sharing this. If things don’t go well for Angel, I’ll probably let her take the probiotics and lactulose too. I don’t even know if they have it here, all they told me was to take more prune. They have it in puree form in small bottles and Angel takes it everyday now. Yes, she has a potty story book too, of her favourite Dora. Lol. And we invented a poo poo song for her, and she has a poo-ing buddy which is her stuffed toy. Just hoping everything goes better soon. Glad to know I’m not alone and thanks for writing that sweet comment on my blog. Cheers!
Hi Susan. I am also Susan but Susan Tan. My gal is 5 years old. She always have constipation. Thanks for sharing the above information. I will try it out. You recommended Probiotics- Primadophilus from Nature’s Way. Is this very effective?
Hi Susan,
Thanks for dropping by. I wouldn’t say that IT was the cure, but it did help in some way.