Potty Training Trouble

[Not SuperMom]

Ok, this topic may be a little graphic. We have been struggling with potty training for 6 months. My son is now 3 & 1/2 years old. We seem to have the pee portion under control but the poo.....he goes about 15 times a day, little tiny poos. The poor guy his bum is raw, so of course now it hurts. Has anyone heard of this multiple poo problem? Any suggestions? We have had him to the Dr once who said it was diet yet nothing had changed in his diet, the only change was potty training. Prior to this he was a once a day regular poo toddler. We have adjusted diet still no change. Taking him back to DR but wanted to see if anyone had heard of this. Very Frustrating for him and his parents!

[snuffaluffagus]

Are his stools hard? Could he be constipated? I'm wondering if he's experiencing pain that he's trying to hold it in (which would exacerbate the constipation).

[Not SuperMom]

There have consistency to them. We had thought of constipation, tried some mineral oil but that made it worse. Also tried loading up on fibre, made no difference.

[nothingfancy]

we still use baby wipes with our DS, they are not so rough on the tush like tp would be, especially if your poor guy is going 15 times a day. that might help with some of the rawness. our DS also likes to use a stool to prop up his legs and helps him feel a little more secure on the toilet....for awhile, our DS wouldn't poop on the potty unless he had a potty seat. he's gotten over that now, but occasionally he will ask that we stay and hold his hand.

[snuffaluffagus]

Hopefully your doctor will have some answers for you. If not, I'd insist on a referral to a specialist as 15 bowel movements per day is definitely not in the normal range. Can you use soft facecloths moistened with cool water instead of wipes or tp? Perhaps frequent baths with plain water (no bubble bath) and some Penaten cream afterwords to help sooth any irritation might help as well in the meantime. Hope the little fella is feeling better soon.

[nadiabreckon]

Everyone I've spoke to about potty training says the same about pooping...kids are general more likely to want to poop in a diaper for a while even after getting the pee under control. It's a little harder for them to push it out while on the toilet or potty, rather than in a diaper, so sometimes they can get scared. We haven't gone through what you're going through, but DS is now just telling us he has to go poop, he used to start whining and we just knew he had to go, so we would sit him on the toilet and tell him it was Ok to poop on the toilet, just like peeing (he had a few accidents on the floor cause he would refuse to sit on the toilet).

I would also suggest going to the dr to make sure there's no underlying reason for the frequent bowel movement.