Pooping Questions

[Kaylis]

Hm... I know this is a bit graphic, but I could really use some help. Mikah has been able to pee in the toilet for over a year, but wasn't always interested in trying. We tried underpants part-time for a while, whenever he was interested in wearing them, but that seemed to confuse him. At the end of June I had a week's vacation and decided to switch him to only underpants and see if it helped. It did, though he still has accidents when he forgets or can't get there quickly enough.

The issue now is, despite obvious interest, he poops in his underpants every time. Sometimes he puts a bit in the toilet, but that's rare. He seems to be having trouble with coordinating the pushing, and with sensitivity to the need both.

Ideas???

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

Does he have some "signal" when he needs to go potty? Before Brook could say/sign potty, she would make a funny noise and i'd know she had to potty and i'd rush her to the bathroom.

[sueb]

My daughter, Milly, is still not trained to ask to go to the potty, but I know when she sits on the floor, and leans forward over her stomach, that she is "pushing" and, if I can persuade her to go the bathroom, she will poop in the toilet.
Could Mikah be having trouble understanding the "feeling" of having to poop? I know with Milly, the process can take a long time (the bowel is a muscle, and our guys have low muscle tone, harder and more time-consuming for them to "push" the poop out)

[jessjetland]

If we don't tell Sam, hey go poop....he won't. Seriously he needs to be told or he will poop in his pants and he'll do it in front of the potty, it's crazy.

Jess

[Chris too]

Does he "hide" to poop? I've noticed that Stevie will disappear and return stinking but I am not at all on the ball over that - I notice after the fact If I would just pay attention to just her for a couple of days, we might get it done. It's the pee that's the main concern for us - Stevie will poop on the potty, and is willing to pee, but can't seem to manage it. Again, I think that if I dedicated a weekend to her potty-training, we'd make some progress, I'm sure.

You might want to watch him like a puppy - check the clock when he eats, check it again when he poops. Is it about the same amount of time after a particular food or meal? If so, you can get the jump on the poop ewwww!

Best wishes!

[Kaylis]

Thanks for the comments! Mikah can sign toilet, which he does usually when he has to pee (unless he just runs). I have been wondering about both muscle tone issues and sensory issues for a while, and even asked his PT after posting here. The PT said that anything like sit-ups would help probably since they strengthen some of the related muscles. The sensory stuff I have no clue what to do about.

[Chris too]

I'd say that our OT is much better for trunk-strengthening exercises than the PT. The OT specialty relies on solid trunk strength for stabilizing the shoulders, which stabilize the arms, which stabilize the wrists, which makes all that fine-motor work possible. It has always been our OT that works on that area the most - net-swing on the belly (fly like super man while picking up beanies & tossing them in a bucket), sitting on exercise ball while it's being rolled back and forth (OT holding onto thighs so she won't fall off) and while reaching to pop bubbles - that sort of thing. Much more fun than sit ups

[Connie]

Chris....still seeing Sabra?....LOL!!!

[Chris too]

Connie, we have Nicole now, but she's learned from the best: Sabra.

[damarasmom]

Well, like some of the other children, Damara has a a"sign" of needing to poop. She will squat on the floor and kinda lean forward...once I see that it's off to the toilet for us! She is pretty good at telling us when she has to poop, but if she's busy...we gotta keep an eye out for her! Peeing is another issue...she will NOT tell anyone, she just doesn't care if she is wet...the mess is not ok with her, but wet...she just doesn't care...GRRRRR... WE are working on it