Potty Learning and Constipation

[RebekahG77]

Hi mamas! I hear it's not uncommon for LOs to become constipated while potty-learning.... well, that's what's going on with DS. I'm 90% sure it's related to potty learning. Either way, he IS constipated. Any suggestions? I've tried lots of liquids (water/milk/juice) fresh pears, prune juice.... nothing so far. He usually goes twice a day and he hasn't gone in about 48 hours now. He acts like he has to go, even tell me that he does, but when he goes to sit on the potty, he just can't go. I just read on the mayo clinic website that mineral oil is safe. Should I try it? What has worked for you????

[OneFabMama]

I am going through the same thing. I find what works best for me (and her) is no pressure, I don't ask her if she has to go poop or anything. But, I may say "do you want to try and sit on the potty" and sometimes she will sit and go. Other time she'll scream at me
I don't have much advice for you. Sorry! But, this too shall pass...

[Deanner03]

Our ped actually said to avoid mineral oil. It can make them crampy. He suggested Miralax. You put a capful into a drink and stir, and they don't even know it's there. If you're getting good results, try going down a bit, and once they get it, go to every other day. Just try to keep them regular. Make sure they're getting plenty of liquids, fiber, and exercise.
We battled this also. Good luck!

[bethryan2659]

My daughter suffers from chronic constipation due to low muscle tone. She was on miralax (an otc medication) for over a year before we tried flax oil. Flax oil works wonders and has the added benefit of being a superfood...we give her a teaspoon a day and have been able to get her off the meds entirely.
ETA: Our gastro okayed this and gave the thumbs up for the added nutritional benefits.

[OneFabMama]

Originally Posted by Deanner03 Our ped actually said to avoid mineral oil. It can make them crampy. He suggested Miralax. You put a capful into a drink and stir, and they don't even know it's there. If you're getting good results, try going down a bit, and once they get it, go to every other day. Just try to keep them regular. Make sure they're getting plenty of liquids, fiber, and exercise. We battled this also. Good luck!

I haven't tried it (but will soon if she keeps it up) but I have heard this about Miralax and just mixing it with their drink. It's very gentle so it will just give them the push they need to go.

[Indigo~mama]

I went through this with 2 of my 3 LO's. My Ped had us do mineral oil as well. Mine got to the point they were afraid and were holding it. so we gave the MO in a tiny ice cream shake. Stirred in really well to a small amount of ice cream. We got the big fat straws from Mc'D's, and cut them to fit a sippy.

after a day or so the MO gets things moving, TMI warning the first one may be pretty hard, painful, and scary. be ready to assist if need be. My Ped has us keep them on the MO for a week or so. She said it kept things regular and soft so they can get over the initial scariness/trauma.

Look at me the poo expert Sorry so graphic, I just know the drill is all.

[RebekahG77]

I can't tell you how reassuring it is to hear other mamas telling me that they struggled with this too.

[lauralyn1]

Try the Miralax. It worked for my DS. He was holding his poo because he really didn't want to go on the toilet. For about two months after he was pee trained, we put him in a diaper to go poo. He would be in underwear and then tell us he had to poo and we would put on a diaper.

[RebekahG77]

Ok well, I just tried mineral oil... um... that's a big fat no... he puked it up after about 2 minutes. We tried it in a little ice cream... Okay, I'll try the flax oil next, then the miralax if that doesn't work! sheesh, what a mess