Almost 4 year-old girl poops pants 2-4 times daily

[Anonymous]

OP even if it’s not encopresis it’s still probably withholding and constipation. Those little accidents are what she can’t hold in. The issue is you can stretch the colon and end up with a bigger problem.

[Anonymous]

OP this is really common and many of us on this thread have dealt with it. It only gets more difficult with time, so please take it serious and make an appointment with pediatric GI. Your insistence that it’s one poster is ignorant. Ask Jeff- I left one comment but I have not left all the other ones urging you to look into this.

[Anonymous]

OP does she ever poop in the potty? Do the accidents happen at home too?

[Anonymous]

Oops I just saw you answered already about the weekends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your question about appox amount and time a day is medical. Ask your ped. I am not one to hysterically run to the doctor but this absolutely sounds like it could be behavior that has caused constipation that she now cannot help so I would seek a GI specialist.

OP here: Is my daughter constipated if she poops at least twice a day? She pooped last while we were eating dinner. It was soft stool that was a little larger than a golfball.

Since her stool doesn’t seem to be hard I am not sure Miralax will help but I’ll ask the pediatrician about dosage and time. The pediatrician wasn’t so hot on Miralax but just said—it’s scalable, you can try a little bit for a week and it could make the feeling of having to poop more obvious. [mastodon]

That’s it? Just the one? Yeah something’s going on here. That’s not even a full poop for a gerbil. She may be intentionally withholding which can cause all types of issues. Feed raisins, correct me if I’m wrong but avoid apple for a few days.

One of my kids has ASD and was disgusted by pooping we had to explain that the pampers were dirty, let him see it and let him see the difference with how clean it was to use the potty and flush it right away. Then he just got it.

[Anonymous]

There are pediatricians on the post but the old wives method is this: You might have to do some bicycle legs and lay her on her back push her knees to her stomach multiple times and look for a turtle head. A credit card or bar of soap alternating sides right by the exit can help dislodge it and help you pull it out.

Been there that works. Never thought I would pull a poop out of someone’s but but that’s why everyone loves their mommy

[Anonymous]

They can't have her having multiple accidents a day at preschool while in underwear. That would be unsanitary. There is a reason they require she at least be in a pull-up. Some places might be willing to have her wear underwear with a pull-up over top to contain the poop. Y Most places will throwing the soiled underwear in the trash. Some will bag it poop and all to send home with you in a wet bag you provide.

[Anonymous]

Your situation sounds like my dd’s. It was constipation. This is the miralax dosage our dr had us follow. https://pediatricassociatesnc.com/Resources/Medical-Library/Medicine-Dosages/Miralax-Powder


It doesn’t hurt to try this for a couple of weeks to see if it helps.

Don’t send her to school in underwear, it’s unsanitary and will make the teacher’s jobs so much harder.

[Anonymous]

Yeah this was us…and I have good news and bad news. My DD is almost 4.5 and still refuses to poop on the potty. She was holding it in and having accidents 3+ times a day. We tried bribery, we tried waiting her out but it would be like 10 pm at night and as soon as she got a pull up on for bed she would poop. she consolidated finally and decided to just hold her poop for her nightly pull-up. And that is still where we are. She knows how to control pooping and pushing and will at this point ask for a pull-up/wait for night. Now she is waking up dry overnight so pretty soon going to pull the bandaid off and give it a try without pull-ups at all…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I’m a first time poster on this thread. The point here is that many people have been through the pediatrician saying it’s no big deal and yet the issue persisted. It’s likely constipation and it needs to be addressed or you are going to be dealing with this for a looonng time. I know from firsthand experience as our pediatrician said the same.

I'm another mom. BTDT. Entering YEAR 3 of severe chronic constipation. It's so much better than it was, but requires an ever-changing regiment of prebiotic, probiotic, magnesium, fiber supplements, exlax, and daily use of a TENS unit on her stomach.

See a pediatric GI and a pediatric PT.

[Anonymous]

Did you train her for this yet or just expecting it to happen without training?

[Anonymous]

I’m a new poster. My 3 year old was withholding and then getting constipated. It’s very very common. We saw Dana Hong at MedStar who helped us with a Miralax regime. 4 months later, all was well. I love our ped but she rightfully sent us to a specialist. I would talk to a ped GI, your ped sounds like they are missing something here. I would call a ped gi on Monday, it took us 3 months to get in with Dr Hong. If it ends up getting better, you can always cancel the appointment but best to get on the waitlist now.

[Anonymous]

Pediatricians have huge blind spots in this area. OP is crazy to not explore further. Keep in mind that internists also struggle mightily with digestive issues. This is specialized stuff that's always changing.

[Anonymous]

Op what does your daughter have to say about it? Can you ask her why she didn't get to the toilet? Does she not know what it feels like to need to go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It may be constiparion and not a behavioral issue. Suggest you get a consult or try miralax. Or look up Dr. Hodges

If she is pooping 2-3 times a day, how is it constipation?

Is it small poop accidents? The child is constipated and there is probably a blockage but small amounts are leaking out all the time. My daughter did this - she has struggled always with this (look up voiding dysfunction) but it got a lot worse after a summer of travel. I was afraid to send her to school because of all the accidents. I got her back on a regimen of a capful of Miralax (I try to give a little less) a day. I also started to be very strict about sitting on the potty before school and when she gets home from school (shes in a half day prek). It got better in a few weeks and we have kept it up since then. She is also 4.5. I hate having to give Miralax, but I finally accepted it when our pediatrician said she gives it to her own same age children and I saw how bad the poop accidents were getting.