Sunday, October 14, 2007

Reverting (WARNING: parenting post)

Perhaps we brag too much about our daughter. Both my husband and i agree she is exceptional and above average (really, we do!). She always seemed to hit milestones early. She talks very well for her age. Her comprehension doubles on a daily basis. All this lead my husband and i to admit she was born with most of this and we did very little to direct her astounding progress, although it'd be hard to convince us we've done much wrong. Perhaps it's this little after thought that has lead to her latest reverting behavior.

She's 2.75 and has been"potty trained" for some time now. That, seriously, was hers and only hers to take credit for. She started asking to use the potty and eventually, her day care teacher asked us to put her in underpants. So we did. She hasn't been completely pooping in the potty (she does that in her diaper overnight usually), but we haven't been pushing it. We are content that she wears underware the majority of the time--especially because we do cloth diapers.

But lately, she has decided that she will not poop in the potty ever. This has lead to an almost week-long cessation in the poops. Being a nurse practitioner, i dread the downward toddler spiral of control of pooping, telling mommy about the control, indeed not pooping, becoming constipated, building an impaction in the bowels that requires intervention. It's a common thing that happens to toddlers as a part of establishing their individual control. I've seen my niece do it, and hoped my daughter wouldn't follow in her footsteps.

I really hope this is a phase and she'll "snap" out of it and poop freely (on the potty would be nice, but i'm not going to push). Anyone else have experience with a poop-off with a toddler?

7 comments:

Puka said...

A-chan has never outright refused to make doo doo. It scared her from the beginning and still does to a certain extent. That's why I have to be her support emotionally and physically when she does doo doo still. That means I have to practically hug her while she's on the toilet, and I have to tell her it's ok, to relax, etc. But at least she poops on the toilet. ^^

Anonymous said...

I have a daughter who was young once and went through this phase and yes it will pass! Your niece my grand daughter was just here and left today.

Scooter said...

Doh, anonymous actually made me remember when you were in that stage...disturbing.

Mama Nabi said...

Sigh... potty training (or lack of) is starting to concern me. LN was lot more eager to use the potty last year than she is this year... makes me wonder if I did indeed miss that window of opportunity. Now, she tells me she's going in her diaper and demand to be changed right away but won't bother asking for her potty. It doesn't help having a hubby who thinks this will either magically happen or his wife will take care of it like all the other things.
The one thing that helps me cope with the stress is that, as far as I know, most kids are potty trained by the age of 15... so it should happen some day.
Hmmm, interesting tidbit from anonymous. :-)

Anonymous said...

Have you seen anyone get married in dippers? In time it happens. Just make sure that the child does not drink strawberry liquid soap. Then you hope it is many years before they even have a dirty dipper. One who knows from experience. Is that not right LissyJo

Anonymous said...

We had one face-off about a month and a half ago, somehow related to a botched attempt to respond to her apparent interest in potty training, and it only ended with a glycerine - not suppository, exactly, but this applicator thing that you use to put the glycerine directly in the butt. The package said that it could take from 15 min. to an hour to work; it took maybe three minutes and then she got to work.

My niece has been on a laxative for over a year now, and we really, really didn't want to have to go there. Happily, MM was pretty much unfazed by the glycerine thing, and has been pooping without incident ever since. In the meantime, she's been on a banana embargo and I've been pushing liquids a bit more than I used to. If you get to that point, I'd definitely recommend the stuff.

LissyJo said...

Ugh! Thanks for the words of encouragement, all of you (except 'anonymous'). Our stand-off ended in a suppository and her reaction was awful and she screamed bloody murder and i should hope to never do that again.

I guess we'll just see what happens. I am willing to accept her in diapers for another year, if that's what she needs. I just don't want to be chasing the constipation/impaction route so many parents have to do.